By Steve Elliott of Toke of the Town
Narcotics detectives on Wednesday raided a marijuana lounge in Aloha, Oregon, spending a good part of the morning removing computers and interviewing customers who showed up at the door.
No arrests were made at the Wake ‘n’ Bake Cannabis Lounge by the Westside Interagency Narcotics Team, but search warrants were also served at residences associated with the store and its owners, reports Dana Tims at The Oregonian.
“Today just happened to be the day when the investigation culminated to the point we were ready to serve our search warrants,” said Dave Thompson, a spokesman for the Washington County Sheriff’s office.
Witnesses said police cars sped into the lot in front of the lounge just after 7:30 a.m. Just before noon, Doug Holmberg, manager of a nearby auto-parts store, said his employees saw officers carrying rifles go into the business.
Nearby businesses described the Wake ‘n’ Bake Cannabis Lounge’s owner, Katherine Cambron, as a good neighbor.
“I’ve got nothing bad to say about them, except that they took over the parking lot,” said Arthur Hixon, owner of All Things Aquatic, a business two doors away.
The lounge, located at 18918 Southwest Shaw Street in Aloha, opened last November. The business charges a fee that enables medical marijuana patients to become members. It then distributes cannabis to members, Thompson said.
Law enforcement started investigating the Wake ‘n’ Bake when detectives learned the business was allegedly selling marijuana to customers, supposedly in violation of Oregon’s medical cannabis law.
The raid follows a threatening letter issued earlier this month by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, in conjunction with the Washington County District Attorney’s Office and a majority of D.A.’s around the state.
The letter said the sale of marijuana was a violation of both state and federal law and “would not be tolerated.”
In addition to the Wake ‘n’ Bake Cannabis Lounge, search warrants were served at a Beaverton apartment described as a “corporate apartment” for the lounge, a residence in Aloha and a residence in Hillsboro.
Thompson said the investigation is ongoing.
Article From Toke of the Town and republished with special permission.
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