This morning -- 7 weeks before Colorado begins to open legal, retail marijuana shops -- federal agents (of the DEA variety) raided a dozen dispensaries and marijuana facilities in Denver alone among other raids around the state making this the largest federal raid since Coloradans voted to make pot legal.
The raids are reportedly being carried out by members of the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigations Unit, and the Denver State Police Department.
Customers were turned away as masked agents unnecessarily brutalized storefronts before confiscating truckloads of "evidence" for their investigation.
While the Justice Department agreed just this past August to not stand in the way of legalization efforts, they maintained that they would be "aggressively enforcing" several areas of concern for them including distribution to minors, involvement with drug cartels, use on federal properties, inciting violence, and more.
It is still unclear what exactly led to the raids on several businesses, but what is clear is the struggle between state and federal laws rages on.
Activists and lawyers in the Denver area are noting that the raid seems to have targeted mostly mom-and-pop stores while fellow business owners are surmising that there must be a reason behind such crackdowns and thus welcoming the regulation. What do you think? Is the Federal government being a bully or supporting the "legitimate" pot industry?
The raids are reportedly being carried out by members of the DEA, IRS Criminal Investigations Unit, and the Denver State Police Department.
Customers were turned away as masked agents unnecessarily brutalized storefronts before confiscating truckloads of "evidence" for their investigation.
While the Justice Department agreed just this past August to not stand in the way of legalization efforts, they maintained that they would be "aggressively enforcing" several areas of concern for them including distribution to minors, involvement with drug cartels, use on federal properties, inciting violence, and more.
It is still unclear what exactly led to the raids on several businesses, but what is clear is the struggle between state and federal laws rages on.
Activists and lawyers in the Denver area are noting that the raid seems to have targeted mostly mom-and-pop stores while fellow business owners are surmising that there must be a reason behind such crackdowns and thus welcoming the regulation. What do you think? Is the Federal government being a bully or supporting the "legitimate" pot industry?
