Blog: Union Pot Clinic Raided by Federal Officers

Just before noon on Monday, officers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency  and International Revenue Service, as well as U.S. marshals raided Oaksterdam University in Oakland.

They also detained "cannabis workers" there who are members of the Service Employees International Union.  The raid was widely covered in the media Monday.

Dan Rush, a spokesperson for the SEIU, said the workers detained were law-abiding members, and the union would not represent criminal enterprises.

The federal officers also raided the Old Blue Sky Coffee Shop down the street but did not make arrests.

Click here to see video of some of the action at the non-union Blue Sky Bakery, which is also said to operate as an unlicensed dispensary.

There were a few scuffles between police and protesters, leaving some protestors "beat up." Crowd control was largely done by the U.S. marshals, as the Oakland police had a multiple-death shooting at a local college that took precedence.

Prominent cannabis activist Richard Lee runs Oaksterdam University. Sources in the medical cannabis community say he was also detained in a raid on his residence and later released.

Lee is one of the most respected activists in the California medical marijuana community. He was the main backer of Prop 19, the marijuana legalization bill.

The Oaksterdam raid is the first to have happened at a dispensary with unionized workers. As of Monday afternoon, the workers were still in police custody.