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5 arrested for dumping garbage bag of pot in Civic Center and passing it out, police say
5 arrested for dumping garbage bag of pot in Civic Center and passing it out, police say
The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20181528/5-arrested-dumping-garbage-bag-pot-civic-center#ixzz1pmiqRrDZ
Denver Police officers arrested five people in Civic Center this afternoon, after a garbage bag full of marijuana was allegedly dumped out, re-bagged and passed out to park patrons.
Around 12:30 p.m., officers were called to the park, near where Occupy Denver typically holds demonstrations and marches, after they received reports of the marijuana, said Sonny Jackson, a spokesman for the Denver Police Department.
The bag was dumped on a blue tarp in the northeast corner of the park, police said. About 30 people were in the park when the marijuana a was being distributed.
“Why they were doing this we don’t know,” Jackson said. “This is a public park and we cannot have people openly distributing marijuana.”
It did not appear that anyone was paying for the marijuana.
Officers on bikes, motorcycles and on foot responded to the scene.
Several people in the park recorded the incident on cell phones and video cameras as officers loaded the bag into a car.
As officers cleared the park, one woman called the cops “pigs” and “terrorists.”
It is unknown if any of the people taken into custody have been arrested at the park before. Their names have not been released.
Denver Dispensaries shut down
All targeted Colorado marijuana dispensaries near schools shut down, Feds say
Posted: 02/28/2012 01:00:00 AM MST
February 29, 2012 3:47 AM GMT Updated: 02/28/2012 08:47:41 PM MST By John Ingold
The Denver Postdenverpost.com
Indispensary employee Brian Balliett reaches into the near-empty shelves of the Indispensary”s Bijou Street medical marijuana dispensary Sunday evening, February 26, 2012. The dispensary closed its doors Sunday amid a federal threat of criminal prosecution or seizure. (GAZETTE | Mark Reis)Related
Medical Marijuana – Clouded in Controversy
Feb 27:
Medical-marijuana shops near schools face cutoff today: Close or move
Feb 15:
Medical pot shops shuttered in Fort Collins, some inventory can be transferred to other sellers
Jan 26:
Indictment charges 16 in Weld County, Breckenridge pot bust
Jan 14:
Colorado lawmaker to resubmit stoned-driving bill
Jan 13:
State senator plans to reintroduce bill to stop driving while stoned
Dec 10:
Colorado investigates possible medical-marijuana fraud
Nov 4:
Colorado regulators shut marijuana dispensary as Earth’s Medicine owners face federal charges Federal prosecutors today announced that all of the Colorado medical-marijuana dispensaries targeted for operating near schools have halted marijuana sales as demanded.
Prosecutors sent the letters to certain dispensaries within 1,000 feet of schools last month, warning them to close or face criminal or civil punishment. It was the most aggressive action yet by federal authorities against businesses that are legal under state law but illegal under federal law.
Letters went to 23 dispensaries and to their landlords. Owners of 22 dispensaries have since decided to shutter those targeted locations — either moving or closing for good. A letter to one dispensary was rescinded after it was determined that the school building nearby was not currently being used to educate children, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in an announcement.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents checked every dispensary for compliance with the letters. According to the announcement, agents entered five stores after being unable to tell whether the stores were closed. They determined those businesses had stopped selling marijuana.
“The closure of the targeted dispensaries today,” new Colorado DEA Special Agent in Charge Barbra M. Roach said in a statement, “will make those affected schools more secure for our children and teachers throughout the State of Colorado.”
Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh has said he wants to remove dispensaries from around schools because he is worried about increased youth use of marijuana and the impact the businesses have on kids’ attitudes toward the drug. Federal law contains enhanced penalties for people who sell drugs within 1,000 feet of a school.
“These stores were closed without incident,” Walsh said in a statement. “This effort is about protecting children from illegal drugs, and maintaining drug free zones around our schools in compliance with federal law.”
Prosecutors intend to send letters to more dispensaries that are within 1,000 feet of a school “soon,” according to today’s announcement.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
Read more: All targeted Colorado marijuana dispensaries near schools shut down, Feds say – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/marijuana/ci_20064569#ixzz1oupP8ZXS
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Colorado’s Legalized Marijuana Initiative has 15 Days to Collect Approximately 2500 Valid Signatures
Colorado pot-legalization initiative needs more signatures
Posted: 02/03/2012 07:34:43 AM MST
Updated: 02/03/2012 02:15:16 PM MST By John Ingold
The Denver Post
A proposed initiative to legalize limited possession of marijuana in Colorado needs more signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s office announced today that the campaign collected only 83,696 valid signatures. It needs 86,105 to qualify.
The campaign will now have 15 days to collect the remaining 2,409 valid signatures. Mason Tvert, one of the initiative’s proponents, said in a statement today that the announcement was unexpected but “just a very small bump in the road.”
“We are confident we will complete this process successfully and qualify the initiative for the ballot,” Tvert said.
Last month, the campaign turned in more than 160,000 signatures in boxes of petitions. But, after reviewing a sample of those signatures, the Secretary of State’s office could not conclusively project whether there were enough valid signatures on the petitions for the initiative to qualify.
That meant the Secretary of State’s office needed to go line-by-line through the petitions, verifying each signature. Today was the deadline to complete that task.
The initiative, a proposed constitutional amendment, would legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for people 21 and older. It would also allow people to grow a small number of marijuana plants in their homes.
The measure would also allow for people to open marijuana retail shops, but it would give communities the ability to ban those businesses. Lastly, it would legalize the growing of industrial hemp.
All such activities would remain illegal under federal law.
The initiative — for now known as Proposed Initiative No. 30 and dubbed by the campaign The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 — is one of three separate proposed measures for the 2012 ballot that would legalize marijuana in Colorado.
Another, from Cannabis University of Colorado head Michelle LaMay, would prohibit judges from imposing penalties on anyone for marijuana possession of any amount. Supporters call the initiative The Relief for the Possession of Cannabis Act. The campaign behind it has announced it will begin collecting signatures this month.
Meanwhile, a third initiative was filed Thursday. That measure, which supporters call Legalize 2012, would create in Colorado’s constitution a fundamental right to use and possess any amount of marijuana for people over 18. It would allow for retail sales of marijuana “without restrictions that are onerous or burdensome.” It would require the state attorney general to file lawsuits to prevent the federal government from enforcing federal marijuana laws in Colorado. And it would create a state-funded commission that could help Colorado citizens facing federal marijuana prosecution with their defense.
That initiative has not yet had its first administrative hearing.
Read more: Colorado pot-legalization initiative needs more signatures – The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19885405#ixzz1liVKPtHX
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