Quote Originally Posted by cologrower420
The issue is that you are not eligible for a concealed carry permit in colorado if you are breaking or have broken federal laws. Registration/redcard in colorado is pretty strong evidence you are breaking federal law since it's still illegal, even if you are a compliant patient. (edit: find the requirements for concealed carry eligibility in colorado if you like.)

Wouldn't MMC employees now be banned from having concealed carry permits? Assuming everyone agrees that pot related stuff is legal locally but illegal according to the feds?

I think that's what kathleen at onebrownmouse was so upset about, is the fact that MMC's are basically giving the government everything they need, so that if the DEA subpoenaed the MMJ database, they'd have a goldmine of info to use to bust big grow ops with, and since MMC's waive their right to privacy etc, they're screwed. With vertical integration, every single MMC will be over 99 plants, which in my opinion, is a major issue with the DEA.

Why wouldn't the DEA be busting MMC's? It took them 24 hours to get to the guy in highlands ranch. But he wasn't paying his taxes, so the government is making money by keeping MMC's open. They lose all of those licensing fees etc if the MMC's go away.

Again, it's not like large scale home grows were paying taxes on that income.
Quote Originally Posted by hizeman
This brings up an interesting point, and I'm not a constitutional lawyer, but being a federal crime seems to be almost a loophole.

It's against the 5th Amendment to require someone to bear witness against themselves, and IMO the new laws require dispensary owners to collect and record evidence that can be used against themselves in a federal court of law.

Maybe grounds for a lawsuit?
I'm not a lawyer either, but I would imagine we'll have to wait for someone to be charged with a crime before they file a lawsuit, or something.

I think the first people busted will be large scale growers who chose not to be compliant. I would use someone like kathleen at brownmouse as an example, although I'm not sure and I hesitate to use a specific person as an example. I'll use the name Katy, and assume Katy grows for 1500 patients and chose not to file paperwork to remain compliant, so if Katy grows for more than herself and up to 5 patients, than Katy is now operating outside the law.

I think it's important to note this new legislation. Look at matt cook's ignorant ass. But, he probably saw how much revenue his department was losing out on, since large scale private caregivers like Kathleen and Katy probably don't pay taxes on the revenue they generate. Some might. So now, he just ensured that his department will get their money via licensing taxes and fees, etc. Also, with his 5 patient cap, he screws the large scale home grows that don't want to pay to pay, like Katy and Kathleen (and my primary caregiver). It wasn't the dispensaries pushing a patient cap, they got their exception. Why would an MMC want large scale private grows to go out of business? By requiring things like vertical integration, 5patient cap on private caregivers, requiring all this personal info for MMC's who choose to remain compliant, this simply ensured the state that this semi-legit industry would get their share of tax revenue.

Cook's explanation of the high licensing fees is akin to building a house, in that the majority of startup costs come at the beginning. He's talking about his new enforcement division at his department of revenue. He's using these high fees to create jobs to enforce his rules. He's saying that he needs lots of money right now, that's why everything is so expensive now. But, he's an asshole because they'll never lower the fees. They'll always be high, and the state will always enjoy that revenue. Does anyone really think the fees will be lower next year or when this enforcement division gets past the initial fees?