DENVER - A federal magistrate judge ruled Friday the Drug Enforcement Administration will have to keep ten plants with roots and ten clones taken from a Highland's Ranch medical marijuana grower while he awaits trial on drug charges.
Joseph Saint-Veltri, an attorney for defendant Chris Bartkowicz, appeared in federal court Friday morning after filing a motion asking the federal government to preserve all of the plants taken from Bartkowicz's home one week ago.
DEA agents brought a box of the marijuana taken from Bartkowicz' home to the hearing to show the state of the plants. The marijuana shown in court still had its root system and appeared wilted but not dried.
Saint-Veltri admitted to the magistrate that the marijuana is past the point of being "maintained" but he still asked the court to "retain" some of the plants as evidence to be tested by experts.
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney David Gaouette says his office and the DEA would follow the judge's orders.
On Thursday, the same magistrate judge agreed to a $10,000 cash bond and home confinement for Bartkowicz. He has been in custody since the DEA bust on Feb. 12.
He is charged with one count of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. The magistrate judge says Bartkowicz will not be released until the set up of a home monitoring system is complete.
Under the terms of his release pending trial, Bartkowicz must seek employment, refrain from alcohol and marijuana, submit to urinalysis testing and go through drug abuse testing. A trial date has not been set.
Federal investigators say Bartkowicz had 224 plants in various stages of development at his Highlands Ranch home near C-470 and University Boulevard.
"He was in violation of federal laws and he had the intent to distribute marijuana," Gaouette previoulsy told 9Wants to Know.
Gaouette says Bartkowicz was not following state medical marijuana laws either.
"He is in possession far in excess of what the state law allows a caregiver to have as far as marijuana," Gaouette said.
Gaouette says while he has more than 200 plants, Bartkowicz produced proof for only 12 patients he cared for.
State law allows caregivers to have six marijuana plants per patient. The law says people who have more can show "that such greater amounts were medically necessary to address the patient's debilitating medical condition."
If convicted, the charge carries a prison term of five to 40 years.
In a jail house interview Saturday, Bartkowicz said each plant he grew was medically necessary for him or his patients.
Bartkowicz, who has a medical marijuana license, said he believed his operation followed medical marijuana laws.
Bartkowicz said he believed federal agents would not target his grow operation after an October memo from the U.S. Attorney General's office to federal prosecutors setting marijuana guidelines for federal agents.
"The guidelines make clear that the focus of federal resources should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with existing state laws," said a press release on Oct. 19, 2009 from the U.S. Attorney General's office.
"...Prosecution of individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or those caregivers in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state law who provide such individuals with marijuana, is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources," wrote David Ogden, Deputy Attorney General in the memo.
The memo directs federal prosecutors to focus on significant traffickers of illegal drugs.
"...The disruption of illegal drug manufacturing and trafficking networks continues to be a core priority in the department's efforts against narcotics and dangerous drugs, and the department's investigative and prosecutorial resources should be directed towards these objectives."
Special Agent in Charge of the Denver office of DEA, Jeff Sweetin said on Monday his agents will not target medical marijuana dispensaries unless there are unusual circumstances.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: 9NEWS.com
Author: Nicole Vap Jace Larson
Copyright: 2010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation
Joseph Saint-Veltri, an attorney for defendant Chris Bartkowicz, appeared in federal court Friday morning after filing a motion asking the federal government to preserve all of the plants taken from Bartkowicz's home one week ago.
DEA agents brought a box of the marijuana taken from Bartkowicz' home to the hearing to show the state of the plants. The marijuana shown in court still had its root system and appeared wilted but not dried.
Saint-Veltri admitted to the magistrate that the marijuana is past the point of being "maintained" but he still asked the court to "retain" some of the plants as evidence to be tested by experts.
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney David Gaouette says his office and the DEA would follow the judge's orders.
On Thursday, the same magistrate judge agreed to a $10,000 cash bond and home confinement for Bartkowicz. He has been in custody since the DEA bust on Feb. 12.
He is charged with one count of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. The magistrate judge says Bartkowicz will not be released until the set up of a home monitoring system is complete.
Under the terms of his release pending trial, Bartkowicz must seek employment, refrain from alcohol and marijuana, submit to urinalysis testing and go through drug abuse testing. A trial date has not been set.
Federal investigators say Bartkowicz had 224 plants in various stages of development at his Highlands Ranch home near C-470 and University Boulevard.
"He was in violation of federal laws and he had the intent to distribute marijuana," Gaouette previoulsy told 9Wants to Know.
Gaouette says Bartkowicz was not following state medical marijuana laws either.
"He is in possession far in excess of what the state law allows a caregiver to have as far as marijuana," Gaouette said.
Gaouette says while he has more than 200 plants, Bartkowicz produced proof for only 12 patients he cared for.
State law allows caregivers to have six marijuana plants per patient. The law says people who have more can show "that such greater amounts were medically necessary to address the patient's debilitating medical condition."
If convicted, the charge carries a prison term of five to 40 years.
In a jail house interview Saturday, Bartkowicz said each plant he grew was medically necessary for him or his patients.
Bartkowicz, who has a medical marijuana license, said he believed his operation followed medical marijuana laws.
Bartkowicz said he believed federal agents would not target his grow operation after an October memo from the U.S. Attorney General's office to federal prosecutors setting marijuana guidelines for federal agents.
"The guidelines make clear that the focus of federal resources should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with existing state laws," said a press release on Oct. 19, 2009 from the U.S. Attorney General's office.
"...Prosecution of individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or those caregivers in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state law who provide such individuals with marijuana, is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources," wrote David Ogden, Deputy Attorney General in the memo.
The memo directs federal prosecutors to focus on significant traffickers of illegal drugs.
"...The disruption of illegal drug manufacturing and trafficking networks continues to be a core priority in the department's efforts against narcotics and dangerous drugs, and the department's investigative and prosecutorial resources should be directed towards these objectives."
Special Agent in Charge of the Denver office of DEA, Jeff Sweetin said on Monday his agents will not target medical marijuana dispensaries unless there are unusual circumstances.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: 9NEWS.com
Author: Nicole Vap Jace Larson
Copyright: 2010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation
