1,000 pot plants seized in Sun Valley dispensary with secret doors

SUN VALLEY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Authorities seized 1,000 marijuana plants worth $500,000 in a raid Thursday of a Sun Valley medical marijuana dispensary.

Los Angeles police were serving a search warrant at Herbal Relief Caregivers in the 7600 block of Clybourne, when they discovered doors leading to secret areas.

An office inside the dispensary had a bookcase with a secret latch that opened up to a safe room and eventually led to hidden grow houses. Another door found inside a bathroom posed as a closet door, but actually opened up to another larger room.

Four men were arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. Their names were not immediately released.

"They cannot as a collective grow that volume of marijuana. What we're seeing is it ends up on the streets. It ends up being distributed throughout Los Angeles," Los Angeles Police Lt. Stephan Margolis said.

THC levels of the marijuana seized in the bust were around 20 to 30 percent, about 20 times the strength of marijuana grown in the 1960s, Margolis said.

The high levels could make the marijuana comparable to a hallucinogen, Margolis said.