Chris Bartkowicz

Chris Bartkowicz is a Colorado state licensed medical marijuana caregiver that was raided and arrested on the order of Denver area DEA agent Jeffrey sweetin on February 12th 2010.

Arrest

Sweetin's order to raid and arrest Bartkowitz came in defiance of President Barack Obama and United States Attorney General Eric Holder's directive not to enforce federal law against medical marijuana users and dispensaries 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 enforcing federal law against them was not a good use of federal resources. Despite the fact that Colorado voters amended the state constitution to allow medical marijuana, Sweetin stated that "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" said Sweetin.

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.

“Colorado law allows users to possess 2 ounces of usable marijuana and six plants. Bartkowicz had 224 marijuana plants growing in his basement and garage and showed investigators that was he was providing marijuana to 12 patients, which means he would only be able to have 72 plants under state law”.

While Sweetin and Gaouette both argue that Colorado state law limits Bartkowicz to 6 plants and 2 ounces as a care-giver, the wording of the Colorado state constitution never states a maximum number of plants that a care-giver may posses. The state constitution only sets a limit on the amount that a patient may posses.

The complaint filed against Barkowicz alleges that he is in violation of federal law which makes no exception for the medical use of marijuana but does not accuse him of failing to conform to clear and unambiguous compliance with state law. In addition, there has been no evidence offered in the complaint against Bartkowicz to give reason to believe that he was not in compliance with state law as state law does not define a maximum number of plants that care-givers may posses, but only a maximum number of plants that patients may posses.

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.