DEA and IRS Raid Multiple Denver Marijuana Businesses

By Jeralyn, Section Colorado News
Posted on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 02:50:41 PM EST
Tags: marijuana (all tags)

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The DEA, IRS and Denver Police Department have raided multiple marijuana businesses today -- more than a dozen. Westword has all the ongoing details. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver has confirmed the raids:

"The Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Denver Police Department and state and local law enforcement are today executing lawfully obtained search warrants and seizure warrants."

...."Although we cannot at this time discuss the substance of this pending investigation, the operation under way today comports with the Department's recent guidance regarding marijuana enforcement matters."

Westword reports Swiss Medical in Boulder was also raided. The Denver Post has more and says it's the largest raid since medical marijuana became legal. Photos here.

Update: Westword updates its article to add the U.S. Attorney's Office now says more than one of the 8 priorities in its Aug 29 guidance memo were implicated: They priorities are:

Preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors;
Preventing revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels;
Preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;
Preventing state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;
Preventing violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana;
Preventing drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;
Preventing the growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands; and
Preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property

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DEA and IRS Raid Multiple Denver Marijuana Businesses | 24 comments (24 topical)

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And how many liquor stores did they raid (5.00 / 3) (#1)
by Dadler on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 02:54:37 PM EST

Check cashing loan-sharks? Bankster hideouts?

What a monumentally idiotic waste of time. Same kind of dope mindset as the cop who had his gun drawn on me in my garage a couple of days ago. And the nutcase neighbor who called the cops in the first place.

Sigh...

loan sharking and fraudulent (5.00 / 1) (#20)
by jondee on Fri Nov 22, 2013 at 12:35:29 PM EST

banking practices don't inculcate it's victims with an uncontrollable compulsion to indulge in raucous jungle rythms, miscegenation, and heavy petting on the first date..

Seriously, I wonder what % of the DEA is composed of Christian fundamentalists, Mormons, and Orthodox Catholics..


: R U (none / 0) (#22)
by Mikado Cat on Fri Nov 22, 2013 at 06:54:28 PM EST

Serious? Obviously anyone doing bad stuff is a teabagger.
I am not suggesting the rank and file of DEA are happy Hobbits, but these actions come from the top, not the bottom. If Obama didn't want them to happen, they would not happen.

Bummer... (5.00 / 2) (#2)
by kdog on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 02:58:26 PM EST

All those beautiful plants rotting in the snow...it's heartbreaking.

Not a good omen for Jan. 1, is it?

Fear Not... (5.00 / 5) (#3)
by ScottW714 on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 03:48:10 PM EST

...if history has taught us anything, there replacements are already up and functioning, with an endless line waiting for their run at it.

Any Obama cheerleaders going to comment on how Obama didn't lie about this one, at least on two different occasions. But I do love the Fed believing their mission outweighs the will of voters, aka citizens, it's just so GD 3rd world.


: No doubt... (none / 0) (#4)
by kdog on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 03:51:27 PM EST

but it's still a sin to see the fruit of one's labor laid to waste like that, for absolutely no good reason or benefit.
With the Denver PD involved, I think Obama/Holder have an out about the pledge to leave the enlightened states alone. They'll say whatever the "crime" is violates Colorado law.

Just (5.00 / 2) (#5)
by lentinel on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 03:52:20 PM EST

so so so dumb.

I hadn't realized crime had dropped to zero... (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by Aspidistra on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 06:56:50 PM EST

Because what else could possibly justify such a massive waste of taxpayer resources?

So glad to hear that there is absolutely no violent crime going on anywhere in Denver that the Denver police department had the time to get involved in this foolishness. What a waste.

: Here's who's doing the drugs (none / 0) (#24)
by jbindc on Sat Nov 23, 2013 at 05:37:18 AM EST

And what kinds:
No surprise - blue staters like (illegal) drugs more than red states, but red staters prefer prescription drugs.
And substance abuse is highest in California, DC, and Rhode Island.

The DEA in charge? (none / 0) (#6)
by redwolf on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 04:14:51 PM EST

Is Obama lying or is he simply not in charge of the DEA? I'm become more and more convinced that federal bureaucracy does whatever it want and ignores the law, the president, and congress.

They Don't Actually Ingnore the Law... (5.00 / 4) (#19)
by ScottW714 on Fri Nov 22, 2013 at 12:34:00 PM EST

...they find some idiot lawyers to draft up a reasons why their actions are perfectly legal, from GITMO, to torture, to secret courts, to Drones, to the NSA.

It's one thing in Washington that doesn't seem to run along party lines.


: Yup (5.00 / 2) (#23)
by sj on Sat Nov 23, 2013 at 02:28:07 AM EST

Then they classify the document.

Obama fanboys (none / 0) (#10)
by ragebot on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 07:56:28 PM EST

are claiming Obama did not know about any problems with the Obamacare rollout and others were responsible. Same for the Fast and Furious mess and lots of other stuff.

I suspect the answer to your question will be Obama did not know, and the next time there is a DEA raid Obama will not know about it as well.


: i.e., what's plausible ain't the deniability. (none / 0) (#26)
by Mr Natural on Wed Nov 27, 2013 at 09:19:43 AM EST

I hear that... (none / 0) (#21)
by kdog on Fri Nov 22, 2013 at 02:49:35 PM EST

way too much autonomy, especially in the tyranny bueracracies (DEA/NSA/CIA/DHS/FBI/TSA/ATF/ETC.). It's like an unelected unaccountable shadow government within a government...it wouldn't suprise me that the president & congress don't know the half of what goes on.


Anyone know (none / 0) (#7)
by ragebot on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 05:36:56 PM EST

why the IRS was involved. I read the Denver Post article and nothing about what the IRS did.

Lets remember the feds got Capone on an IRS beef.

Anyplace you have a big cash business (none / 0) (#14)
by Peter G on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 09:16:17 PM EST

you will find IRS poking around.


: This sounds like terrible news... (none / 0) (#15)
by fishcamp on Thu Nov 21, 2013 at 09:29:26 PM EST

With Obama (none / 0) (#16)
by Mikado Cat on Fri Nov 22, 2013 at 02:52:30 AM EST

its never what he says, its what he does.

With ... (5.00 / 2) (#17)
by sj on Fri Nov 22, 2013 at 10:39:43 AM EST

... everyone it's watch what they do, not what they say. Universal truth.


: If not everyone... (none / 0) (#18)
by kdog on Fri Nov 22, 2013 at 11:44:37 AM EST

definitely with all politicians.

Perfect cover in the 8 points memo: (none / 0) (#25)
by Mr Natural on Wed Nov 27, 2013 at 09:18:33 AM EST

"Preventing revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises"

This will always be true, since "manufacturing" the stuff is illegal under federal law.

I hope y'all are aware that the locals participate because they get a big cut of the asset forfeitures.

The tiny Michigan township in which I live has about a million dollars owed to it by the DEA, some for raids in other counties. There are huge federal footprints in your local Police Department drug policies.

Hold the phone... (5.00 / 1) (#27)
by kdog on Wed Nov 27, 2013 at 09:35:19 AM EST

Couldn't the asset forfeiture racket be considered revenue from the sale of marijuana going to criminal enterprises? Crimnal enterprises being the DEA and the local precint.

Violation! Violation!


: Well, that's what I'd call it, but (none / 0) (#28)
by Mr Natural on Wed Nov 27, 2013 at 12:37:41 PM EST

nobody's listening to me.
(except the NSA)