cannabisnews.com: MMJ in Colo. Gets Scant Attention From Feds
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MMJ in Colo. Gets Scant Attention From Feds
Posted by CN Staff on May 18, 2011 at 05:52:42 PT
By John Ingold, The Denver Post
Source: Denver Post
Denver -- When Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh wrote to state officials last month about the state's medical-marijuana rules, the warning could not have been clearer."The department would consider civil actions and criminal prosecution regarding those who set up marijuana growing facilities and dispensaries," Walsh wrote. If that happened, it would throw into disarray Colorado's medical-marijuana industry, which, after all, operates in obvious violation of federal law.
But a close examination of court cases in Colorado over the past three years reveals that federal prosecutors spend few resources pursuing marijuana crimes of any kind.That was true both before Colorado's medical-marijuana boom began and since. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, officials pursued fewer than 10 marijuana-specific cases in each year, out of hundreds of criminal prosecutions.When federal prosecutors have tackled marijuana issues — most frequently in civil cases seeking to seize assets — they often act only after local officials have first alleged violations of state law."Our approach in the prosecution of marijuana has not changed," said Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for Walsh. "The U.S. attorney's office focuses on large-scale drug traffickers, large-scale marijuana growers. It is not the U.S. attorney's office's intent to prosecute an individual user or an individual caregiver providing for an individual user."In October 2009, the Justice Department issued a memo urging federal prosecutors not to expend resources targeting individuals in clear compliance with state medical-marijuana law. That memo was seen by many in Colorado's medical-marijuana community as a green light to set up a state-legal industry.Walsh's letter, written last month in response to an inquiry from the state attorney general, reined in that optimism. And, when coupled with similar warnings from U.S. attorneys in other medical-marijuana states, it appeared to signal a renewed hardening of the Justice Department's line on medical marijuana.But the truth is that very little has changed in the Justice Department's marijuana position, regardless of the memo or the subsequent letters, said Robert Mikos, a Vanderbilt University law professor who studies the intersection of medical-marijuana and federal power. The federal government reserves the authority to bust anyone selling marijuana. It just doesn't do it very often. Snipped   Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_18084197Source: Denver Post (CO)Author: John Ingold, The Denver PostPublished: May 18, 2011Copyright: 2011 The Denver Post Website: http://www.denverpost.com/Contact: openforum denverpost.comCannabisNews  Medical Marijuana  Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #5 posted by ekim on May 18, 2011 at 10:07:57 PT
thanks runruff
there must be some truth to the folk talesseems that so much has been lost over the years.we know it is true about the uses of Cannabis and it has been less than 60 years since industral use in most recent memory.again much appreciated
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on May 18, 2011 at 07:31:08 PT
runruff
You're welcome. I relate to animals way better then I do people and I always have. 
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on May 18, 2011 at 07:24:39 PT
Fantastic!
Wonderful looking crew and Horses. Thanks for sharing. 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 18, 2011 at 06:34:55 PT
runruff
I hope all is well with you and your family. It has been raining so long I sometimes wonder if we will ever see the sun again.  12 pets! I have 3 dogs and a few outside cats and that keeps us busy.
Pictures of Our Crew
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on May 18, 2011 at 06:27:58 PT
ekim, maple syrup?
I hope this clears up your question.http://www.canadianmaplesyrup.com/maplehistory.htmlRaining here at my Moms in Central Calif. My Dear Wife is holding down the fort with our twelve pets and garden back at home.I hope this spring day finds all of you in good health and doing well.Jerry
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