Federal agents have again raided a marijuana dispensary at E Madison and 23rd Ave.
Seattle Cross, located at 2315 E John, issued a statement to customers Thursday, a day after agents served warrants and raided operations around the Puget Sound region:
The same dispensary was raided by the Drug Enforcement Agency in fall of 2011. No charges were filed following the 2011 raid.
Wednesday’s raid was part of DEA operations in three counties against the same set of dispensaries also raided in 2011. In the previous raids, the Department of Justice claimed the dispensaries failed “to abide by state medical marijuana guidelines,” “were distributing large amounts of drugs,” and “laundering large amounts of money.”
The DEA issued only the following short statement following Wednesday’s raids. ”Several search warrants were executed today involving marijuana storefronts in King, Thurston and Pierce Counties.”
The Seattle Cross location is one of a small handful of dispensary-type operations making their homes on the Hill including a longtime provider on 15th Ave E and a storefront on Broadway. These other marijuana providers were apparently not part of the most recent wave of DEA anti-pot activity in the region.
The raids follow the conviction of the owner of a Seattle marijuana cooperative earlier this year on federal drug charges.
With the legalization of recreational pot in Washington, Seattle is working on solutions for integrating the newly legal behavior into day to day life. Making pot smoking in public a ticketable offense could be one change. Sorting out pot rules — and rights — for renters will be another. City Attorney Peter Holmes will meet with the City Council Friday afternoon to update members of the Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee on “City Policies on Public Consumption of Marijuana.”
The DEA could be the biggest waste of money ever.
no, that would be organized religion. but i get your point.
We don’t know what the story is yet so it’s a bit premature to judge. There may or may not have been serious crime being committed. Legal pot does not make other crimes legal.
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I heard there is a turf battle going on that is related to this.
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Several well funded investor developer entrepreneur cartels are vying for control of this expanding field.
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Part of the speculation is that the ugly poorly designed building planned for the southwest corner of E Union St and 23rd Ave will be the hub for numerous related enterprises including all phases of distribution and associated bars where it will be legal to use and all the spin off activities that will, no doubt, develop. You do not have to be particularly imaginative to know what some of these are likely to be. Renting rooms in the new building by the hour? Hot tub lounges? Of course, the owners likely will distance themselves from this by having intermediaries.
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This all fits in with the Amsterdam brothel drug bar theme of Neighbor Lady which leads me to think the speculation is probably accurate.
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This will be extremely lucrative for a small number of investors.
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Our neighborhood will be labeled as anything goes sleazy or worse. Many people, especially most people who have children, will make an effort to stay as far away as possible.
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Sure, change is inevitable to some degree. This is change that will financially benefit a tiny number of people so I guess some will say that makes it just dandy.
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In my opinion, this is along the same lines as the investor developer entrepreneur types who stash away fortunes by specializing in businesses such as nine hundred number call centers.
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Well that sounds like progress. Certainly better than conditiobs today. Go Ian? I’ve always wanted to see Amsterdam. Will you build a canal system? ….no, not like that you beasts.
Hmmmm I wonder if 98122 has been spraying painting burnt caddys lately?
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eyes and melissa and pinebeetle and grumbo and a few others might all be the same person
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at any rate, a lot of the replies on this blog are nothing more than macho talk and cliches and stereotypes and other such trite quips
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the central district is valuable real estate that is now and has been for a long time the target of vultures who call themselves investor developer entrepreneur good guys
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not talking about people who rent or buy apartments or houses because they need and want a convenient place to live
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journalists have been remiss because they have not covered what is really going on
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there are people who have lived here all their lives who know the entire history
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listen to them, organize with them, it is not too late to stop the siege
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wow 98122 is on to us, actually we are aliens who landed here with multi-heads to buy buy buy……….
I think 122 has a thing for Malicea. Notice how much he includes her in his conversations, and how he never has his thoughts on the actual conversation.
I think the cartels could run this place better than the chitty or the current gangs. Better yet, we could get the Yakuza in here or some old time Mobsters. Some professionals would be better than the silly punks that can’t keep their pants up (both the council and the bloods.) Heck Anthony Weiner would be better than what we have.