http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/21/feds-raid-colorado-medical-marijuana-operations/
DENVER — Federal authorities descended without warning Thursday morning on multiple Colorado medical marijuana operations, seizing plants and executing search warrants at shops as part of what was described as an ongoing investigation.
Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado, issued a statement Thursday on the raids.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Denver Police Department and state and local law enforcement are today executing lawfully obtained search warrants and seizure warrants,” said Mr. Dorschner in an email.
“One important note: Although we cannot at this time discuss the substance of this pending investigation, the operation under way today comports with the department’s recent guidance regarding marijuana enforcement matters,” he said. “As this is an ongoing investigation, no additional information will be made available.”
Agents carried out the raids in Denver and Boulder in spite of snow and below-freezing temperatures. The Boulder Daily Camera posted a photo online of a large pile of green plants sprinkled with snow outside a north Boulder grow operation.
The sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but the Justice Department has given states like Colorado leeway to operate medical marijuana facilities as long as they comport with federal guidelines.
In addition, Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued an Aug. 29 memo allowing Colorado and Washington to launch legalized recreational marijuana after voters approved ballot measures in November 2012 decriminalizing pot for adults 21 and over.
At the same time, the memo states that federal officials may intervene if the Justice Department’s enforcement priorities are failing to be met by state and local authorities.
Those priorities include preventing the sale and distribution of marijuana to minors; preventing revenue from sales from being diverted to criminal enterprises, and preventing the diversion of marijuana to neighboring states where the drug is banned.
“If state enforcement efforts are not sufficiently robust to protect against the harms set forth above, the federal government may seek to challenge the regulatory structure itself in addition to continuing to bring individual enforcement actions, including criminal prosecutions, focused on those harms,” said Mr. Cole in the memo.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted raids on Washington medical-marijuana outlets in July, while California and Montana dispensaries have also been the targets of federal crackdowns in recent years.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...o-medical-marijuana-operations/#ixzz2lJsopHCp
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
DENVER — Federal authorities descended without warning Thursday morning on multiple Colorado medical marijuana operations, seizing plants and executing search warrants at shops as part of what was described as an ongoing investigation.
Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado, issued a statement Thursday on the raids.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Denver Police Department and state and local law enforcement are today executing lawfully obtained search warrants and seizure warrants,” said Mr. Dorschner in an email.
“One important note: Although we cannot at this time discuss the substance of this pending investigation, the operation under way today comports with the department’s recent guidance regarding marijuana enforcement matters,” he said. “As this is an ongoing investigation, no additional information will be made available.”
Agents carried out the raids in Denver and Boulder in spite of snow and below-freezing temperatures. The Boulder Daily Camera posted a photo online of a large pile of green plants sprinkled with snow outside a north Boulder grow operation.
The sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but the Justice Department has given states like Colorado leeway to operate medical marijuana facilities as long as they comport with federal guidelines.
In addition, Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued an Aug. 29 memo allowing Colorado and Washington to launch legalized recreational marijuana after voters approved ballot measures in November 2012 decriminalizing pot for adults 21 and over.
At the same time, the memo states that federal officials may intervene if the Justice Department’s enforcement priorities are failing to be met by state and local authorities.
Those priorities include preventing the sale and distribution of marijuana to minors; preventing revenue from sales from being diverted to criminal enterprises, and preventing the diversion of marijuana to neighboring states where the drug is banned.
“If state enforcement efforts are not sufficiently robust to protect against the harms set forth above, the federal government may seek to challenge the regulatory structure itself in addition to continuing to bring individual enforcement actions, including criminal prosecutions, focused on those harms,” said Mr. Cole in the memo.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted raids on Washington medical-marijuana outlets in July, while California and Montana dispensaries have also been the targets of federal crackdowns in recent years.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...o-medical-marijuana-operations/#ixzz2lJsopHCp
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
