Medical Pot Advocates Riled Over Federal Raid
Jan 31, 2010 Online Issue
Colorado — Federal drug-enforcement agents earlier this week seized medical-marijuana samples from a Denver lab that does potency testing for dispensaries, in what cannabis advocates say is an instance of continued official harassment of the medical-marijuana industry.
The raid at Full Spectrum Laboratories, just north of downtown Denver, occurred Wednesday, said Betty Aldworth, the lab’s outreach director. She said agents took dozens of medical-marijuana samples — either small pieces of plants or test tubes of “extraction fluid” — but left the lab’s equipment and did not arrest anyone.
Neither a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman nor a U.S. attorney’s office spokesman would confirm or deny that the raid took place.
Documents that would reveal why federal authorities targeted the lab were not available Thursday.
“We cannot comment on ongoing federal investigations,” DEA spokesman Mike Turner said.
Rob Corry, an attorney for the lab, also declined to comment.
Aldworth said lab employees are baffled as to why DEA agents would raid the lab. She said the lab is designated as a caregiver for several medical-marijuana patients in the state.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced last year that federal authorities would not bother people operating in compliance with their state’s medical-marijuana laws, but would continue to pursue anyone authorities believed were using the laws as cover for more nefarious activities.
“The advice that we received suggested we were doing everything we needed and more to be legal,” Aldworth said.
The lab, which opened in November, conducts tests on different marijuana strains to determine their potency and help dispensaries provide dosing guidelines for patients.
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Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14290771
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Author: John Ingold, The Denver Post
Published: January 29, 2010
Copyright: 2010 The Denver Post Corp
Website: http://www.denverpost.com/
Contact: openforum@denverpost.com
February 14th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
thats real slow for the DEA to raid the lab there basically saying you cant listen to your state laws even though we are called the united STATES! of america
February 17th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
These raids are so unjust. This justice system has become a joke in America. You can have one law that says your ok and within your rights to use and grow cannabis. Then you have the feds come in and say that there law overrides it all and they can put you in jail. Sad, sad, what they are doing to the american people.