Washington Marijuana Dispensaries Raided

Several medical marijuana dispensaries in the Puget Sound area have been raided in the last few days by federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration. A spokesperson for the DEA stated earlier this week that the raids had been initiated though no details were given about the number of dispensaries or search warrants that would be involved. At a dispensary in Olympia, an employee stated that federal agents said the raids were part of a two-year investigation and that she would be ordered to appear before a federal grand jury in the coming months. The agents confiscated the cell phones of the dispensary workers as well as the marijuana on hand.

Washington State's medical marijuana law was passed in 1998 which removed criminal penalties for those authorized by a medical practitioner to possess or cultivate the drug for medical purposes. In 2008, the law was amended to allow patients to cultivate up to 15 plants or to posses up to 24 ounces of usable marijuana. Diseases and medical conditions which qualify a patient to use medical marijuana include cancer, HIV, AIDS, epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, hepatitis C, and diseases which cause unrelieved pain, nausea, vomiting, wasting, appetite loss, seizures, and muscle spasms. In 2012, Washington voters passed a measure which made the recreational use of marijuana legal for those over the age of 21. Under that law, users are allowed to possess up to one ounce.

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