Zusha Elinson has a must-read piece at The Bay Citizen (and California Watch) on how indicted Oakland pot entrepreneur Dhar Mann played his and his family’s political connections to set up a booming dispensary dubbed “the Wal-Mart of weed”—before it all went south. After the jump, an excerpt dealing with one such political friend—Oakland city council president Larry Reid:
Reid had been a critic of medical marijuana, but when Mann opened weGrow near the Oakland airport, in Reid’s council district, Reid was supportive.
“Dhar is probably one of the smartest and brightest young men I know,” Reid said before the May indictment. “He came up with a concept that everybody thought was interesting and unique, and he was the focus of attention across the country.”
Reid also looked out for Mann. An April 2, 2010, police report shows Reid tipped off Christopher Miller, a friend and employee of Mann’s, about an Oakland police raid of his marijuana-growing operation.
