U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

Medical marijuana: Does Melinda Haag's memo foreshadow federal MMJ raids in Colorado?

Melinda Haag.​While medical marijuana is legal in Colorado, it remains against U.S. law -- and the push and pull between the state and the feds continues to concern the local MMJ community. Case in point: The Haag memo, a letter sent in February by California-based U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag p ... More >>

Spice is not synthetic marijuana, but it is risky, says Rep. Mike Kopp, sponsor of HB 134 ban

Big pics below.​This legislative session has already seen the arrival of proposals to tweak the state's medical marijuana regulations and establish THC driving limits. It's no surprise, then, that HB 134, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, has been described as a ban of synthetic m ... More >>

Operation Fortune Cookie: Internal complaints filed against police chiefs, Dante Carbone

Dan Tang​Turmoil continues in Operation Fortune Cookie, the state's largest drug bust that collapsed amid alleged cop snitches and paid-off politicians. Last week, we reported that a suit filed by two local cops suggests Thornton Commander Dante Carbone was the prime suspect in the leak that s ... More >>

Reader: Medical marijuana would be more accessible if pro-MMJ sheriffs stood up to feds

Bartkowicz.​Our medical marijuana coverage attracts lively and intriguing comments, some of which pop up long after the original publication date. As evidence, consider this observation affixed to an October post about Highlands Ranch's Chris Bartkowicz, who was prosecuted for growing marijuan ... More >>

Pot lobbying group National Cannabis Industry Assoc. first of its kind, stacked with CO players

Brian Vicente.​First there was Big Tobacco and Big Pharma. Now it's Big Pot's turn to flex its muscles. That's the idea behind the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), reportedly the first national trade group for the cannabis industry -- and one that's packed with familiar Colorado ... More >>

Ramon Chavez, Gabriel Farias-Chavez accused in 50 lb. per month meth ring using car batteries

Ramon Chavez.​Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has announced the bust of an alleged nine-member drug ring, in which suspects such as Ramon Chavez and Gabriel Farias-Chavez are said to have transported up to fifty pounds of meth per month from Mexico into Colorado. Their storage container ... More >>

Chris Bartkowicz, Highlands Ranch marijuana grower, not allowed to use medical defense

Chris Bartkowicz.​High profile medical marijuana grower Chris Bartkowicz won't be able to use the state's medical marijuana laws as part of his defense in federal court, a judge ruled yesterday. Bartkowicz was arrested last February after showing off his grow operation to a local television n ... More >>

Operation Fortune Cookie: Dan Tang heads to prison

Dan Tang.​Another chapter begins today in the long and tawdry tale of Operation Fortune Cookie, the largest weed bust in Colorado history that imploded in allegations of crooked cops, paid-off politicians and bureaucratic cover-ups. Dan Tang, prominent Thornton restaurateur and the drug ring' ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensary owner won't sign license application, calls it "downright evil"

Kathleen Chippi.​Earlier today, we shared the thoughts of attorney Danyel Joffe about the medical marijuana business license application. Joffe has problems with the application, which must be filed by Sunday -- but dispensary owner Kathleen Chippi goes much further. She's refusing to file the ... More >>

Medical marijuana festival to feature on-site dispensing -- and Corey Feldman?

He's the last Corey left standing.​The Colorado Medical Marijuana Festival, taking place on Sunday, May 30, at Longmont's Radisson Hotel (click here for details), has several unusual attributes. For one thing, says event organizer Sean Bookman, the get-together will feature an on-site "medici ... More >>

Jared Polis to Timothy Geithner: Don't let banks discriminate against medical marijuana industry

Jared Polis doesn't want the feds to obstruct MMJ businesses.​Representative Jared Polis has spent a lot of his legislative capital of late defending the medical marijuana industry in Colorado from possible interference by the federal government. In February, for example, he sent a letter to ... More >>

Jared Polis questions attorney general Eric Holder about Jeff Sweetin, medical marijuana

When Congressman Jared Polis got his chance to quiz Attorney General Eric Holder during his first appearance on the U.S. House judiciary committee yesterday, he hit on two topics of particular interest to his Boulder area constituency -- medical marijuana and immigration. He began by noting his Feb ... More >>

Cannabis comedy meets pot politics -- and the Colorado Senate will prove it today

​The Daily Show's "Gone to Pot" segment on Denver's medical marijuana industry didn't do much for this city's rep as a mecca for smarties (we put the "duh" in Denver), but it will certainly boost the Mile High's status as Cannabis Capital of the World. As correspondent Jason Jones says through ... More >>

Chris Bartkowicz's lawyer turned down after requesting delay in marijuana-grow case -- because he can't reach his client

Did you forget to charge your phone, Mr. Bartkowicz?​The case of Chris Bartkowicz, whose Highlands Ranch marijuana crop was seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration after he showed it off to 9News, instantly fired up the medical marijuana industry, with advocate Rob Corry going toe to toe ... More >>

Rob Corry says Chris Romer's proposal for medical marijuana patients under 21 is a lawsuit waiting to happen

Rob Corry isn't buying Chris Romer's arguments.​On Monday, Senator Chris Romer argued in favor of requiring those under 21 to do more in order to qualify for a medical marijuana card than those over that age -- and he also predicted that there'd be a backlash and a potential dispensary ban if ... More >>

Operation Fortune Cookie and Dan Tang: Dramatic dispatches from Tang's sentencing

Dan Tang's sentencing has made for a long day in court.​Today at 9:30 a.m., Chief U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel began the sentencing hearing for Dan Tang, the last person charged as part of Operation Fortune Cookie, the largest marijuana bust in state history. Law enforcement believed T ... More >>

Medical marijuana dispensary owner Jason Irwin on the pros and cons of talking to the press

Jason Irwin as he appeared on CNN this week.​These days, people involved in the medical marijuana community are understandably paranoid about interacting with the press -- and especially TV reporters -- thanks to the story of Highlands Ranch's Chris Bartkowicz, who was arrested following a Dru ... More >>

Pot power players Who's Who in Colorado: The anti-marijuana team

​Keeping track of all the individuals and organizations duking it out on the front lines of the state's medical-marijuana debate is trickier than picking through the med strains at your corner dispensary. To help weed through the chaos, we've created this guide to the state's top marijuana pow ... More >>

Medical marijuana bill about doctor-patient relationship: "There's really very little in it," says advocate Matt Brown

Matt Brown isn't hitting the panic button.​Update, 1:10 p.m., February 1: The Colorado Senate has approved Senator Chris Romer's medical marijuana bill regarding the doctor-patient relationship 34-1. Read Matt Brown's take on the measure below: Like many other prominent figures in the medical ... More >>

Prison soap art: Inspiration for the great unwashed, or just creepy?

Rub-a-dub-dub: The kinder, gentler side of the Fort Lyon Jesus.​Prisoners send me all kinds of weird crap. I've gotten medical records sealed with toothpaste. Lists of DEA informants on toilet paper. Hair samples from a supermax inmate who wanted them tested to prove that the staff was trying ... More >>

Schools like Everest College are higher (priced) education: Take it from a certified pharmacy technician

​I remember nearly falling over in my chair one afternoon when a student on a TV advertisement relayed the benefits of her schooling to become a certified pharmacy technician. At the time, I was employed with a major drug store chain as a pharmacy technician, or as they say in the biz, a CPhT. ... More >>

Rob Corry's line-by-line shredding of Senator Chris Romer's medical marijuana bill

Rob Corry is doing lines. Lots of lines.​Attorney Rob Corry has become the poster-lawyer for the medical marijuana business in Colorado, both through his legal gambits -- like victory in a dispute over the Colorado Board of Health's language switch involving the definition of a medical marijua ... More >>

From the week of December 24, 2009

Dan Tang pleads guilty in exchange for reduced sentence

Dan Tang​This morning, prominent Thornton restaurant owner Dan Tang pled guilty to one count of money laundering for his role in what investigators labeled the "Dan Tang Drug Trafficking Organization." When authorities took down the drug ring in February 2008, they came away with 24,000 mari ... More >>

Senator Al White's proposal to put the state in charge of growing and distributing medical marijuana

Senator Al White wants state and federal marijuana laws to peacefully co-exist. Good luck.​A Colorado Court of Appeals decision regarding medical marijuana -- as well as a subsequent Board of Health move to strike its definition of caregiver -- has led to a motion filed by pro-marijuana advoca ... More >>

Operation Coronado and the La Familia bust: The Western Slope is Breaking Bad

This, my friends, is what three pounds of meth looks like.​I'm a proud native of the Western Slope, and when I grew up in Grand Junction, the main substance we had to worry about was uranium. Those were the days. Now, reports about meth busts are the opposite of unusual -- although few can com ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Talk about the Mile High (and Higher) City!

​Even Balloon Boy couldn't knock our hunt for a medical-marijuana reviewer out of the national news. Yesterday, NPR's Sunday show ran a piece about our quest, resulting in still more applications coming in from across the country. But sorry, folks: We're looking for a Colorado resident, someon ... More >>

Deconstructing Colorado's largest indoor pot bust

As described in this week's feature story, "Tales of the Dragon," prominent Thornton restaurateur Dan Tang has agreed to plead guilty to one count of money laundering for his involvement in a massive marijuana ring -- even though authorities believed Tang had much more involvement than just money l ... More >>

Accused hepatitis-c passer Kristen Parker: A photo gallery

A Kristen Parker photo sure to strike a chord with Rose Medical Center patients. Outrage continues to build over Kristen Parker, a surgical tech who was formally charged in federal court yesterday with multiple counts related to the exposure of patients at Rose Medical Center to hepatitis-C. The ma ... More >>

Medical marijuana has become a growth industry in Colorado

Strip Search

Jennifer Marcum's path ends and begins at Shotgun Willie's.

What's the Beef?

Brawny juicers keep pumping steroids, so why aren't more serving time.

Breast Friend

When a stripper decided to get something off her chest, it landed on this doctor.

Tin Can Alley

Time to float your goat

The Maverick

Telluride lawman Bill Masters is no dope. So what turned him against the war on drugs?

Toxic Shock

Starting a meth lab takes little skill or cash. The cleanup is another story.

Off Limits

Dollars and sense

Confessions of an Ephedrine Eater

This non-drowsy formula is an ancient Chinese secret.

Backwash

Promoters get ready to suck up a new law that targets meth — and the music industry.

Bardo Pond

Dilate (Matador)

Letters to the Editor

From the week of March 1, 2001

Target Practice

A class-action suit becomes a vehicle for racial justice.

American High

With Traffic, Steven Soderbergh takes on the unwinnable war.

Follow That Story

A pot dealer goes down in flames.

A Broken Code

The supermax snitch unit was supposed to bust prison gangs, but who was really rolling over?

Flight Diversions

Rumors won't fly with those who lost their loved ones in a Colorado Springs plane crash.

Feeling No Pain

A morphine-addicted pharmacist hid his Colorado drug conviction and resumed work in California--for a while.

FADE TO BLACK

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