Pot Dealers Appeal to DEA's Human Side

(Berkeley, California) More than 5,000 medical marijuana users in Berkeley and Oakland are urging the Berkeley City Council to enact new laws to protect marijuana businesses from the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The Berkeley Patient Group was notified Monday that its bank account was frozen by the Los Angeles Police Department during a joint operation with the Drug Enforcement Agency. The operation targeted about 10 dispensaries in Los Angeles, including the California Patients Group, a sister organization to the Berkeley-based business.

According to Sarah Pullin, a spokesperson for the DEA-Los Angeles, the Berkeley marijuana business funds were frozen in connection with DEA raids in Los Angeles.

The Berkeley City Council is being asked to do all it can to protect city marijuana dispensaries and avoid having to comply with federal law.

In the interim, Debby Goldsberry, spokesperson for the doper group, said it "will try to appeal to the DEA's 'human side' to get its money back."

Heh. I tried to appeal to the "human side" of the IRS once. It didn't work.