Pubdate: Thu, 08 Jan 2015
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Authors: John Ingold and Jordan Steffen

IS IT "MANUFACTURING" OF CONCENTRATED POT OR JUST "PROCESSING"?

A court hearing Wednesday to determine the legal status of marijuana 
hash oil in post-legalization Colorado resulted in the judge turning 
up his hands and shrugging his shoulders in exasperation.

The hearing in Denver District Court was to decide whether a man 
named Paul Mannaioni, who was one of three people charged after an 
explosion at a southwest Denver warehouse, can be prosecuted for the 
crime of manufacturing marijuana concentrate. The man's attorney, Rob 
Corry, who helped write Colorado's marijuana-legalization law, said 
Mannaioni can't be charged because Colorado's constitution now 
protects the personal possession of marijuana and the processing of 
marijuana plants.

"The court system is not to be used for marijuana regulation 
anymore," Corry said.

The Colorado attorney general argues Mannaioni can be charged 
because- by virtue of a curiously placed comma in Amendment 64, the 
legalization measure-the protection for marijuana does not cover 
cannabis "oil," like hash oil. says its definition for marijuana, 
"does not include industrial hemp, nor does it include fiber produced 
from the stalks, oil, or cake made from the seeds of the plant. ... "

The attorney general's office, which weighed in on Mannaioni's case 
even though it is not prosecuting the case, has made a similar 
argument in a case in Mesa County.

By the end of Wednesday's hearing, Denver District Judge A. Bruce 
Jones had concluded both sides were wrong, although it was still 
unclear how he ultimately would rule. Jones said he plans to deny 
Corry's motion to drop the charge, meaning the case against Mannaioni 
can proceed.

Hash oil is the potent goop left over after marijuana's active 
chemicals are dissolved from the underlying plant material. A popular 
amateur production method uses compressed butane gas, which can lead 
to dangerous explosions, such as the one that rocked the 1200 block 
of South Lipan Street in April. Mannaioni also is charged with arson 
in connection with the blast.

During Wednesday's hearing, Corry argued that home hash oil 
explosions are mistakes but not illegal.

"I compare it to frying a turkey," Corry said. "Accidents don't mean 
a crime has occurred."

Jones didn't seem impressed, calling some of Corry's arguments 
"circular." But Jones also criticized the attorney general's position.

"I'm going to tell him he's wrong. I'm going to tell him he's way 
wrong," Jones said.

Caught almost on the sidelines was the Denver district attorney's 
office, which is actually prosecuting the case.

A deputy district attorney said that hash oil qualifies as pot.

But he said there's a difference between Amendment 64' s protection 
for "processing" marijuana and the state law's criminalizing of 
"manufacturing" concentrated marijuana.

Jones is expected to issue his ruling in the coming weeks.
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