Pubdate: Fri, 10 Aug 2012 Source: Broomfield Enterprise (CO) Copyright: 2012 MediaNews Group Contact: http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5129 Author: Megan Quinn REPORT ASKS OFFICIALS TO TIGHTEN MEDICAL POT RULES Broomfield Drug Bust Among Report's Examples A new report from a Congressional drug control group says medical marijuana from Colorado is being diverted and resold illegally both in and out of the state. A Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (RMHIDTA) report published last week suggests that Colorado is a significant region where drug dealers divert medical marijuana from patients and sell it illegally. A Broomfield bust from June was among more than 70 state-wide examples of illegal diversion listed in the report. The report was put together by the regional office of HIDTA, which was created by Congress in the 1980s to coordinate between Federal, state and local drug enforcement groups. The report urged officials to tighten medical marijuana regulations to make it harder for marijuana to be misused and illegally distributed by patients, caregivers and dispensaries. The report mentions more than 70 case studies, including an incident in June when an undercover agent bought marijuana from three men living in a mobile home park in Broomfield. One of the men claimed to be a medical marijuana patient. North Metro Task Force later found that the men were purchasing the drugs from two Northglenn dispensaries and reselling it from their home. Sgt. Jim Gerhardt of the North Metro Task Force said the report does not point to Broomfield as a significant part of the problem. Illegal grow operations and medical marijuana diversion are just as common in the Broomfield area as they are in other metro-area cities of the same or bigger size, he said. Broomfield "is not a haven (for marijuana), but it is not a rare occurrence, either," he said. "Broomfield is pretty equal in terms of activity like this in large cities." Gerhardt compared Broomfield's illegal marijuana activity to that of neighboring cities of Westminster or Northglenn, saying many suspects have claimed their home-based grow operations were medical marijuana related even if they were not. Broomfield voters in 2010 approved a ban on medical marijuana-related businesses. Yet marijuana is not gone from the city. So far this year, the task force has confiscated 1682 plants from 11 total locations. Of those, eight claimed their in-home grow operations or drug transactions were medical marijuana related. In 2011, the task force confiscated 840 plants from 21 locations. Of those, 15 suspects claimed they were growing the drug for medicinal purposes. Gerhardt said the national report does not change day-to-day operations for the task force, with a jurisdiction that includes Broomfield, Westminster, Northglenn and Thornton. With a steady number of grow operations and marijuana sales, Gerhardt agrees that the state must look at more options to crack down on illegal activity. "Marijuana is not easy to regulate," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom