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The U.S. Department of Justice is making good on threats to crack down on pot shops in California. Yesterday, federal agents raided Oaksterdam University. Part training school for pot proprietors, part dispensary, and part advocacy team – Oaksterdam’s founder, Richard Lee, and his colleagues are arguably the biggest players in the fight to legalize pot in this state.

Yesterday's raid was a joint effort by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. The warrants are still sealed but we know that last year the IRS said marijuana-related businesses cannot write-off business expenses because they are in violation of federal law. "This is a calculated attack across the state on everyone who is trying to bring the cannabis industry out of the darkness and into the light," says Dale Sky Jones, executive chancellor of the school, in the Los Angeles Times.

Oaksterdam and its supporters are planning a rally in San Francisco today. A majority of Oakland residents and its city council support marijuana business. The city has increased dispensary and pot farm permits continually, as well as a pot tax. Oaksterdam University's Lee bankrolled and wrote Proposition 19 – the measure to legalize and tax recreational marijuana on the November 2010 ballot. It was defeated – 53.5 percent to 46.5 percent.

The raid wouldn’t come as a surprise to the pot school. Last year, the Justice Department took legal action against several pot shops and issued warning letters to dozens more. Department officials argue the pot collectives are for-profit enterprises not dedicated to helping cancer patients and the like.

Were Oaksterdam's owners violating the law? Were they being targeted by federal officials because of their profile? Is the Justice Department sending a message to pot collectives across the state? If the Oakland community largely supports pot shops, how should the feds respond?

Guests:

Paul Armentano, Instructor (teaches science & physiology), Oaksterdam University; Deputy Director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

John Lovell, Lobbyist, California Police Chiefs' Association; California Narcotic Officers Association