U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Enedina Arellano Felix: Meet Mexico's First Female Drug Lord (Hot)

Just call her La Narcomami​Mexico's Proceso magazine is calling Enedina Arellano Felix the world's first female drug lord today, based on information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. While we're not buying that lofty title -- "Cocaine Cowboys" star Griselda Blanco was the godmother of b ... More >>

Marijuana Pain Reliever Without 'Unwanted Highs' Possible: L.A. Pot Shops Frightened at Prospect

Pain relief.​Q: What do you call marijuana without the high? A: A waste of time. But seriously, results of a new study published at NewScientist suggest that the pain relieving qualities of weed can be isolated from the psychedelic qualities, rendering a more medically focused remedy. You ... More >>

Alleged Marijuana Growers in L.A.'s Valley Targeted by DEA, FBI Raids

Law enforcement fanned out across the Valley today to bust alleged weed growers.​Updated after the jump with details on what was seized and where. Looks like the long arm of the law fanned out across the San Fernando Valley and Palmdale today to raid alleged pot-growing operations. The Los A ... More >>

$1.7 Billion Medical Marijuana Market to Rival Viagra Sales This Year, According to Report

DEABuddha is gold.​Born in California in 1996, medical marijuana has grown from a baby bud to a full-blown industry flower that has blossomed across the nation. Legal in 15 states, medical pot sales this year are projected to reach $1.7 billion, according to the self-proclaimed "first ever in ... More >>

'Beyond Wonderland' Rave in SoCal Hosts Politicians, Paris Hilton, Alleged Drug Offenders, and Maybe Even a Good Vibe

Drew Ressler / Rukes.comBeyond Wonderland was not beyond comprehension for Fiona Ma.​Updated after the jump with 13 people taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. With a storm approaching and an army of cops and DEA agents, one woman named Paris Hilton, and even a few politicians in the h ... More >>

2C-E: Psychedelic Drug 'Europa,' Invented by Californian Sasha Shulgin, Makes a Dangerous Comeback

Europa pills.​A psychedelic drug invented by California Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin decades ago made a fatal comeback this week when a teenager died and 10 people were hospitalized Thursday after overdosing on Europa, a.k.a. 2C-E. What's exceptional about this episode is not only that 2C-E is l ... More >>

Marijuana: DEA Raids Otherwise Legal West Hollywood Pot Shops, Won't Say Why

YouTubeZen Healing has an ATM inside for all your nonprofit transactions.​The DEA's stealthy raids of two medical marijuana dispensaries in West Hollywood this week had folks really scratching their heads. Why? Well, unlike the city of L.A., Weho appears to tightly control and regulate its di ... More >>

Fake Pot Makers Could be Back on the Market Soon Despite DEA Ban: Court Challenge to Feds' Move Filed

The Spice must flow.​That didn't take long. Only a day after the DEA banned the chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana, the drug's supporters say it wont take much to get it back on the market. A switch a few of the widely available chemicals that are quite similar to the ones banned wo ... More >>

DEA's Synthetic Marijuana Ban Goes Into Effect Today

Miley Cyrus: Weed alternative salvia is, like, pretty cool (and still legal).​Sorry Miley, but there's one less legal drug for you to smoke starting today. The DEA has basically put synthetic marijuana -- a.k.a. K2 and Spice -- out of business by banning its core ingredients. The emergency o ... More >>

Bath Salt is the New Cocaine: Listen Up, Charlie, Lindsay, Paris ...

Bath salt can be 'done' off mirrors too.​Charlie Sheen can put this in his briefcase and not even have to worry about authorities: Bath salt. That's right, bath salt is the new cocaine and offers intense highs, hallucination and energy and feelings of anger. Yay! What's not to like? The bath ... More >>

Synthetic Marijuana Makers Are Working Around DEA Ban (For Your Holiday Shopping Pleasure)

Man-made or synthetic?​This week we told you about how the DEA is essentially outlawing the synthetic pot known as K2 and Spice. A commenter who claims to represent an online retailer of Spice says no big: Makers are churning out new "blends" as we speak, with recipes that will sidestep the D ... More >>

DEA Moves To Ban Synthetic Pot Known As 'K2' And 'Spice'

DEA says no to Spice.​Gee, Spice , we hardly knew ya. Maybe that's because with $100 and some fake back pain you can get a doctor's card and some decent weed in California -- legally. Still, would have been nice to check you out, see what kind of smoke you produce, roll you in some thin, white ... More >>

Washington, D.C. Medical Marijuana Lobby With California Ties Launches, Wants Full Cannabis Legalization

Dispensary owners now have a bud in Washington.​Tobacco has a lobby. Alcohol has a lobby. Now medical marijuana has its own lobbying group in Washington, D.C. The National Cannabis Industry Association officially unveiled itself Tuesday as "the first national trade group representing the inte ... More >>

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder In L.A. To Make Announcement About Marijuana Legalization; He'll Be Joined By Pot Foes

Will Eric Holder denounce Prop. 19?​U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to be in town Friday to make an announcement about California's marijuana-legalization effort. We're not expecting it to be an endorsement. Here's why: Standing with him will be Prop. 19 opponents Sheriff Lee B ... More >>

In Shadow Of Obama Directive To Stand Down On Pot Shops, Feds Don't Publicize Medical Marijuana Raids Like They Used To

President Obama just said no to federal pot-shop raids, but they still happen, somewhat silently.​Federal raids of medical marijuana dispensaries in Southern California, Nevada and elsewhere haven't ceased just because the administration of President Obama ordered federal authorities to stand ... More >>

DEA Raids Las Vegas Pot Shops; L.A. Party People Bummed

​Just this week marijuana dispensary backers were whining to the Los Angeles City Council about its tough pot-shop law (even though it's not even being enforced). They're lucky they're not in Las Vegas, L.A.'s own Jersey Shore in the desert, where the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration this ... More >>

Drug Enforcement Administration Hiring Ebonics Translators

​Calling SoCal's's own Snoop Dogg: If the rap game doesn't pan out, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has a job for you. It's looking for Ebonics translators. That's right. It turns our that when some DEA agents hear suspects say stuff on tape and in person, they get those question-mar ... More >>

Spice, So-Called Legal Marijuana, Sold Near UCLA Campus

​It looks like "spice," the legal, marijuana-like substance that has sparked controversy across the nation, is making inroads in Los Angeles. The UCLA Daily Bruin reports that the product, sold under names such as K2 and Black Mamba, is available in Westwood Village and that, so far, the local ... More >>

Marijuana Advocates Use Veterans Affairs' Pot-Friendly Policy To Challenge U.S. Stance On The Drug

​Medical marijuana advocates have seized the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' new marijuana-friendly policy to challenge federal law that deems there is no legitimate medical benefit for marijuana. The group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) this week filed a legal brief in its own longstan ... More >>

Marijuana Advocates Want Michele Leonhart Out At DEA Following California Pot Shop Raids

Leonhart with Attorney General Eric Holder.​Despite an Obama administration directive meant to put a halt to federal raids of pot shops in states where medical marijuana has been legalized, recent dispensary busts, including one in Southern California, have prompted a group of cannabis advocat ... More >>

Beverly Hills Woman's Private Jet Pot-Smuggling Scheme Unravels, Authoriites Say

Lisette Lee.​The whole private-jet-with-an-entourage smuggling scheme sounds like something a teenager would dream up, and we're guessing it might have worked in the past. But this time the move unraveled for a Beverly Hills woman, authorities allege. They say Lisette Lee, her bodyguard and tw ... More >>

LAPD Officer Arrested After Allegedly Selling $4,200 Worth Of Meth To Federal Informant

​A Los Angeles police officer was arrested on suspicion of distributing methamphetamine this week after a confidential informant set up a drug buy in San Diego County that was monitored by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in San Diego. Yoshio ... More >>

Bullets Not Bongs For U.S. Vets Denied Medical Marijuana

​Men and women who dodge (and sometimes take) bullets for their country as members of the U.S. armed forces cannot be prescribed medical marijuana by Veterans Affairs doctors, according to the Drug Policy Alliance. The V.A. states that the no-medical-marijuana policy, which applies to states ... More >>

In The Wake Of Corey Haim Revelation, Nation's 'Most Prolific' Pill Provider Convicted

​Hot on the heels of an over-the-weekend revelation that actor Corey Haim's death has been tied to an illicit prescription drug ring, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced Monday that "a Los Angeles physician described as the single, most prolific provider of prescription ... More >>

Marijuana Activists Stunned Over Obama's Bush-Era Pick For DEA

Michele M. Leonhart.​The administration of President Obama has told federal law enforcement to stand down when it comes to raiding legitimate pot dispensaries in states where medical marijuana is legal. But last week the president quietly nominated Bush-era Drug Enforcement Administration offi ... More >>

Pot-Shop Owner Arrested By DEA; First Dispensary Arrest Since Obama Ordered Feds To Back Off

​A Southern California pot-shop owner was arrested by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration because he allegedly tried to open open two marijuana dispensaries while awaiting sentencing on a drug charge -- a no-no according to limits set by the judge in the case.Forty-two-year-old Vigil Grant II ... More >>

Feds Hit Mexican Drug Cartel in SoCal

Federal agents today and Wednesday fanned out across Southern California and the rest of the nation in what has been described as the largest domestic crime strike against a Mexican drug cartel. Twenty-four people were arrested locally and three area cells related to the La Familia cartel were targ ... More >>

Details Emerge On Obama's Pot Stance

Just as a crackdown on the city's medical marijuana dispensaries is being set in motion, the Obama administration is calling off the federal fight against sellers and buyers who abide by laws in California and 13 other states that allow the distribution of doctor-approved pot, the Associated Press i ... More >>

Feds Bust Venice, MDR Pot Pharms

The Drug Enforcement Agency raided two Venice medical marijuana dispensaries today, and a third dispensary in Marina Del Rey. Local DEA spokeswoman Special Agent Sarah Pullen declined to give specifics about the raids or information about possible arrests, citing the agency's ongoing investigation i ... More >>

Bonds Over Chavez Ravine

“He should try for a year to play without steroids. If he can’t, I think they should put him in jail for two years.”

DEA's Scarlet Letter

Nervous L.A. landlords and dispensaries get caught in the medical-pot wars

Numero Uno's George Torres Faces Murder Charges

Rags-to-riches story of L.A. grocery king goes sour

Grocery King George Torres Fingered in Murders

Racketeering charges against Numero Uno markets founder include bribing two former L.A. planning commissioners

Surrounded

Smoked Out

Joint interviews with a medical-pot pharmacist and a neighbor who says, Not in My Schoolyard.

Broken Bridges

Did City Hall’s plan to fight gangs bankroll a gangster?

LA’s Underground Power Broker

The name Vignali receded into L.A. history after the “Pardongate” scandal of 2001, but questions remain about drug-dealing son Carlos and his real estate magnate father, Horacio, who just might be pulling the strings in the remaking of downtown L.A.

Royal Coke

How the U.S. and France let the smuggling prince get away to help the war on terror

Under My Tongue

The new face of the anti-addiction drug buprenorphine — safer, easier and FDA-approved

Drugs, Guns and Money

Busted, a new anthology, and the case for legalization

Watching the Detectives

How a couple of middle-aged P.I.'s and world-class raconteurs survived the DEA, the mob and the tabloid wars to take on their most elusive target yet -- Hollywood

The Other War

Drug War Index

Raves on the Run

Feds jack up sentences, enforcement against Ecstasy

Speed Sells

A tale of methamphetamine, drug cartels and an amateur chemist named Fester.

Deadbeat Duds

Trading With the Enemy

The DEA's dirty deal down under

Cannabis Connection

Clinton's campaign against California's California's medical-marijuana movement

The Coke Machine

The Story behind the Contra-crack cocaine story

Pot War P.O.W.

Judge revokes bond, denies THC to medical- marijuana activist