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Colorado’s medical pot industry fuels illegal trade, review shows

Kirk Mitchell and Ryan Parker/The Denver Post

Colorado’s medical marijuana industry has spawned illegal drug networks that are marketing pot across the U.S., illustrating that state laws aren’t keeping the drug in the hands of people entitled to use it, regional drug officials say.

A Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area team spent three weeks examining data gathered in the two years following the enactment on Jan. 1, 2010, of state laws governing the cultivation, manufacture and retail sale of medical marijuana and related products.

The review found more than 70 instances of the diversion of medical marijuana to criminal drug operations. In the report, the Drug Enforcement Administration suggested Colorado is on track to become a primary source of supply for high-grade marijuana throughout the country.



Colorado patients, caregivers and dispensaries all have diverted medical marijuana to illegal use in 23 states, according to the review.

Read more at DenverPost.com.




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