Feds to Revamp Their Marijuana Enforcement Policies
The kind of news that stimulates your mind... man...
Courtesy of MyWay:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal drug agents won't pursue pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in states that allow medical marijuana, under new legal guidelines to be issued Monday by the Obama administration. Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law. The guidelines to be issued by the department do, however, make it clear that agents will go after people whose marijuana distribution goes beyond what is permitted under state law or use medical marijuana as a cover for other crimes, the officials said. The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes. Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. California is unique among those for the widespread presence of dispensaries - businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Colorado also has several dispensaries, and Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing providers, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that promotes the decriminalization of marijuana use. Attorney General Eric Holder said in March that he wanted federal law enforcement officials to pursue those who violate both federal and state law, but it has not been clear how that goal would be put into practice. A three-page memo spelling out the policy is expected to be sent Monday to federal prosecutors in the 14 states, and also to top officials at the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration. The memo, the officials said, emphasizes that prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing which cases to pursue, and says it is not a good use of federal manpower to prosecute those who are without a doubt in compliance with state law. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the legal guidance before it is issued.
I won't comment on this news for now because I wouldn't want my work seeing my thoughts and thinking "I think it might be a good time to pop a random drug test on Mr. Skinny D Acid," but you all can have at it on a Monday morning. So wake and bake BL Raggers... let's hear your thoughts on bringing the issue back to the state level and keeping the Feds from going after the businesses that sell marijuana, even advertise their services, and the possible downhill tumble this could baby step into.
Permalink | tagged DEA, State Laws, War on Drugs, fed, marijuana, medical, medications 
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Reader Comments (6)
It occurs to me that this is, for many folks, the dark side of the state sovereignty question. We last discussed this in the context of firearms, but can the folks supporting state sovereignty there also support it in this case?
Now, this will get REALLY interesting when one starts considering things like suppliers in one "medically legal" state who wish to provide products/services to residents of other "medically legal" states, but would have to traverse "completely illegal" states in order to do so. Interstate commerce is explicitly Federal, is it not? Hoo, boy...
Good job Mr. President and thank you for stopping a huge waste of my money on stupid shit. You'd think all of the "big gov't is evil" conservatives would have done this a long time ago, but I think we all know they are really posers and hypocrites.
Dirk;
Between your "It's Friday" comment and this one, it's a tough call on which one is more moronic. Love these insightful libs posts.
Dirk, I think people meant well by funding a war on drugs, but due to the fault of the typical American drug user, it's a lost cause. I can understand wanting to take increased steps to busting meth labs, heroine dealers and LSD cooks (note: I've encountered too many of all to count), but drugs like pot and legal drugs (fighting being classified as illegal in many areas) like Salvia and Datura Stramonium are hardly worth the time and effort. I don't have any stats on me, nor do I really don't think I need to, to assume that most of the drug busts in this country are marijuana-related. All that effort into a drug nowhere near as harmful or deadly as alcohol, I just don't find the costs of fighting that battle worth it.
Would it surprise you that I've toked it up with many Republicans? In fact, there's a lot of us conservative-minded people who think we need to put more of the responsibilities of drug usage on the person's loved ones... not big government. That hardly makes them hypocritical. Get used to it, with the f-ups in power, you'll likely see a bread of younger Republicans over the years. Many are waking up from the hope and change dream.
If I was a drug addict, I can assure you I'd have about 20 friends and family members lined up to throw my twisted head into a rehab clinic... not the law or big brother. They'd get to me before I got cracked outta my mind and started robbing banks with a squirt gun and getaway vehicle provided by my city's mass transit depot. Maybe some people aren't so lucky.
My neighbor who is from India told me once that pot grows wild all over the place there, and since it does, the people who smoke it come off looking like losers. We on the other hand have made it illegal, making it look cool to so many of our younger people across the country. It gives it a more desired imagine than it deserves. It's not that awesome... I'd totally take getting trashed on some CC-7's and Jagerbombs, topped off with a glass of Bent River Uncommon Stout over weed any day. Throw a blunt in with those two and now you're talkin;o)
I wouldn't expect this to be the end of it. Like I said prior to the election... this was the one stance of Obama's I could get behind. That and a f%$#ing NCAA College Football Playoff
... dammit!!
This one's a killer
And that one's a coon
Who let all of this riff raff into the room
There's one smoking a joint
And another with spots
If I had my way
I'd have all of you shot!
Republican National Anthem
Roger Waters, The Wall
This story is soooo huge and and unbelievable even. But where is the usual mainstream media yakety-yak? I think secretly the boys and girls at Fox News have bong stashed in the green room somewhere. If they start yapping then they may wake us up from this dream. And the was it was done. How sublime that the President, the guy in charge of the whole damn bureaucracy, "Hey, you two shithead lawyers over their quit wasting time and go find the next Bernie Madoff." Oh thank you Mr. President.
This is like the end of Prohibition! I think I could cry, sniff.
I think Red Eye has made many comments in regards to that "green room" of theirs ;o)