Chris Bartkowicz
Encyclopedia
Chris Bartkowicz is a state licensed medical marijuana care-giver that was raided and arrested on the order of Denver area DEA
agent Jeffrey Sweetin on February 12, 2010 after accepting an invitation by 9NEWS to do an interview about being a Colorado medical marijuana care-giver.
and United States Attorney General
Eric Holder's directive not to enforce federal law against medical marijuana users and care-givers that operate in "clear and unambiguous compliance with state law". This directive echoed a campaign promise by then candidate Obama that he would stop prosecuting doctor authorized medical marijuana patients and caregivers because he felt that using federal resources to circumvent state law on the issue of medical marijuana was a poor use of federal resources. Despite the fact that Colorado voters amended the state constitution to allow medical marijuana, Sweetin proclaimed "We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest people... Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law," he said. "The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment".
While Sweetin and Gaouette both argue that Colorado state law limits Bartkowicz to 6 plants and 2 ounces per patient as a care-giver, the wording of the Colorado state constitution never states a maximum number of plants that a care-giver may possess. The state constitution only sets a limit on the number of plants that a patient may possess.
Colorado medical marijuana advocate and head organizer of a February 18, 2010 protest aimed to notify President Obama and raise public awareness of the DEA's recent actions, Brian Vicente, questions the motives of those involved "I think the U.S. Attorney and the DEA view marijuana laws as a continuing employment act. It gives them something to do, and they're afraid that if they were to recognize the will of the voters, they'd be out of work. So I question the motivation for prosecuting these kinds of individuals. I think it's driven by their own need for job security."
DEA
DEA is the commonly used acronym for the Drug Enforcement Administration, a United States law enforcement agency.DEA or Dea may also refer to:- Organizations :* DEA , UK development education charity...
agent Jeffrey Sweetin on February 12, 2010 after accepting an invitation by 9NEWS to do an interview about being a Colorado medical marijuana care-giver.
Arrest
Sweetin's order to raid and arrest Bartkowitz came in defiance of President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Eric Holder's directive not to enforce federal law against medical marijuana users and care-givers that operate in "clear and unambiguous compliance with state law". This directive echoed a campaign promise by then candidate Obama that he would stop prosecuting doctor authorized medical marijuana patients and caregivers because he felt that using federal resources to circumvent state law on the issue of medical marijuana was a poor use of federal resources. Despite the fact that Colorado voters amended the state constitution to allow medical marijuana, Sweetin proclaimed "We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest people... Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law," he said. "The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment".
Controversy
Several days after the arrest, Sweetin revised his argument and claimed that Bartkowicz was violating state law because he was in possession of 224 marijuana plants for 12 registered patients, while state law only allowed for a caregiver to have 6 plants and 2 ounces of marijuana per registered patient. This same argument was echoed by prosecuting attorney David Gaouette.While Sweetin and Gaouette both argue that Colorado state law limits Bartkowicz to 6 plants and 2 ounces per patient as a care-giver, the wording of the Colorado state constitution never states a maximum number of plants that a care-giver may possess. The state constitution only sets a limit on the number of plants that a patient may possess.
Local response
In response to the incident, Colorado attorney Rob Corry issued a formal complaint against the DEA and DOJ agents involved in the incident. He states that the DEA is trying to scare medical marijuana users and care-givers even though they are complying with state law and that these actions are a clear violation of the October 19 2009 Department of Justice guidelines instructing federal agents not to use federal resources to prosecute medical marijuana users who are in compliance with state law.Colorado medical marijuana advocate and head organizer of a February 18, 2010 protest aimed to notify President Obama and raise public awareness of the DEA's recent actions, Brian Vicente, questions the motives of those involved "I think the U.S. Attorney and the DEA view marijuana laws as a continuing employment act. It gives them something to do, and they're afraid that if they were to recognize the will of the voters, they'd be out of work. So I question the motivation for prosecuting these kinds of individuals. I think it's driven by their own need for job security."