DEA Raids Local Nursery; Marijuana Seized

A raid by law enforcement of a nursery just outside the Lake Elsinore city limits today resulted in the seizure of dried marijuana and 50 marijuana plants, the Drug Enforcement Agency is reporting.

The raid at Consolidated Container Nursery located at 28261 Red Gum Lane was part of a DEA-led investigation that also saw according to DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen.

The Temecula raid saw the seizure of 19 pounds of marijuana and 117 pounds of cannabis-containing edible products, Pullen said.

There were no arrests made at either location, and Pullen said the investigation is ongoing.

The two facilities were founded by Doug Lanphere, who said he stepped down in June 2011 as an active director of the 3,000-member medical marijuana cooperative due to health reasons and his criminal background. He was convicted for cultivating marijuana for sale in the 1990s and was again arrested in September on suspicion of driving under the influence of methamphetamine and possessing cocaine. Charges have not been filed in that arrest, according to court records.

Speaking by phone today, Lanphere said he has been living in Oregon since January and only serves as a consultant to the cooperative, but was in town this week for a scheduled surgery. He said he visited Consolidated Container Nursery this morning and was subsequently pulled over about two miles from the facility by investigators. He said he was detained but never arrested.

The Red Gum location, which is leased by Consolidated Container Nursery, is overseen by three members of Cooperative Patients' Services, according to Lanphere. He contends no marijuana has been dispensed at the nursery, and said the facility is used for cultivation only.

However, a cease-and-desist order was served to the facility in January and the group has abided, Lanphere said. The marijuana seized today was “well within the limits” of what’s allowed under California’s medical marijuana law, Lanphere contends.

However, as a federal agency, the DEA doesn’t recognize California’s law: The drug is illegal under federal law.

The legal conflict has given cities and counties leeway in shutting down medical marijuana operations. , which confirmed that local jurisdictions can ban medical marijuana operations, has given authorities even more momentum, and m

In the meantime but it will likely be years before rulings are issued.

“We’ve got cities that disagree with state law and circumvent by going to federal law,” Lanphere said.

Terry Wilson, director of patient relations for the cooperative, said he is disheartened by today’s raids.

Without a means of access, Wilson contends people who use marijuana for medical reasons will turn to the “gray or black market.”