Why is Colorado different?

[Colodonmed]

I have asked myself this many times over the last year and I cannot come up with an answer that convinces myself.

Dispensaries are raided in other states but not here. Is it because the state legislature has decided to regulate the industry? I don't think so because law makers in the other states have attempted to embrace the industry and try to regulate, but they are almost immediately threatened by the DOJ..ie..Oakland mega grows and now Washington state.

What is it? I must be missing something, but can't figure it out.

Anybody?

Colodonmed Reviewed by Colodonmed on 04-19-2011. Why is Colorado different? I have asked myself this many times over the last year and I cannot come up with an answer that convinces myself. Dispensaries are raided in other states but not here. Is it because the state legislature has decided to regulate the industry? I don't think so because law makers in the other states have attempted to embrace the industry and try to regulate, but they are almost immediately threatened by the DOJ..ie..Oakland mega grows and now Washington state. What is it? I must be missing Rating: 5

[canaguy27]

They are building cases, connecting the dots, and when they have more than enough info, they will come down like a fucking sledge hammer.

[DenverRelief]

They are building cases, connecting the dots, and when they have more than enough info, they will come down like a fucking sledge hammer.

Many of the raids that are taking place have more to do with taxes and the IRS (backdoor deals) and less to do with the MJ itself.

Colorado's industry is relatively new and we do have the most extensive regulations in place. (Although they are yet to be fully implemented.) July 1st much of the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code will go into effect which will allow a local Colorado authority to begin conducting audits.

Perhaps, if the Feds feel the Colorado Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division is doing a sufficient job of finding shops that are making illegal sales or are using product from illegal grows, and that only legal patients are being given access to the medicine, they might just leave Colorado alone.

That's definitely more hope than prediction, but only time will tell.

[HighPopalorum]

I think the Feds are deferring to our state government, although they might take the odd Bartkowicz from time to time. I wouldn't be surprised if they raided a center in conjunction with the state to make an example for the rest. Regime change in Denver or DC might change the equation.

[CDS]

See No Weed

This article came out last week and does a great job of covering the federal involvement in CO. Here's a long quote, emphasis added:

Jeff Dorschner, spokesperson for Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh, declined to comment on Polisâ?? statements. But he insists that the Haag memo does nothing to change the fedsâ?? approach to medical marijuana in Colorado. He says the DEA and his office continue to follow the guidance set by the Ogden memo.

According to Dorschner, each U.S. attorney has â??a fair amount of discretion,â?� and the Haag memo applies only to the California district for which it was written.

â??It has no bearing on what Coloradoâ??s situation is,â?� he told Boulder Weekly. â??It certainly doesnâ??t supersede the Ogden memo. It doesnâ??t clarify the Ogden memo. It only applies to Oakland. Nothing has changed in Colorado because of the issuance of that letter.â?�

Dorschner agreed that from a federal perspective, there is less protection for commercial distributors of medical marijuana than there is for individuals.

Asked how dispensaries could avoid drawing attention from the feds, he would only say that his office and the DEA follow the Ogden memo, its â??clear and unambiguous complianceâ?� standard, and its list of complicating factors that would make a dispensary non-compliant. If the DEA encounters a dispensary where one of those factors is at play, they will contact Walshâ??s office for guidance, Dorschner says.

Dorschner says the Bartkowicz incident occurred before Walsh took office, and that initial reports that the Highlands Ranch resident could face up to 60 years in prison were not realistic. Walsh offered Bartkowicz a plea deal of five years in prison, which in Walshâ??s analysis was a fair sentence, according to Dorschner.

Mike Turner, a Colorado spokesperson for the Drug Enforcement Agency, agrees that the Haag memo doesnâ??t change anything for Colorado dispensaries.

â??There is no change in our status,â?� Turner told Boulder Weekly. â??We donâ??t go after sick people.â?�

The situation in which the DEA would go after a dispensary is â??if folks get way over the lineâ?� under the parameters set by the Ogden memo. He compared it to speeding while driving:

Those going 20 miles per hour over the speed limit are more likely to get pulled over than those only a few miles per hour over the limit. He also used the analogy of having a bunch of flies in your house and only trying to swat the one that begins to annoy you.

â??Weâ??re going after the biggest and the baddest,â?� Turner says. â??Weâ??re typically not spending time going after dispensaries. Thereâ??s been no change for us. â?¦ Medical marijuana is not something we sit here and chat about every day.â?�

[Colodonmed]

Thanks for the input folks

[Colodonmed]

Many of the raids that are taking place have more to do with taxes and the IRS (backdoor deals) and less to do with the MJ itself.

Colorado's industry is relatively new and we do have the most extensive regulations in place. (Although they are yet to be fully implemented.) July 1st much of the Colorado Medical Marijuana Code will go into effect which will allow a local Colorado authority to begin conducting audits.

Perhaps, if the Feds feel the Colorado Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division is doing a sufficient job of finding shops that are making illegal sales or are using product from illegal grows, and that only legal patients are being given access to the medicine, they might just leave Colorado alone.

That's definitely more hope than prediction, but only time will tell.

Hope this is the case

[Colodonmed]

They are building cases, connecting the dots, and when they have more than enough info, they will come down like a fucking sledge hammer.

unfortunatley, that has been on the back of mind, I sure hope not

[Colodonmed]

I think the Feds are deferring to our state government, although they might take the odd Bartkowicz from time to time. I wouldn't be surprised if they raided a center in conjunction with the state to make an example for the rest. Regime change in Denver or DC might change the equation.

I would not be surprised either, just hope not

[canaguy27]

The DEA is here and they are working hard. DONT BE NAIVE.