| Photo: U.S. News |
| Asshole DEA agent Jeffrey Sweetin is leaving Colorado. Yaaay! Unfortunately, this meth-filled Elmo is not his replacement. Boooo! |
Dude, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
That’s the message from Colorado marijuana advocates who are cheering the departure of federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent Jeffrey D. Sweetin because, they said, they believe his views are not in line with the will of Colorado voters who legalized cannabis for medical purposes, reports Felisa Cardona at The Denver Post.
The opinionated special agent in charge of the Denver office of the DEA said he understands that he’s become the “face” of the War On Pot in Colorado, but said his exit doesn’t mean the fight over marijuana is finished.
“The person who takes my place is going to have the same mission I have,” Sweetin said.
DEA agents are sworn to uphold the Constitution, Sweetin said, and marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Sweetin’s departure from Colorado is due to his promotion to run the DEA training center in Quantico, Virginia. The new assignment begins in September.
The gung-ho DEA agent managed to royally piss off most of the medical marijuana community during his eight years in the Denver office. The criticism got sharper after Chris Bartkowicz, a Highlands Ranch resident who grew medical marijuana in his basement, was arrested after showing off his operation in a television interview.
The DEA claims that Bartkowicz was arrested because he had too many plants for his patients, and because his grow operation was within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.
Sweetin pointed out that the DEA has not been raiding dispensaries that have boomed throughout Colorado. He claims marijuana advocates used the Bartkowicz arrest as a way to “build hysteria.”
While he’s glad Sweetin is leaving, he agrees that his moving on won’t change the DEA’s mission, said Mason Tvert, director of Safe Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), a marijuana advocacy group.
“One disingenuous anti-marijuana zealot is just the same as another, and I would expect that his replacement would be just as adamant about going after marijuana regardless if the substance is safer than alcohol,” Tvert said.
Sweetin claimed the personal attacks increased as he became more outspoken in his anti-marijuana views.
“Medical marijuana proponents threatened by life and the lives of my family,” Swetin dramatically claimed. “We are not thin-skinned. It’s OK to disagree with us, but I don’t agree with personal attacks. That’s cowardice,” Sweetin said, not bothering to mention that hiding behind a big ol’ federal badge and gun is one of the most despicably yellow-bellied things one can possibly do.