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Source: www.themarketfinancial.com --- Thursday, July 29, 2010DENVER — The majority of Medical Marijuana dispensary owners in Colorado have criminal records, and 18 percent were previously convicted of felonies, Drug Enforcement Administration statistics show. The crimes the dispensary owners were arrested for include sexual assault, weapons violations and burglary. Four of the owners were previously arrested and investigated on charges of murder and attempted murder. KUSA-TV reported the DEA's findings Wednesday. "This business seems to have an inappropriate number of people with criminal backgrounds involved as business owners," said Kevin Merrill, assistant special agent in charge for the Denver field division of the DEA. The DEA said its statistics show that 28 percent Medical Marijuana dispensary owners have criminal records for drug offenses, compared with 8 percent of the state's population who were previously arrested for crimes. "I would be hard-pressed to find any other business group where their members have so many criminal violations, arrests and convictions," Merrill said. The DEA developed its statistics through public records, property records, and the names of Marijuana dispensary owners. The DEA then ran background checks on the business owners. Some of the dispensary owners with criminal records will not be able to operate their businesses after Sunday, when new state regulations go into effect barring anyone with a felony conviction or sentence in the past five years from o ...