Marijuana
Authorities: 16 indicted in connection to illegal marijuana distribution raids in Colorado
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. – Sixteen people were indicted on felonies, including drug and organized crime charges, in relation to Thursday’s large-scale marijuana raid that targeted an illegal grow and out-of-state distribution ring operating in Colorado.
The raids happened Thursday in Denver, Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and El Paso counties.
Of the 16 people indicted, 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler said at a joint news conference with DEA and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office authorities Friday afternoon that 15 of them were already in custody.
Read the indictments by clicking here.
Brauchler said the suspects’ ages range from 28 to 63 years old.
He said the investigation started last August in Elbert County, where 2,500 pounds of marijuana were found, but that it “turned into a much longer and broader investigation.”
He said that the group was growing close to 300 pounds of marijuana each month, which was all distributed to states across the country, including Arkansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and possibly Florida and New Mexico, according to Brauchler.
Around 2,000 plants were taken from just one Denver warehouse Thursday during the raid.
Brauchler added that not only was the ring allegedly growing and distributing marijuana flower, but was also making and distributing hash oil. He said many of the transactions took place in broad daylight, including at an Aurora school’s parking lot and at a Castle Rock Starbucks.
The Drug Enforcement Agency’s Barbara Roach said the marijuana was specifically being grown to be sold and distributed out of state, and said she believes that people are coming to Colorado specifically for that reason.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Steve Johnson said that Colorado was fostering the “criminal enterprises,” and that illegal home grows are being found “on a daily basis.”
Nineteen locations were raided Thursday, during which authorities said they also seized 39 weapons.
Though there has been much apprehension over what new Attorney General Jeff Sessions will do when it comes to overseeing federal law enforcement regarding state laws on legal marijuana, the DEA says Thursday’s raids were not part of a new directive.
The Colorado Legislature is currently hashing out at least two bills aimed at cracking down on illegal marijuana grows. One of the bills would limit medical patients to grow only 16 plants – down from the current number of 99 – in an effort to further hamper illegal grows.
Local jurisdictions are allowed under state law to establish grow limits for recreational users, but the state law has capped the limit at six.
But large-scale growers have to have special licenses and oversight and are required to sell their product inside the state.
The 16 people indicted in relation to the raids are as follows:
- Rudy Saenz, 62
- Michael Stonehouse, 53
- Ted Stonehouse, 51
- Tilden Lazaro, 26
- Raciel Martinez, 52
- John Cathey, 63
- Vincent Castillo, 33
- William “Todd” Garner, 58
- Jerram Cathey, 27
- John Mason Cathey, 27
- Myisha Evans, 38
- Vernon Watts, 46
- Jason Jones, 46
- Amy Jones, 28
- John Ramsay, 45
- Jibaro Smith, 45
The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office says Jibaro Smith is the one outstanding suspect.
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5 things to know about Thursday’s marijuana raids in Colorado
DENVER – Law enforcement agencies busted a large-scale illegal marijuana grow and distribution operation across Colorado Thursday morning. Here are five things you need to know about the raids:
Where did the raids occur?
The Drug Enforcement Agency, which assisted local law enforcement agencies in the raids, says there were 20 locations in Denver, Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and El Paso counties.
Denver7 crews watched as crews pulled plants out of a warehouse at 37th and Salem in Denver late Thursday morning after prior raids in the 7300 block of Valdi Court in Aurora and at a house in Castle Rock.
How long has operation been under investigation?
The DEA says the investigation of the still-unnamed organization has been ongoing for months, even prior to the transfer to the new administration. It also noted that there have been several other raids on illegal marijuana grows under the Obama administration.
How much marijuana was confiscated?
The court documents in the case are sealed, but it’s likely the raids netted thousands of pounds of marijuana. A Denver7 crew watched as at least 2,000 plants were taken out of a Denver warehouse alone.
Why is this marijuana illegal?
The DEA says that the illegal operations were selling exclusively outside of Colorado, which is a violation of state and federal law.
The Colorado Legislature is currently hashing out at least two bills aimed at cracking down on illegal marijuana grows. One of the bills would limit medical patients to grow only 16 plants – down from the current number of 99 – in an effort to further hamper illegal grows.
Local jurisdictions are allowed under state law to establish grow limits for recreational users, but the state law has capped the limit at six.
But large-scale growers have to have special licenses and oversight and are required to sell their product inside the state.
Were today’s raids part of a federal crackdown
Though there has been much apprehension over what new Attorney General Jeff Sessions will do when it comes to overseeing federal law enforcement regarding state laws on legal marijuana, the DEA says Thursday’s raids were not part of a new directive.
Sessions has made some conflicting statements in recent weeks, both saying that marijuana should be a states’ rights issue and also saying that he believes marijuana use is similar to people using heroin.
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AG Sessions: Idea medical pot can remedy opioid addiction is ‘stupid’ and ‘hyped’
DENVER – U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday said the idea that medical marijuana could be used as a remedy to heroin and opioid addiction is “stupid” in his latest statements questioning the legitimacy of medical and recreational marijuana programs in states like Colorado.
Speaking to law enforcement agencies in Virginia, Sessions said he and his office “may rethink” some of the policies regarding federal enforcement of marijuana laws in states that have legalized recreational and medical marijuana, according to The Washington Post.
“Medical marijuana has been hyped, maybe too much,” Sessions said.
The Post reports that Sessions also said after his speech that he was “dubious” of medical marijuana and research that points to it being an alternative painkiller and treatment option for opioid addicts.
“I’ve heard people say we could solve our heroin problem with marijuana. How stupid is that? Give me a break,” he said during his speech, which again lumped together drug use and an uptick last year in violent crime.
Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana sales, but medical marijuana is legal in 28 states and D.C.
In recent weeks, Sessions has said he’s “not a fan” of marijuana use but has said that states “can pass the laws they choose,” though he maintained that federal law trumps state law when it comes to marijuana enforcement.
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman responded to Sessions’ prior comments by inviting him to Colorado to see its program firsthand.
“I’d like to be able to share what we have learned and where we have put in place a good framework for marijuana regulations,” she said. “Now for the federal government to say we’re doing things wrong, or we’re going to come in and take this regulation away from you without having first looked to see what we’re doing is precipitous.”
During Wednesday’s speech, Sessions also said that the country has “too much tolerance for drug use,” and went back to citing Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign as a means for combating drug use, according to The Post.
Colorado’s medical and recreational businesses sold more than $1 billion worth of pot last year. Industry leaders have said the dismantling of the state’s industry could cause a recession.
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Denver pot shops could stay open until midnight under council committee proposal
DENVER – Denverites wouldn’t have to drive to Glendale or Edgewater for their late-night marijuana runs if a proposed bill under discussion Monday in the city council’s special-issue marijuana committee becomes law.
The committee met Monday afternoon to hear the bill that would allow Denver’s recreational and medical marijuana shops to stay open until midnight. But it decided to postpone action on the bill to take more time to discuss it.
Should it pass, it would give people an extra five hours each day to shop for pot, and extra time to profit off sales for city pot businesses. Denver’s shops are currently open until 7 p.m., as are Colorado Springs’ medical shops.
Glendale and Edgewater already allow their shops to stay open until midnight, while shops in Aurora, Boulder and Commerce City can stay open until 10 p.m.
When the state legalized recreational marijuana in 2014, it said shops could be open from 8 a.m. until midnight each day, but it also allowed municipalities to determine the hours the shops would stay open.
And in 2015, the state allowed medical shops to stay open for the same hours as recreational shops.
Discussions to keep Denver’s shops open longer have been ongoing for years, but took a step forward in January, when the proposal first was discussed.
Kristi Kelly, the head of the Marijuana Industry Group, is slated to present at Monday’s hearing, as are other marijuana industry leaders and the city attorney’s office.
Proponents of extending shop hours have argued doing so would make the city more competitive with its neighbors, despite the city having raked in about half of last year’s sales statewide.
A Denver Post questionnaire done ahead of the last city council election found many of the current councilors said they would at least consider extending marijuana shop hours.
The bill’s next hearing date has yet to be set.
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Colorado Senate passes marijuana membership clubs bill on to House, but Hickenlooper has concerns
DENVER – A bill that would authorize towns, cities and counties to allow private marijuana clubs in their jurisdiction is headed to the Colorado House after passing a full Senate vote Thursday morning.
Senate Bill 184 passed its third reading and a full Senate vote, 25-10.
The bill has undergone several changes in Senate committees and on the floor.
As it sits now, the bill would allow jurisdictions that have authorized private marijuana clubs, as Denver did in November, to operate them under a series of strict parameters:
- The members and employees of the cub must all be at least 21 years old.
- The club’s owner must have been a Colorado resident for at least two years before owning the club.
- The club’s employees must all be Colorado residents.
- The club won’t be able to sell or serve alcohol or food.
- The club can’t sell marijuana, nor can it allow others to sell or “exchange…for remuneration” marijuana on the club’s premises.
- Marijuana could not be consumed “openly” or “publicly.”
The bill would also require that the clubs be private and not accessible to the general public. Both medical and recreational could be used within the club.
The bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Bob Gardner, R-El Paso County, told Denver7 last week that the way marijuana clubs were currently operating amounted to the “Wild West.”
The 10 votes against the bill Thursday morning all came from Republicans, but the bill passed with several Republicans in favor.
The bill also has favorable chances in the Democrat-controlled House, though it has already undergone several changes since it was first introduced and could undergo more.
But should it pass the House, the bill could still face defeat at the governor’s desk.
Gov. John Hickenlooper told Denver7 he would review the bill should it reach his desk, and questioned whether such measures should be implemented amid many unknowns regarding marijuana programs and how they will be treated under the new administration and attorney general.
He also voiced concerns Wednesday to the Denver Post that allowing people to smoke marijuana indoors would allow a “crack in the door” to the law banning smoking indoors.
His concern over possible federal changes also applies to Senate Bill 192, which would allow marijuana deliveries in Colorado.
Senate Bill 184’s first House hearing has yet to be scheduled.
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Tipton, Lamborn and Gardner all hosting telephone town halls Wednesday evening
DENVER – Three of Colorado’s Republican members of Congress are holding telephone town hall meetings Wednesday evening to talk with constituents.
Sen. Cory Gardner is holding his fourth in a series of town halls Wednesday evening at 7:10 p.m. Mountain Time. He is holding several throughout the year at different times of the day in order to connect with different groups of people, he says.
You can sign up to participate in the Gardner town hall by clicking here. You must sign up at least an hour before the start time to be able to pose a question, but anyone can listen in.
In the March 1 town hall, Gardner talked about marijuana, health care, and Russia, among other subjects.
Rep. Doug Lamborn will also host one Wednesday. His begins at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time. Sign up for the town hall by clicking here.
And Rep. Scott Tipton will hold a town hall starting at 5:30 p.m. Mountain Time Wednesday. The town hall was originally slated for Tuesday, but was pushed back to Wednesday because of flight delays, Tipton said.
You can sign up for Tipton’s town hall here.
Many of Colorado’s congressional delegation is holding town hall meetings over at least the next month in order to hear from constituents on topics concerning them.
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Bill for illegal pot grow crackdown grants heads to House; medical plant limit bill on floor Thurs.
DENVER – A bill sponsors say is aimed at working to further cripple the black and “gray” marijuana markets in Colorado moved on to the full House Wednesday after it passed the House Appropriations Committee.
House Bill 1221, if passed, would change the rules for community recreational growing and would create a grant program aimed at helping rural law enforcement agencies and district attorneys crack down on illegal grows or black-market operations.
Under the bill, only a primary caregiver would be allowed to be in possession of and to grow marijuana for another person. Currently, people are allowed to grow recreational marijuana together so long as they stay within the six-plant limit and other regulatory grow rules.
The other facet of the bill would create a gray and black market marijuana enforcement grant program that is run by the Department of Local Affairs’ Division of Local Government.
Local law enforcement agencies and district attorney’s offices would have to apply for the grant money, and the Executive Director of the Department of Local Affairs would pick the agencies and offices who would receive the grants.
The division would prioritize the grants for rural areas of the state. The bill defines “rural areas” as counties with fewer than 200,000 people and towns or cities with less than 30,000 people that is at least 10 miles away from a town or city with more than 50,000 people.
The agencies and offices would then be expected to use the money to bolster efforts to shut down unlicensed grows, investigate and prosecute illegal large-scale grows, investigate and prosecute organized crime operations involving marijuana, and to investigate and prosecute people who grow and distribute pot illegally out of state.
The money for the grants would come from either the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund or the Proposition AA refund account. Under the bill, any money not dispersed through grants that is appropriated can be spent the next year without being re-appropriated.
The bill also mandates that beginning Nov. 1, 2019, the Division of Local Government would have to update to Senate and House committees on the program’s effectiveness. Subsequent updates would be required on or before Nov. 1 of each following year.
House Bill 1221 is one of two House bills their sponsors say aim to cut down on large-scale grows.
House Bill 1220 was referred straight to the House after Monday’s hours-long House Finance Committee hearing on the bill. It would curb the 99-plant per person state limit for medical marijuana grows at 12 – rules already in place in Denver.
1220 is set to be heard on the House floor for the first time Thursday morning.
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Bill that would require combination of THC, THCA levels in Colorado hemp heads to governor’s desk
DENVER – A bill that changes the way THC levels are calculated in Colorado’s industrial hemp has been sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper’s desk.
Senate Bill 90 passed its third reading in the House by a 58-3 vote Friday morning. Four representatives did not vote.
The bill will change the rules regarding industrial hemp so that the state agriculture commissioner will have to measure delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels combined with the levels of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in hemp crops.
Under Colorado Department of Agriculture rules, industrial hemp has to have THC levels of under 0.3 percent so as to not qualify as psychoactive marijuana.
THCA is the precursor to THC, but when decarboxylated by drying, turns to its psychoactive cousin. Research has shown that THCA has no psychoactive effects; it is not scheduled by the Drug Enforcement Agency as THC is.
THCA levels in medical and recreational marijuana typically bought in Colorado are most-often under the 2 percent level, compared to 15-29 percent THC levels for most of the cannabis.
The bill, if signed by the governor, would also establish a process for hemp growers to apply for a waiver that would exempt them from the concentration limits if certain conditions are met.
CDA has already certified three seeds for Colorado industrial hemp production that meet current requirements. The department says state farmers will be able to start buying and growing the seeds this year.
Congress approved hemp production in 2014, but a state certification like Colorado’s is necessary to raise the crop.
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Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner talks marijuana, Russian meddling, health care in telephone town hall
DENVER – Colorado Senator Cory Gardner answered questions from 12 Coloradans ranging from marijuana to health care and the administration’s executive orders on immigration in a 45-minute telephone town hall Wednesday morning.
The telephone town hall was an olive branch to frothing constituents who have demanded in recent weeks that the Republican senator hold in-person town hall meetings with his constituents, despite most of his fellow Colorado Congressmen also refraining from doing so. Continue reading
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner to host telephone town hall meeting amid uproar
DENVER – Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner is holding a town hall meeting with constituents after all – he just won’t be there in person.
Gardner, Colorado’s Republican senator, announced Monday he would be holding the first of what he says will be several telephone town halls on Wednesday, March 1 at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time.
It had originally been scheduled for 10 a.m., but was rescheduled Wednesday morning. A stream of the call can be heard here.
“Throughout the year, I’ll be hosting live telephone town halls. During the interactive meetings, you’ll hear from me regarding updates on the work I’ve been doing for fellow Coloradans, and I’ll talk about issues important to my constituents,” a post on Gardner’s website says. “In addition, you will have the opportunity to ask me questions on the phone and online.”
The senator has been under fire for more than a month in Colorado after comments about people protesting at his office being “paid” to do so, but the fervor intensified last week after he spent the week in the state at various meetings with business leaders and others.
But he didn’t show up to a handful of town hall meetings planned by organizers and constituents to discuss a wide range of topics, including health care, energy and President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
One of the town hall meetings used a cardboard cutout of Gardner in his absence.
“Over 14,000 people have signed a petition requesting a meeting; hundreds of people have either called or protested outside his office requesting the same. But so far, Senator Gardner has said no,” said Katie Farnan, a lead organizer with Indivisible Front Range Resistance who organized the town hall.
Gardner’s camp issued a statement on his behalf last week regarding his meetings in Colorado saying he “had the opportunity to meet with and speak to hundreds of Coloradans and discuss issues ranging from the challenges facing the agriculture community to reforming our health care system,” in part.
Gardner is a former U.S. House member who narrowly defeated Democrat incumbent Mark Udall for the senate seat in 2014 by a 48.5 to 46 percent margin.
He has so far voted with President Donald Trump in each possible confirmation or vote, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Colorado’s other senator, Democrat Michael Bennet, also has held no town hall meetings this year.
To sign up to participate in Gardner’s telephone town hall, click here.
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