Feds Launch Prescription Pot Sweep

Raid Northern California Clubs, Homes And Businesses

(AP)  Federal drug agents launched a wide-ranging crackdown on medical marijuana providers in northern California, raiding pot clubs, homes and businesses in San Francisco and arresting a husband and wife in Sacramento.

Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. attorney's office would not say how many people were arrested or give other details, pending a news conference Thursday.

An attorney for the Sacramento couple said he believed Wednesday's arrests and sweep may have been prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court's medical marijuana ruling two weeks ago. The high court said federal law prohibiting the sale and distribution of narcotics supersedes state medical marijuana laws.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Brown in Sacramento said the Supreme Court ruling "lays to rest any question whether federal authorities have jurisdiction."

California is one of 10 states that allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

In San Francisco, drug agents conducted searches of three pot clubs and more than 20 homes and businesses Wednesday, capping a more than two-year investigation into an alleged marijuana trafficking ring.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday that at least 13 people were arrested as part of an alleged organized crime operation that used the clubs as a front to launder money.