Doesn't Look Like Legalization Is Working Out So Well For Colorado

[GrassMonkey]

Months ago I wrote about the Obama administration’s seeming change of heart when it came to the federal ban on marijuana. According to the Justice Department as long as the drug was kept away from children, the black market and federal property then all was fine. Echos of applause were heard for this seemingly historical moment. However, the feds seem to be contradicting themselves leaving many confused.

 

In Denver, recreational shops were scheduled to open in only a few short weeks. However, according to The Denver Post, federal agents raided the homes of two individuals and more than a dozen facilities selling the drug.

 

All parties involved claim they were properly licensed, followed all state regulations and were not doing anything which would have prompted the feds to step in.

 

Although the feds did lift restrictions, they still said they will aggressively enforce the law in the following situations:

 

Preventing distribution to minors;

Preventing revenue from marijuana sales from going to criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels;

Preventing diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal to other states;

Preventing state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;

Preventing violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana

Preventing drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;

Preventing the growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands;

Preventing marijuana possession on federal property.

According to The Denver Post, federal officials would not reveal which of the above exceptions those involved violated.

 

 

One individual’s lawyer told The Denver Post, “They took $1 million worth of plants from his facility,” said Wollrab, who represents Laszlo Bagi, owner of Swiss Medical in Boulder. “They didn’t leave any instructions, saying don’t replant. There was no court order of cease and desist. No explanation.”

 

According to a Justice Department representative in Denver, no arrests were actually made in the raids. The raids were conducted by, the Internal Revenue Service criminal investigations unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Denver Police Department and state and local law enforcement.

 

Perhaps the most interesting element of this event is that the local police were involved. State law allows citizens to grow, smoke and medicate with marijuana.

 

 

 

Read more: http://benswann.com/feds-raid-colorado-pot-industry-after-promising-not-to-intervene/#ixzz2lRPvZ6Ld

Follow us: @BenSwann_ on Twitter

[grateful411]

After the tax approved their I think we will see more about this. They stole a lot of tax money from the state.

[grateful411]

The states voter guide says the tax will generate 67 million in rev every year, 27 mill is to go to schools. So the Feds just stole from kids, good job!

[Guanotea1]

That is interesting. I was wondering about these developments. Hopefully more information will become available soon!

[trichcycler]

where did all of our lottery money go?  while schools are closing monthly.

[bobandtorey]

where did all of our lottery money go?  while schools are closing monthly.

i have a sign i took to some protest we have had it said

 

SCHOO;S ARE CLOSING AND PRISONS  ARE GROWING

Edited November 23, 2013 by bobandtorey

[phaquetoo]

where did all of our lottery money go?  while schools are closing monthly.

I hear that, and one person did not claim their winnings recently as last week, the cash went back to the lottery, it didnt go to the jack pot of the game it was won on, it just went back to the lottery, it should have been split up between the states involved and distributed to the schools in those states,,,,,,,,

 

Dont bend over any where near a politician you just may get phaqed!

 

Peace

[trichcycler]

getting phaqued used to feel good.....

[shishka]

Rumor has it these were tied to Columbian drug cartels.

 

I don't know but there are a few articles about it that I've read.

 

Marijuana: DEA pot raids tied to Florida jewel theft kingpin known as Tony Montana?

By William Breathes Fri., Nov. 22 2013 at 7:41 AM

87 Comments

Categories: Follow That Story, Marijuana

 

 

Outside a grow yesterday.

Although details are few about Colorado medical marijuana dispensary raids yesterday, we're learning more from warrants that name ten "target subjects."

These individuals allegedly violated one or more of the eight priorities listed in an August memo guiding U.S. Attorneys in dealing with state pot laws that contradict federal policy. One of those is money going toward a criminal enterprise -- and named target Juan Guardarrama is better known among high-dollar jewel thieves as "Tony Montana."

Back in June of 2012, Guardarrama was involved in another raid of sorts down in Miami; it was part of an ongoing, four-year investigation into jewelry heists and the selling of hot merchandise.

 

Juan Guardarrama's booking photo.

According to the Miami Herald, Guardarrama, 49, attempted to buy about $500k in what he was told was stolen jewelry from undercover cops in June of last year.

During the transaction, Guardarrama also allegedly explained that he was part of a medical marijuana operation in Colorado. He's said to have asked the cops out of the blue if they could help move "some of his Colorado-grown medical marijuana" into the Sunshine State.

That wasn't all. Guardarrama -- who also went by "Scarface" (Tony Montana was the name of the character played by Al Pacino in the 1983 film of the same name) -- then allegedly told the cops about a business partner he wanted "taken out." He reportedly asked the undercover cops if they would do the job for him.

Instead, Guardarrama was arrested on June 7, 2012 and charged with more than a dozen felony counts.

The arresting documents revealed a lot about Guardarrama. Included in them were several accounts of violence and threats to kill other people, such as a man who supposedly owed him $15,000 in gambling debts.

He later allegedly got into smash-and-grabs, targeting traveling diamond dealers -- and police say he was the ringleader of two separate gangs of Colombian and Cuban jewel thieves beginning around 2005.

   

Authorities say Guardarrama staked out diamond wholesalers and helped the Colombian gang find and rob the targets. The Cuban gang was better known for breaking into jewelry stores.

In either case, Guardarrama would be the fence who sold the diamonds for a profit. But things started to get hairy as other jewelry thieves began to get arrested. So, authorities say, Guardarrama moved on.

By 2010, Guardarrama had landed in Denver and, according to the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, became licensed to work in the medical marijuana industry.

He was not registered as an owner as of June 2012, when he was arrested. However, as we noted above, he was allegedly bragging about being able to move Colorado herb into Florida. He told the undercovers that he had two warehouses in Colorado and even pulled up a live video feed of one of the grows.

Fast forward to February of this year when Guardarrama pleaded guilty to organizing thefts and reselling millions of dollars of diamonds and other jewels. He was facing up to thirty years in prison, but he received a ten-year sentence, reportedly due in part to his "willingness to cooperate in bringing to justice" to other people involved in the jewel heist.

Could Guardarrama also have squealed on people in the Colorado medical marijuana industry? That's among the many questions that are being asked in the wake of yesterday's raids.

 

[trichcycler]

rumor has it the _cia is tied to Columbian drug cartels

[beourbud]

Legalization is the brain dead bastaard cousin of Decriminalization

 

Legalization is a Lie....Dont buy it.

 

Decriminalize...FREE the WEED

[beourbud]

As far as the pot shops.....they are to open jan 1

 

Watch what happens to a liquor store that even sells liquor before 7 am......not good

 

Patience IS a Virtue.....Stay Legal Amigo

[beourbud]

Washington State is even worse....5 nano is impairment.?

 

Heck you would pick that up walking past the dispensary.

 

With Legalization....leo and the courts can make up the revenue with citations for impaired..driving, walking, boating,bicycling....seems fair...Not

 

Decriminalize    

[beourbud]

Decriminalizing  Hemp Completely is the Natural (Grass Roots) way to End the Drug War

 

DeCrime = No Crime = No Time = No Dime.....and lets liberate some of those corporate hostages,

er  umm...MJ offenders out of jail while we are at it.

 

Let the corporations keep petro chem pharma...

 

We the People Demand our Hemp Unadulterated and Decriminalized

 

 

Peace  Love   May You and Yours have a Safe and Joyful  Thanksgiving.

Edited November 27, 2013 by beourbud

[imiubu]

Decriminalizing  Hemp Completely is the Natural way to End the Drug War

 

DeCrime = No Crime = No Time = No Dime.....and lets liberate some of those corporate hostages,

er  umm...MJ offenders out of the can

 

Let the corporations keep petro chem pharma...

 

We the People Demand our Hemp Unadulterated and Decriminalized

 

 

Peace  Love   May You and Yours have a Safe and Joyful  Thanksgiving.

 

I am with you 100%

[t-pain]

the problem is that bad people have hijacked our words.

 

legalization now means decrim of 1oz and maybe 6 plants, depending on the state (CO or WA). more than that is a felony.

decriminalization now means only decrim of 1 oz on private property. more than 1oz is still a felony. having it in public is still a crime (new york). being decrim'd in a city still means the county or state can prosecute as well.

 

we have to come up with new words.

 

unscheduling is a good start.

defelonization?

depenalized?

 

thats why 'regulate like alcohol' makes a lot of sense. you can brew your own at home, or get licenses to brew big scale.

regulate like alcohol also brings up the whole reason we regulate alcohol. because prohibition does not work.

prohibition caused al capone. why are we prohibiting marijuana? we have thousands of al capones in the usa right now.

 

would i throw the 44 minor-age medical marijuana patients under the bus for marijuana regulated like alcohol, sold in stores, grown at home, for adults 21 or older? yes.

 

why? because the penalty for giving alcohol to a minor is $500, which i assume would be the same penalty for giving marijuana to a minor under the new 'regulate marijuana like alcohol' law.

 

the penalty for giving medical marijuana to a minor mmj patient currently? they can take your kids and lock you up.

the penalty for not being protected by the mmma? they can take your house, kids, car, bank account and lock you up.

 

so yes. regulating marijuana like alcohol isnt the absolute best, i think we agree.

but colorado did it. we're still stuck with oakland county and the court of appeals.

the bad judges, prosecutors, cops, informants. lying under oath, tampering with evidence, beating people up.

[greenleaf]

When is everyone going to learn, the government isn't here to help them, it's here to help itself and its officers.  It's time to wake up from the American dream.