A vegan cannabis lounge in West Philly hoped to be a stoner oasis. Then it was raided by police.

Jeffrey Parker was preparing for a job interview when police officers began pounding on the front door of the Lair on a recent Thursday afternoon. Terrified, he put his hands behind his head as officers streamed in.

The Lair proudly advertised itself as a vegan cannabis lounge, a Black-owned business where people could buy and consume marijuana and hemp-derived products in a safe, comfortable place. Samantha Parker, Jeffrey’s mother, has run the lounge out of her West Philly home for three years.

Parker, who goes by the name Sunflower, sees her “420 social club” as part of a broader health and wellness mission, one she believes is particularly important in her West Philly neighborhood, which has been battered by decades of disinvestment, high rates of poverty, and gun violence. The Lair would “spread love and cheer and the flower,” as Sunflower put it — particularly for people who can’t smoke at home, because they live in public housing or with other people.

On the first floor, she set up a consignment shop. Upstairs, she arranged couches along the walls and laid out a Keurig machine and a tea kettle. People could buy homemade cannabis-infused edibles (packaged as Sunflower’s Spacecakes), bring their own weed to smoke, or simply hang out, playing video games and chatting with friends. Sunflower invited neighbors to teach yoga classes and give gardening demonstrations; her husband led welding workshops in the backyard.

“It’s just been my haven,” said Kamila Ahmad, 35, who teaches morning yoga classes at The Lair.

Ahmad was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and found cannabis helpful for the pain. Sunflower, who suffers from anxiety, depression, arthritis, and endometriosis, also found cannabis profoundly beneficial. (She has a medical marijuana card.) Both wanted to share with friends and neighbors, and regulars returned week after week.

“It’s a feeling of community. Like Cheers. You feel like everybody knows your name,” said Ron Green, a Yeadon resident and Lair regular who runs the cannabis company Hella Black, Hella Loud.

Last month, that vision of 420 utopia ran headfirst into the state’s marijuana laws. Cannabis is decriminalized in Philadelphia, meaning that buying or consuming small amounts won’t result in arrest. But selling recreational cannabis in Pennsylvania remains a crime.

Beginning in February, the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigations and the Philadelphia police launched a nearly monthlong undercover investigation of the space, according to court records the Inquirer reviewed. They set up surveillance and deployed two confidential informants to purchase marijuana at the site. In March, they applied for a search warrant to investigate “evidence of drug trafficking”; a judge signed off.

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During the March 23 raid, agents confiscated a range of marijuana products, including “pre-rolled blunts” and “bulk weed,” and a variety of baked goods, including “multiple cupcakes,” “multiple rice krispie treats,” and “cheesecake.” They removed roughly 68 grams, or roughly two ounces, of cannabis in total, according to Sunflower.

They also confiscated three firearms — one in the microwave and one in the toilet, as well as a shotgun in the front room, according to an official inventory of seized property.

The state Attorney General’s Office, which jointly conducted the investigation with Philadelphia police, declined to comment on the specific case, because it is being prosecuted by the city’s District Attorney’s Office.

“Generally, individuals involved in selling drugs often illegally possess firearms,” said Brett Hambright, a spokesperson for the attorney general. “Proactive efforts to investigate and stop illegal drug sales help to protect the public from potential violence.”

The DA’s Office is listed as the prosecuting agency on court documents; two staffers from the office signed off on the criminal complaints. Jane Roh, a spokeswoman for the DA’s Office, said the office’s involvement so far was “purely procedural,” and the office had not yet reviewed the full case file, adding that “brownies and cupcakes and cookies is not something that we’re interested in, really.”

Sunflower, who was not present for the raid, said that the shotgun was a collectible owned by her husband, and that the two hidden guns must have belonged to other patrons at the lounge, which she runs as a public place.

Police arrested Sunflower’s son, Jeffrey Parker, 29, and stepson, Miykael Stephans, 26, and charged both with possession with intent to deliver, possessing an instrument of crime, and related offenses. Parker was released on bail; Stephans, who was on probation, is still incarcerated while he awaits a preliminary hearing set for May.

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A few days after the raid, Sunflower reopened the club (though it is not currently selling cannabis products) and launched a GoFundMe effort to cover lawyers’ fees. She said the search and arrests were a poor use of resources.

“Real people are dying that have nothing to do with cannabis. There’s real crimes being committed, which have nothing to do with cannabis. So why did you waste all that man power and energy on us?” Sunflower said.

On a recent Friday morning, a dozen neighbors and cannabis advocates gathered at The Lair to discuss the raid and the space it targeted. Perched on couches in the emptied-out room, snacking on platters of fresh fruit and vegan cheeses, they said the raid pushed them to be more vocal about their cannabis use and the local movement for legalization. They saw it both as a personal and a justice issue.

Black people in Pennsylvania are about five times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people, though both groups use marijuana at similar rates, according to an analysis of 2021 state police data by the cannabis advocacy group NORML.

While the group talked, Sunflower passed around cups of fresh squeezed watermelon and lime juice (not cannabis-infused, she clarified).

Parker, Sunflower’s son, said the firearms did not belong to him or his stepbrother and he feared the arrest would now make it impossible to get a job.

“Once they see my background, no one’s gonna hire me. Why would they hire me if they think I’m some hardened criminal?” he asked.

Sunflower felt that the laid-back space she had been working hard to build was destroyed in a single afternoon: Police ripped a camera from the ceiling, broke furniture, punched two holes in the walls, and emptied trash cans across the floor during the search, she said.

Some Lair regulars now see it as their duty to make sure the lounge continues to thrive.

“I don’t want to be persecuted. But this is just my battle,” said Ahmad, the yoga teacher. “If I’m going to stand up, I’m gonna stand on all 10 toes.”

Staff writer Chris Palmer contributed to this article.