MARIJUANA GROWERS CREATE SMOKESCREEN FOR TRAFFICKING RING

Marijuana growers create smokescreen for trafficking ring Marijuana
traffickers grew plants under the guise of patient care, then sold
them out of state, authorities say.

State law enforcement officials said Friday they have broken up an
alleged marijuana-trafficking organization that was using Colorado's
medical-marijuana laws as cover.

The organization, which was based on the northern Front Range, was
capable of producing and distributing hundreds of pounds of
marijuana, with much of that going out of state, according to an
indictment unsealed Friday. Meanwhile, the people involved in the
ring kept copies of Colorado medical-marijuana patient records to
provide a veneer of legality, according to the indictment.

The ring is the biggest operation to date that officials have accused
of exploiting medical-marijuana laws to shield black-market activities.

In a statement, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers suggested the
indictment is a mark against Colorado's medical-marijuana system.

"This case, while disturbing, should come as no surprise to
Coloradans who have been concerned that there is a nexus between
Colorado's booming medical-marijuana industry and illegal
distribution of the drug," Suthers said.

Medical-marijuana advocate Brian Vicente, though, said Suthers went
too far, using allegations not proven in court to implicate all
medical marijuana.

"Certainly one case with a small number of citizens shouldn't be
looked at as an indictment of our state's constitutional amendment
and our state's 100,000-plus patients," Vicente said.

Nine people were named in the 21-count indictment unsealed Friday.
Six of those, including accused ringleaders Richard Caleel, 34, and
Lakshman Garin, 28, had already been charged late last year in an
earlier, sealed indictment.

Also named in the indictment were: Buck Glanz, 28; Magin Gomez, 30;
Micah Krout, 29; Clayton McCann, 28; Charles Whitson, 28; Austin
Leard, 29; and Laura Vanwormer, 44.

Neither the indicted nor their attorneys could be reached for comment.

The state attorney general's office and the Northern Colorado Drug
Task Force spearheaded the investigation, but the cases are being
prosecuted in Jefferson County district court.

Attorney general's spokesman Mike Saccone said the medical-marijuana
patient records used by the ring were legitimate, but he wouldn't say
how the ring obtained them. The indictment alleges that the ring was
"wholly illegal," and Northern Colorado Drug Task Force Sgt. Gary
Shaklee said in a statement that much of the marijuana grown under
the guise of patient care was sold out of state in New Mexico.

Saccone said the investigators believe ring members moved to Colorado
from New Mexico - which has stricter rules for
medical-marijuana-growing - to exploit Colorado's laws.

Dan Hartman, head of the state Revenue Department's Medical Marijuana
Enforcement Division, said none of those indicted had submitted an
application to form a legitimate medical-marijuana business. That
made it easier for law enforcement officials to investigate the case,
Hartman said.

"We now have a bright line with which to distinguish between those
working within the legitimate Colorado medical-marijuana industry and
those engaging in illicit activity," Hartman said in a statement.