Owner who bragged of large medical-pot operation jailed in DEA raid

[FruityBud]

Federal drug-enforcement agents Friday raided the home of a Highlands Ranch man who a day earlier bragged in a 9News report about the large and profitable medical-marijuana-growing operation in his basement.

Along with the raid, Jeffrey Sweetin, the Drug Enforcement Administration's special agent in charge of the Denver office, sent a message to anyone involved in Colorado's increasingly profitable medical-marijuana industry.

"It's still a violation of federal law," Sweetin said. "It's not medicine. We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest people."

Agents at the scene Friday evening said the marijuana grower, Chris Bartkowicz, had been taken into custody. Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Denver, said the grower would be held over the long Presidents Day weekend before a decision on charges is made Tuesday.

"The U.S. attorney's office will review the evidence the DEA collected before we make a determination whether we will prosecute," Dorschner said.

DEA agents converged on the house Friday afternoon and, before leaving several hours later, removed dozens of marijuana plants in black plastic trash bags as well as numerous high-powered growing lights.

On Thursday night, 9News promoted a story about Bartkowicz's operation, and on Friday morning, Bartkowicz was featured in a 9News story posted to its website and published in The Denver Post. The story was to air on television Friday night. He told the station he serves as a caregiver to a number of medical-marijuana patients and hoped to turn a profit this year in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"I'm definitely living the dream now," Bartkowicz told 9News.

One block from school

That story — coupled with the proximity of Bartkowicz's home to Sand Creek Elementary School, a block away — drew the attention of DEA agents.

A memo in October from Deputy U.S. Attorney General David Ogden said federal agents should not target people in "clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." The memo led many in Colorado's medical-marijuana community to believe that federal agents would no longer raid medical-marijuana dispensaries or growers.

But Sweetin said the memo does nothing to change federal law, which makes marijuana illegal, and instead mostly addresses treatment of medical-marijuana patients and small-scale growers.

"Prosecution of commercial enterprises that unlawfully market and sell marijuana for profit continues to be an enforcement priority of the department," the memo states.

Guidelines included in the memo to distinguish between lawful medical-marijuana operations and unlawful ones include whether the operations produce more plants or generate more money than state laws intend. Sweetin said those guidelines put much of Colorado's medical-marijuana industry in the crosshairs and that he has been gathering information on dispensary owners and their operations for months.

Risking arrest, jail time

"Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law," he said. "The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment."

Matt Brown, executive director of the pro-dispensary Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation, said Sweetin's statements are troubling. Brown argued that the federal memo's hands-off order covers everyone in compliance with their state's medical-marijuana laws, a group Brown said includes dispensaries in Colorado. Brown said Friday's raid highlights the need for lawmakers to create clear rules for how dispensaries should operate.

"All we're trying to do is follow the rules," he said.

Bartkowicz had talked to 9News about his efforts to keep a low profile and said he didn't think his neighbors knew about what he was doing inside his house. But several neighbors said Friday that they had suspicions after seeing activity late at night at the house and other puzzling activities.

"I think it's awful," neighbor Linda Palmer said of the marijuana-growing operation. "There's an elementary school right there."

hxxp://tinyurl.com/ycyqkdg

 

[dragracer]

Federal drug-enforcement agents Friday raided the home of a Highlands Ranch man who a day earlier bragged in a 9News report about the large and profitable medical-marijuana-growing operation in his basement.
Along with the raid, Jeffrey Sweetin, the Drug Enforcement Administration's special agent in charge of the Denver office, sent a message to anyone involved in Colorado's increasingly profitable medical-marijuana industry.
"It's still a violation of federal law," Sweetin said. "It's not medicine. We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest people."
Agents at the scene Friday evening said the marijuana grower, Chris Bartkowicz, had been taken into custody. Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the U.S.
(The Denver Post)


attorney's office in Denver, said the grower would be held over the long Presidents Day weekend before a decision on charges is made Tuesday.
"The U.S. attorney's office will review the evidence the DEA collected before we make a determination whether we will prosecute," Dorschner said.
DEA agents converged on the house Friday afternoon and, before leaving several hours later, removed dozens of marijuana plants in black plastic trash bags as well as numerous high-powered growing lights.
On Thursday night, 9News promoted a story about Bartkowicz's operation, and on Friday morning, Bartkowicz was featured in a 9News story posted to its website and published in The Denver Post. The story was to air on television Friday night. He told the station he serves as a caregiver to a number of medical-marijuana patients and hoped to turn a profit this year in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I'm definitely living the dream now," Bartkowicz told 9News.
One block from school
That story — coupled with the proximity of Bartkowicz's home to Sand Creek Elementary School, a block away — drew the attention of DEA agents.
A memo in October from Deputy U.S. Attorney General David Ogden said federal agents should not target people in "clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." The memo led many in Colorado's medical-marijuana community to believe that federal agents would no longer raid medical-marijuana dispensaries or growers.
But Sweetin said the memo does nothing to change federal law, which makes marijuana illegal, and instead mostly addresses treatment of medical-marijuana patients and small-scale growers.
"Prosecution of commercial enterprises that unlawfully market and sell marijuana for profit continues to be an enforcement priority of the department," the memo states.
Guidelines included in the memo to distinguish between lawful medical-marijuana operations and unlawful ones include whether the operations produce more plants or generate more money than state laws intend. Sweetin said those guidelines put much of Colorado's medical-marijuana industry in the crosshairs and that he has been gathering information on dispensary owners and their operations for months.
Risking arrest, jail time
"Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law," he said. "The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment."
Matt Brown, executive director of the pro-dispensary Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation, said Sweetin's statements are troubling. Brown argued that the federal memo's hands-off order covers everyone in compliance with their state's medical-marijuana laws, a group Brown said includes dispensaries in Colorado. Brown said Friday's raid highlights the need for lawmakers to create clear rules for how dispensaries should operate.
"All we're trying to do is follow the rules," he said.
Bartkowicz had talked to 9News about his efforts to keep a low profile and said he didn't think his neighbors knew about what he was doing inside his house. But several neighbors said Friday that they had suspicions after seeing activity late at night at the house and other puzzling activities.
"I think it's awful," neighbor Linda Palmer said of the marijuana-growing operation. "There's an elementary school right there."


This goes to prove you can't fix STUPID!!

​

 

[nvthis]

Ain't that the truth! Man, I don't even have a reply for this....



"It's still a violation of federal law," Sweetin said. "It's not medicine. We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest people."


Wow, is this guy fixin' to get sued.

 

[Hick]

Ain't that the truth! Man, I don't even have a reply for this....



"It's still a violation of federal law," Sweetin said. "It's not medicine. We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest people."

Jeffrey Sweetin, the Drug Enforcement Administration's special agent

he's a federal agent. He won't be sued.

here's another one... no feds involved...'yet'

COLORADO SPRINGS - How much is too much when it comes to growing medicinal marijuana? That's a question the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office will look to answer after Colorado Springs Police seized over 200 marijuana plants from a basement.
Two Springs police officers were on an unrelated traffic stop Thursday when they got a report of marijuana being grown on the 200-block of E. Caramillo. The officers say they could smell marijuana once they got onto the property.

"They were able to actually smell the odor of the growing marijuana coming from the vents to the basement of the residence," says Lt. David Whitlock.
Police say they obtained a search warrant and seized 267 marijuana plants. The occupants of the house did provide documentation related to medicinal marijuana, but police say this situation was out of the ordinary.
"The number of plants that were there far exceeded the amount that you would normally see in those kinds of circumstances," says Whitlock.
Under Colorado's Amendment 20, no more than two ounces of a usable form of marijuana and no more than six marijuana plants are permitted per patient. Greater amounts are allowed by law if deemed medically necessary. That is something the district attorney's office will now have to take into account with this particular case.
"We take evidence, do what we can to build a case and present that to the D.A.'s office and they'll make a determination on filing criminal charges," says Whitlock.
No arrests have been made at this time.

oops.. http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52538

 

[nvthis]

he's a federal agent. He won't be sued.

here's another one... no feds involved...'yet'


oops.. http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52538

Good pick up hick. And your right, he won't be. For some reason (I dunno, ask me brain) when I read that I was under the impression he was a local?? DUH!

 

[xxdjbud420xx]

Idiaholes like that are the ones who make it harder and screw it up for everyone.

 

[mr.greengenes]

There's one born every minute...

 

[dirtyolsouth]

Yup that state med mj card ain't NOTHIN' to the feds... My closet dispensary is EVERY bit on par with the fed legal status as those in the med mj states... Ain't THAT a bummer...?

Peace~!

 

[dragracer]

Just saw on this evenings news that the DEA is preparing to charge this clown because he had fewer than 15 caregiver designations { I am assuming that means he had 14 in DEA lingo} and they recovered 224 plants in various stages of growth, the ones I saw where pretty healthy still in veg. He is facing from 5 to 40 years in prison if convicted. Reading some of his interview from 9 news he stated that if he had a good year he might make 400,000 dollars and a bad year would be 100,000. He also showed his 2 month electric bill was around 3,600 and that he was " living the dream". Well about now I bet it is more like a freakin' nightmare. He is my top candidate for this years Darwin award with no competition in sight :holysheep:

 

[spaceface]

wow!!...the guy pretty much should have just stepped in front of a moving bus....seriously...what a moron

 

[Cowboy]

That is one of the reasons I deleted my grow journal, I really don't know who is cruising this site. I like the people hear, but I don't know who you are.
I'll post, but no more photos.

 

[dragracer]

The DEA guy who was interviewed said their policy is to not go after people who are MMJ patients/caregivers who are within the limits of the State law who are growing for their own consumption. I guess you can take that for what it's worth. I think the fact that he went on T.V. and flaunted it is why they targeted him, but I could be wrong. You know what the top five rules for growing are:
1. Tell no one
2. tell no one
3. tell no one, well you get the idea. If you are going to blatantly grow more than you are alotted, then by all means go on the top rated news outlet and tell them your REAL name, and the subdivision's name and the value of your house, 600,000. I am sorry, but I have no sympathy for someone as stupid as that. I don't think he should do 40 years, but a few to think about how damn stupid of a stunt that really was. It is just the kind of publicity that the movement does not need!

 

[dragracer]

Oh, and by the way, you had some real nice plants Cowboy, Good job!

 

[Hick]

The DEA guy who was interviewed said their policy is to not go after people who are MMJ patients/caregivers who are within the limits of the State law who are growing for their own consumption. I guess you can take that for what it's worth. I think the fact that he went on T.V. and flaunted it is why they targeted him, but I could be wrong. You know what the top five rules for growing are:
1. Tell no one
2. tell no one
3. tell no one, well you get the idea. If you are going to blatantly grow more than you are alotted, then by all means go on the top rated news outlet and tell them your REAL name, and the subdivision's name and the value of your house, 600,000. I am sorry, but I have no sympathy for someone as stupid as that. I don't think he should do 40 years, but a few to think about how damn stupid of a stunt that really was. It is just the kind of publicity that the movement does not need!

4. Tell no one
5. Tell no one....

Have you checked out craigs list drag'?? ....:shocked:.... now there are some folks belong on the short bus...(no offense intended Sarah) ...:rofl:...

 

[spaceface]

4. Tell no one
5. Tell no one....

Have you checked out craigs list drag'?? ....:shocked:.... now there are some folks belong on the short bus...(no offense intended Sarah) ...:rofl:...

LMFAO....that was good!!!!......

 

[Cowboy]

Oh, and by the way, you had some real nice plants Cowboy, Good job!

Thanks DR, I am doing all I can for my girls. Still about six weeks out If all goes well. I like our dispensary, but I don't have that kind of money to spend.

Maybe Just Maybe, some day the V.A. will dispense MMJ to us vets that have had there minds ripped from there head by war.


Happy Trails of Smoking to You

 

[dragracer]

Yeah Hick,
The ads on craigslist are ther ultimate in stupidity. I think half the ads are cops trying to bust idiots and the other half are just idiots! The real problem is all the people that are growing just for profit and greed flooding the market. Hopefully a large percentage will fall by the wayside, but either way I don't care because I am just trying to grow to combat outraegeous prices and supply myself and a few friends. Those who brag about thier profits and such are bound to get what they deserve, hopefully...

 

[dragracer]

Highlands Ranch marijuana case could set federal precedent

A Highlands Ranch man who until last week made his living growing marijuana in the basement of his home walked into a courtroom wearing a tan prisoner's jumpsuit Thursday, the first steps in what legal experts say could be a precedent-setting journey through the federal justice system.
After a routine hearing, a magistrate judge found there is probable cause for the drug-distribution case against Chris Bartkowicz to continue toward trial and set his bail at $10,000.
Bartkowicz, who was arrested Feb. 12 by Drug Enforcement Administration agents after they seized more than 200 marijuana plants that Bartkowicz said were for medicinal use, is the most high-profile person involved in medical marijuana in Colorado to face federal
<H1 class="nestedFreeform nf_left"> ​

prosecution. He is also one of the only people nationwide to face federal charges since a Justice Department memo in October said federal agents should respect state medical-marijuana laws.
That convergence of circumstances — federal law, in which all marijuana is illegal, versus Colorado's constitutional protection for medical marijuana — makes the case fertile legal ground. Bart kowicz's attorney hinted during the hearing Thursday that little in the case would be routine.
"There are complex legal issues that haven't been addressed in this state," said the attorney, Joseph Saint-Veltri.
Saint-Veltri has declined to comment on the defense he intends to mount, but legal experts say it would be nearly impossible for Bartkowicz to claim a medical defense in federal court. In several federal cases involving medical marijuana in California, judges have blocked such testimony.
"Federal judges prohibit the defense from even uttering the words 'medical marijuana,' " said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance Network.
Such restrictions leave medical-marijuana providers exposed in court, said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the group Americans for
Access.
"If you get prosecuted in federal court, it's an all-but-guaranteed conviction," Hermes said.
But two elements could add fresh legal intrigue to Bartkowicz's case. The first is that Colorado's legal protection for medical marijuana is written into the state's constitution, whereas other medical-marijuana states have lower protection. Denver medical-marijuana attorney Warren Edson said that could give Bartkowicz a stronger argument that his prosecution violates states' rights.
"We don't really know," Edson said. "It's something we haven't been able to argue in court yet."
The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has ruled in a prior case that the federal government can regulate marijuana, even if it is grown, sold and used entirely in a medical-marijuana state.
The other wild card is the Justice Department's October memo, which said the government wouldn't target people in "clear and unambiguous" compliance with state medical-marijuana laws. Hermes said it is possible that defense attorneys could use the memo as ammunition in a federal case. Indeed, there is a defense called "entrapment-by-estoppel," where defendants argue the government fooled them into breaking the law by leading them to believe what they were doing was legal.
But prominent California medical-marijuana attorney Bill Panzer said the memo likely doesn't offer enough protection for that defense.
"All it says," Panzer said, "is you might not want to go after a cancer patient."




​

</H1>​

 

[Budders Keeper]

Reminds me of those 2 from central valley that made the video bragging and taunting.

 

[legalize_freedom]

Thanks DR, I am doing all I can for my girls. Still about six weeks out If all goes well. I like our dispensary, but I don't have that kind of money to spend.

Maybe Just Maybe, some day the V.A. will dispense MMJ to us vets that have had there minds ripped from there head by war.


Happy Trails of Smoking to You

We can only hope brother!!! I'd say it's the least they could do for us, after what we have done for them...fighting in places we should have never been...loosing true brothers...I mean come on...it would be a much better med than any of the other 15 they want me to take!