Marijuana raid: Cherry Top Farms still closed, attorney hopes for cooperation from state
The Cherry Top Farms dispensary wasn't the target of a DEA raid last week -- but the feds confiscated 2,500 plants anyhow.
Cherry Top.
Cherry Top's owners wanted to open up again early this week. But the dispensary's still closed at this writing -- and still losing money -- due in part to the way complicated state rules might impact restocking.
As you'll recall, federal authorities were conducting surveillance on three members of the Do family -- Nathan, Ha and Hai. The three were allegedly running an unlicensed marijuana grow in the same location that had been shut down back in June.
Law enforcers were just about to execute search warrants at the warehouse space in question when they saw suspects loading "contraband" into a truck. They followed the vehicle to Cherry Top Farms, watching as the pot was brought inside. And because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level whether it's used for medicinal purposes or not, agents subsequently seized all of Cherry Top's plants, medicines, edibles and more in addition to the truck's contents.
One of Cherry Top's now-confiscated plants.
Attorney Bob Hoban, who also spoke to us today about the unionizing of medical marijuana workers, doesn't rail against the DEA and company for this action. In fact, he sees it as "a good sign that the federal government is working closely with the state Department of Revenue and the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division. And the fact that they simply seized the plants and did not go out and arrest everyone on site is a good sign for our state-regulated industry."
That doesn't mean he expects the feds to return the confiscated products. "We're certainly inquiring about it," he says, but terms the prospect of that happening "highly unlikely."
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