Regulation Confusion Over Medical Marijuana

Two Southern Oregon medical marijuana grows are raided by federal agents in a week's time, hauling away hundreds of plants. The raids are raising the issue of how the medical marijuana program is regulated.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program screens growers and patients to make sure they do not have a criminal background. Growers are allowed to grow six plants per patient, up to four patients. The OMMP registers growers, but does not have agents to see if growers are in compliance.

That responsibility falls to law enforcement, but police say without a complaint or suspicion, they don't know where to start looking. Local police can conduct consensual compliance checks if the landowner agrees, but usually can only do this if there is suspicion of illegal activity.

James Anderson, whose Gold Hill medical marijuana grow was raided by the DEA two weeks ago, says he has still not been charged with anything and has not been arrested. He says the grow was legal under state law, but says in six years of growing, no one ever knocked on his door to check.

In his copy of the federal search warrant, he was given aerial pictures of the grow site, which showed hundreds of plants. Anderson and medical marijuana advocates think federal agents target co-ops of 100 plants or more

Drug Enforcement Agents and the U.S. Attorney's office are still giving no information about the raids in Gold Hill and Central Point, only saying they were serving a federal search warrant.