A lawyer for some of the pot growers busted by the DEA earlier this week says his clients are registered medical marijuana providers targeted by "rogue" federal agents ignoring a directive to leave such people alone.
But a spokesman for the DEA says the raids on multiple locations in and around Fort Collins have "nothing to do" with medical marijuana.
The DEA has refused to comment further on the raids, even declining to provide a number of busts made late Monday and early Tuesday morning. At least one Fort Collins resident said she called police after seeing men -- who turned out to be drug enforcement agents -- moving through in her backyard early Tuesday morning. She said her home backs onto a home raided by the DEA.
A Coloradoan reporter documented one of the raids, at 2206 Suffolk St. in Fort Collins. In that case, a DEA agent, a Larimer County Sheriff's deputy and several plainclothes or undercover officers had laid out about 20 small marijuana plants on the home's driveway and were processing them.
"The DEA showed up to execute searches. They raided multiple medical marijuana gardens. Most of them are linked to Larimer County, as far as I can tell," said attorney Robert Corry Jr. "We've got a set of rogue agents from the DEA who are blatantly ... violating the express explict written directives from their own bosses."
Corry said his clients -- who he declined to name -- are registered with the state as both medical marijuana users and caregivers, permitting them to posess, grow and sell small amounts of pot
Colorado-based DEA spokesman Mike Turner denied the raids were linked to medical marijuana. On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued guidelines telling federal drug agents to effectively de-prioritize enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug for medical purposes.
But the guidelines also make it clear that federal agents will enforce the federal laws when they find "commercial" pot-growing enterprises or when state marijuana-legalization laws are being invoked as a "pretext" by large-scale growers.
"What we were doing has nothing to do with medical marijuana or marijana dispensaries," Turner said. "We're not targeting marijuana dispensaries ... regardless of what that attorney is telling you."
Turner declined to provide further information but said the investigation is ongoing and more details would be released at the "appropriate" time.
Turner said the raids are not connected to the "Project Coronado" arrests and raids announced by the federal government this morning.
In that operation, over the past two days, 303 people in 19 states were arrested. Coronado targeted the distribution network of a major Mexican drug trafficking organization known as La Familia.
More than 3,000 agents and officers operated across the United States to make the arrests during the two-day takedown.
During the two-day operation alone, $3.4 million in U.S. currency, 729 pounds of metham*phetamine, 62 kilograms of coc*ine, 967 pounds of marijuana, 144 weapons and 109 vehicles were seized by law enforcement agents.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Coloradoan
Author: Trevor Hughes
Contact: The Coloradoan
Copyright: 2009 The Coloradoan
Website: Fort Collins Pot Busts Made By 'Rogue' Federal Agents
But a spokesman for the DEA says the raids on multiple locations in and around Fort Collins have "nothing to do" with medical marijuana.
The DEA has refused to comment further on the raids, even declining to provide a number of busts made late Monday and early Tuesday morning. At least one Fort Collins resident said she called police after seeing men -- who turned out to be drug enforcement agents -- moving through in her backyard early Tuesday morning. She said her home backs onto a home raided by the DEA.
A Coloradoan reporter documented one of the raids, at 2206 Suffolk St. in Fort Collins. In that case, a DEA agent, a Larimer County Sheriff's deputy and several plainclothes or undercover officers had laid out about 20 small marijuana plants on the home's driveway and were processing them.
"The DEA showed up to execute searches. They raided multiple medical marijuana gardens. Most of them are linked to Larimer County, as far as I can tell," said attorney Robert Corry Jr. "We've got a set of rogue agents from the DEA who are blatantly ... violating the express explict written directives from their own bosses."
Corry said his clients -- who he declined to name -- are registered with the state as both medical marijuana users and caregivers, permitting them to posess, grow and sell small amounts of pot
Colorado-based DEA spokesman Mike Turner denied the raids were linked to medical marijuana. On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued guidelines telling federal drug agents to effectively de-prioritize enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug for medical purposes.
But the guidelines also make it clear that federal agents will enforce the federal laws when they find "commercial" pot-growing enterprises or when state marijuana-legalization laws are being invoked as a "pretext" by large-scale growers.
"What we were doing has nothing to do with medical marijuana or marijana dispensaries," Turner said. "We're not targeting marijuana dispensaries ... regardless of what that attorney is telling you."
Turner declined to provide further information but said the investigation is ongoing and more details would be released at the "appropriate" time.
Turner said the raids are not connected to the "Project Coronado" arrests and raids announced by the federal government this morning.
In that operation, over the past two days, 303 people in 19 states were arrested. Coronado targeted the distribution network of a major Mexican drug trafficking organization known as La Familia.
More than 3,000 agents and officers operated across the United States to make the arrests during the two-day takedown.
During the two-day operation alone, $3.4 million in U.S. currency, 729 pounds of metham*phetamine, 62 kilograms of coc*ine, 967 pounds of marijuana, 144 weapons and 109 vehicles were seized by law enforcement agents.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Coloradoan
Author: Trevor Hughes
Contact: The Coloradoan
Copyright: 2009 The Coloradoan
Website: Fort Collins Pot Busts Made By 'Rogue' Federal Agents
