The DEA Raids 3 Pot Clubs 

Law officers hit 20 homes and businesses within the city 

Jaxon Van Derbeken
SF Chronicle 
June 22, 2005 

Federal agents raided three San Francisco medical marijuana 
dispensaries today as part of a broader investigation into money laundering and 
Asian organized crime, authorities said. 

The operation targeted two cannabis clubs on Ocean Avenue and another 
on Judah Street, and came just two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court 
— in a crushing blow to the medical marijuana movement — ruled that 
the federal government had the authority to prosecute people whose 
actions are legal under state law. 

Law enforcement sources said the clubs were not targeted for drug 
operations but say they were allegedly being used as fronts for 
money-laundering operations. 

Federal agents, in some cases joined by San Francisco police, raided 20 
homes and businesses in the city today as part of the operation, 
sources told The Chronicle. 

“It’s a large scale operation,’’ said Javier Pena, special 
agent in charge of the San Francisco office of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration. The indictments that led to the raids have been sealed, he 
said, and he could not comment further. 

San Francisco police narcotics Capt. Tim Hettrich confirmed that his 
officers had assisted in the operations but had not taken part in the 
raids on the medical marijuana dispensaries. 

The city is home to 44 medical marijuana dispensaries, more than any 
other city in the nation. Residents and city officials have grown 
increasingly frustrated that San Francisco’s 2-month-old moratorium on the 
clubs appears to be having little effect, with as many as six new clubs 
opening in recent weeks. 

3:34 pm PDT June 22, 2005
KTVU.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- At least two San Francisco pot clubs were raided 
Wednesday in an enforcement operation conducted by the Drug Enforcement 
Administration.

San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens said that the Police 
Department assisted federal agents with arrest and enforcement in a larger 
operation but not with the raids.

According to Hillary McQuie, a spokeswoman for Americans for Safe 
Access, a national coalition that works to protect the rights of 
medical-marijuana users, raids were conducted at pot dispensaries located at 1939 
and 1545 Ocean St. 

Javier Pena, a special agent in charge of San Francisco office of the 
Drug Enforcement Administration, said the agency would not be releasing 
further details on the operation until Thursday at a news conference 
scheduled to take place at the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco.

Members of Americans for Safe Access gathered at the Ocean Street pot 
clubs to show support for the dispensaries and to protest the 
involvement of federal law enforcement in what they deemed a city matter.

"We're very disturbed about for obvious reasons. We did not expect San 
Francisco police officers to be working with DEA agents" when it comes 
to medical marijuana, McQuie said.

Members of the coalition plan to hold a protest Thursday on the steps 
of San Francisco City Hall, McQuie said.

On June 6, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California's medical 
marijuana law doesn't protect sick people from being prosecuted under 
federal law for using marijuana.

Federal Agents Arrest Medical Marijuana Doctor 
A week and a half after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal 
government can block doctors from prescribing marijuana for medical use, drug 
agents arrested a doctor from Cool.

Dr. Marion Fry, 48, and her husband Dale Schafer, 50, were arrested by 
agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Western El 
Dorado County Narcotics Enforcement Task Forcethis morning. The U.S. 
Attorney today announced a federal grand jury has indicted the couple on 
marijuana-related charges.

Fry and Schafer each face one count of conspiracy to distribute at 
least 100 marijuana plants and one count of manufacturing at least 100 
marijuana plants. 

Both charges are felonies. If convicted, Fry and Schafer could be 
sentenced to five to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $2 million or 
both.

Fry and Schafer appeared in federal court and were released on $25,000 
bond.

It is not the first time Fry's practice has been raided. She says that 
in 2001 federal agents raided her office and confiscated medical files 
of 6,000 patients. No charges were filed against her.

Fry said she found relief with marijuana after undergoing a mastectomy 
and chemotherapy for cancer.

After the June 6 ruling, Fry told News10 she was not surprised by the 
Supreme Court's decision. "[The] ruling means nothing. The federal 
government said they didn't approve before, and they just said they don't 
approve again."

In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court ruled the Bush administration could 
block the cultivation of marijuana for personal use or medicinal use 
because such use has broader social and financial implications. Justices 
suggested medical marijuana advocates try to have the law changed in 
Congress rather than fight the constitutionality of existing law. 

California voters passed the state's medical marijuana law in 1996. 
Under the law, people with medical conditions were allowed to grow or 
obtain marijuana for personal consumption, so long as they had a doctor's 
written or oral recommendation. 

source: http://www.news10.net/storyfull1.asp?id=11629
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