| Graphic: Cooljuno411 |
| It’s an unhappy day in Southern California: The DEA has arrested a dispensary owner in L.A. |
A Los Angeles marijuana dispensary owner was arrested by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) because they say he tried to open two pot shops while awaiting sentencing on a drug charge, which had been forbidden by a judge in the case.
Dennis Romero at L.A. Weekly reports that 42-year-old Virgil Grant III was arrested at an L.A. dispensary, as confirmed by DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen. According to terms set by the judge, Grant wasn’t supposed to be around dispensaries before his sentencing next month.
Pullen said Grant is scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon to explain why he was trying to open two dispensaries while on bond.
Grant’s legal troubles began in 2007 when a man involved in a fatal car accident claimed he’d been high on marijuana that police said was linked to Grant’s The Holistic Caregivers (THC) store in Compton.
By using the intimidation tactic of threatening to throw the book at the dispensary owner, prosecutors convinced Grant to a plea bargain deal where he was convicted of one county of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
According to the L.A. Weekly, this was the first DEA dispensary arrest since the Obama administration put in writing a new policy instructing federal agents to lay off dispensaries which are obeying state medical marijuana laws.