Obama issues new medical marijuana rules: No arrests

By Raw Story
Monday, October 19th, 2009 -- 7:49 am
Share on Facebook Stumble This!

2009 06 08 Obama Obama issues new medical marijuana rules: No arrestsWASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

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 laws.

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.

Story continues below...

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 the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Powered by Mochila

Share this article:
  • Print
  • email
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Story comments are below...

  • Anonymous
    Medical understandable, but recreational use of all drugs should become socially acceptable. Not only would crime vanish, but our economy wold go back to normal!
  • damixaustex
    They need to make it legal to grow your own and give away now before the states get their fingers in the pot (so to speak).
    It's the only way to take the value out of it. The notion of seeing it as a revenue stream has got to go.
    How long before the taxing states have TV commercials encouraging more pot use? It didn't take long for gambling(lotteries)...
  • donofcali
    You've made the argument in favor of stopping the process at decriminalization; where it is not illegal to grow, possess or use it, but it is illegal to openly market it with all the associated advertisement sickness of our consumer-zombie society.
  • Savantster
    .
    Decriminalized doesn't mean legal, it means non-criminal, but can still mean fines like if you spit on a sidewalk. There aren't jail times associated, but you can't just 'do it'.

    Of course, there are differing laws that could be stipulated.

    I just want to know what's wrong with making a profit? Why would people grow it just to give away? You can make your own alcohol today, but most people still buy it because they want a flavor, or vintage, or just plain old simplicity. Why wouldn't that apply to cannabis? Why _shouldn't_ it apply to cannabis?
  • damixaustex
    The current street price is high because of laws criminalizing pot. The states are trying to maintain the higher price to generate revenue under some false claim that health expenses will be high. It's a revenue grab, a sin tax just because they can.
    I've got no problem with entrepreneurs making a profit, but there shouldn't be a false value set by the state through taxes.
    It's true, there will always be someone willing to pay, but if the goal is to reduce the deaths and crime associated with marijuana trade and importation, then the first step is complete legalization.
    I think it's politically easier to pass grow your own, give it away than it is to pass a complete legalization, which is why I say it's the first step and it should be done BEFORE these states get drunk on the revenue stream.
  • damixaustex
    If they pass taxation, controlled sales, without legalizing giving it away, then the states are doing a disservice to their people, grabbing cash, controlling the value. I know a lot of reformists say the taxation is acceptable, but I don't agree. State sales tax is plenty revenue. The $50 per ounce is BS.The stuff should be worth $5-10 max, like basil or oregano.
    I grow basil and oregano AND I buy it in the store, so I know what you mean about the sales.
  • Notorious Kelly
    This is a step in the right direction toward legalization.
  • Savantster
    .
    Not sure I see anything substantial here.. "not worth your time" is hardly telling them not to prosecute (which he can't do, anyway.. since that would technically be telling them they can't prosecute crimes.. how do you tell a prosecutor not to prosecute a crime? that's as bad as telling one to prosecute someone who didn't commit a crime.. the RIGHT course, of course, is to remove the label "crime").

    We'll have to wait and see how this pans out.
  • donofcali
    The rational thing would be for Obama to come out and overtly support the decriminalization of cannabis.

    But he can't do that here in Monkeyland, or he'd be brutalized 24/7 with blatant lies and emotional diatribes by the right wing news media and consequently 2/3 of the (brain-dead) voters in this country would come out against him based on their sheer ignorance. And thus the fight would be lost. So this process is relegated to one baby step at a time.
  • budro
    He isnt anything but imortilized by the media. He is bringing change. With Obama all you will have left is change. Anyone that voted for someone that never voted on anything is a fucking moron. How can a million black guys walk and its huge, but 4 million white guys march and the media prints the white house statement that these are not the views of most americans. Do we mean nothing? Look deeper. He will work out a way to tax drugs, so we can blow it on a golden toilet or a field mouse. He doesnt care about patients and the war on drugs. He wants the money.
  • Satan
    That's nice, I've been smoking daily for 20 years and have never been arrested for it and I don't use it medically, therefore Obama wants me in jail.

    Pandering to the left again, the sad thing is that there's lots of morons that will see his support of medical marijuana users as a reason not to be 'too hard' on him as we enter the 9th fucking year of war in Afghanistan. If you smoke weed for fun, this doesn't apply to you. This is more about compassion for the ill than enabling liberty, which should be the fuckers primary goal.

    Speaking of the son of a bitch, we had a march here in Seattle this weekend to protest Obamas perpetuation of endless war. About 40 people showed up and we were escorted by about 50 cops. Good times. The march went well, it got lots of exposure, although nothing really in the media.

    I'm so glad we have the youth we do today, when the march arrived at their destination there were some young counterculture type youths already there. One of them jumped on his friends shoulders and they ran around reaming, "WAR NOT PEACE! WAR NOT PEACE! WAR NOT PEACE!." Many if not most of the people were 60+ and a bunch were vets.
  • Phil E. Drifter
    Nice pic to include, RAW. He's laughing so hard you can't tell if his eyes are bloodshot, a telltale effect of cannabis, because it dilates blood vessels, which is why it makes your eyes red.
  • edwards_com
    You have a great imagination or just a garden
    variety BIGOT.
  • Phil E. Drifter
    Are you kidding or are you dumb as a rock? Haha, oh yeah, edwards, he's that guy that LOST.
  • edwards_com
    Excuse me for not seeing the Presidents Blood Shot eyes. It's the only photograph in this thread.
  • Phil E. Drifter
    It's not about Big Pharma, it's not about Big Tobacco, it's not about Big Cotton, it's not about Big Textiles, it's uncle sam's ace in the hole to replace outlawed slave labor with prison labor.

    The reason they refuse to move it out of Schedule I status is because then they wouldn't be able to arrest people en masse for carrying the world's most prolific plant! I mean that. Cannabis can grow just about anywhere, in any climate, at any extreme.

    Read tinyurl.com/1mn and tinyurl.com/potconviction and take a quick look at tinyurl.com/waronminorities
  • Phil E. Drifter
    And google 'hemp for victory' which was the title of a 1942 film by the USDA urging American farmers to 'grow hemp for the war,' so desperate was Uncle Sam for the multitude of uses for this miraculous plant: cloth for uniforms and parachutes, machine oil for their aircraft carriers, etc.
  • Hologram5
    It is about freaking time. They need to realize that it does help and quit taking monies from Big Pharma to keep it illegal. Medical Marijuana helps with more conditions than people realize. It'll help with anxiety, chemo, glaucoma, Hypertension and the list keeps on going. Besides, it is safer than alcohol and alcohol is LEGAL. WTF?
blog comments powered by Disqus