Blackwater assists DEA in Cannabis Dispensary Raid in LA, CA Aug. 2008

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DEA Can’t Do Its Own Job - Calls in Blackwater to Raid Medical Marijuana Providers
August 1st, 2008
Posted by Rebecca Saltzman

Yesterday, the DEA raided a medical marijuana dispensary in Culver City, spending hours on site detaining employees and ultimately leaving the facility in disarray. This is unfortunately not an unusal story. Since 2005, the DEA has raided dozens of state-sanctioned dispensaries in California.

But this time was different. We’re used to the DEA calling in help from various federal agencies and local law enforcement. But I guess none of their usual buddies were available yesterday because from the picture below, which appeared in the LA Times today, it looks like they had to resort to calling in Blackwater:

The DEA often likes to say that medical marijuana is not their top priority (though at the height of the raids last year, they were raiding an average of one dispensary per week). They like to argue that medical marijuana raids do not take resources away from other drug interdiction. Yet this photo makes me wonder - if they have sufficient resources to shut down meth labs and to bust medical marijuana providers, why do they need the help of Blackwater, a private agency?

Yet another reason we need Congress to hold oversight hearings on DEA medical marijuana activities. Good to know that House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers is concerned about this issue and has already begun to question the DEA on its actions.

I don't understand why they were raiding a medical marijuana store anyway. Aren't they allowed to have the drug in their possession?

If this is indeed a Blackwater employee, this is a sign of what's to come. Slowly, they will participate in more and more "law enforcement" operations until eventually, you will be receiving speeding fines from them too.

Hopefully, it's just a DEA agent who was wearing the shirt underneath his uniform and took it off because he was getting hot moving those boxes around...

reply to post by NuclearPaul


Only by state law, not Federal.

I saw this when it happened, thanks to digg.com. Only thing I have to say is I'm really glad this merry band of mercenaries has been fined up the wazoo for the whole selling guns illegally thing.

I'd rather have a draft than rely on mercenaries.

The DEA likes to slap the medical clinics on the behind every now and again. It's a power move and they do it blatantly and with no cause.

The medical clinics are set up and run by volunteers most of the time, some are sponsored as a group. Those individuals or groups have to get permission from the city and county of witch they want to set up a clinic in and everything is done with cooperation by both parties. There is a strict set of guidlines by which these places have to operate by too.

If Blackwater really is involved then the DEA must be using them as muscle now. The only reason i say that is becasue this isn't the first time they've been used against American citizens. They were hired to help with "security" down south during huricane katrina.

NuclearPaul: Interestingly enough we've been paying Blackwater to handle our business for quite some time.

A BLACKWATER TIMELINE
Significant events in the history of Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater USA:

Dec. 26, 1996 - Blackwater Lodge and Training Center Inc. is incorporated in Delaware.

Jan. 30, 1997 - The company buys its first properties in Currituck and Camden counties, N.C.

Mar. 31, 2004 - Four Blackwater contractors are killed and publicly mutilated in Fallujah, Iraq, bringing international attention to the company and prompting calls for revenge.

Nov. 27, 2004 - A plane belonging to a Blackwater affiliate hits a mountain in Afghanistan, killing three contractors and three American soldiers. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation later rules that unprofessional - behavior by the flight crew was a key cause of the crash.

Apr. 21, 2005 - Seven Blackwater contractors are killed in two incidents in Iraq - the company's worst single day of casualties.

Aug. 29, 2005- Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast, creating a new market for Blackwater's security services.

May 2006 - The company reveals plans for new training facilities in California and the Philippines.

Dec. 24, 2006 - A Blackwater contractor shoots and kills an Iraqi security officer. The contractor was returned to the United States and fired, but still has not been charged with a crime.

Jan. 23, 2007 - Five Blackwater contractors are killed in Baghdad when two helicopters are involved in a firefight.

Feb. 7, 2007 - Blackwater is a primary focus of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's hearing in Washington.

Mar. 19, 2007 - A Blackwater convoy is attacked in Kabul, Afghanistan, leaving one civilian dead and five security guards injured.

Apr. 2007 - Blackwater drops plans for expansion to the Philippines but opens Blackwater North in Mount Carroll, Ill.

May 2007 - A Blackwater employee fatally shoots an Iraqi civilian said to be driving too close to a convoy.

July 2007 - Residents opposing Blackwater's plans for a facility east of San Diego petition for a recall of five members of the Potrero (Calif.) Community Planning Group.

Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007 - At least eight Iraqis are killed when Blackwater contractors open fire after a State Department convoy they are escorting comes under attack. In response, Iraqi officials vow to ban Blackwater from working in the country.

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