Whiff of Change in US Medical Marijuana Policy

[Ganjarden]

The White House won't say it explicitly. Neither will the Drug Enforcement Administration. Yet there is a whiff in the air that U.S. policy is about to change when it comes to medical marijuana.

The message is clear, said UCLA professor Mark Kleiman, a former Justice Department official and an expert on crime and drug policy.

''It is no longer federal policy to beat up on hippies,'' said Kleiman.

Tell that to the DEA.

In California this past week, agents raided four dispensaries in Los Angeles and seized 500 pounds of pot.

''It's a little bit surprising, because I think current DEA management didn't get the message,'' said Kleiman. ''The message is, this is no longer drug warrior time. We are not on a cultural crusade against pot-smoking.''

California law permits the sale of marijuana for medical purposes, though it is still against federal law.

Thirteen states have laws permitting medicinal use of marijuana. California is unique among them for the presence of dispensaries, businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Legal under California law, such dispensaries are still illegal under federal law.

''Anyone possessing, distributing or cultivating marijuana for any reason is in violation of federal law,'' Sarah Pullen, a DEA spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said Thursday.

That may be the law, but it contradicts the medical marijuana position of the new president.

''The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind,'' said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro, repeating past statements.

So on Friday, DEA officials in Washington declined to comment at all on the subject.

As a presidential candidate, Obama repeatedly promised a change in federal drug policy in situations where state laws allow use of medical marijuana.

''I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's entirely appropriate,'' Obama told the Mail Tribune of Medford, Ore., in March.

A year earlier at a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Obama said: ''I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users.''

At age 47, Obama is part of a generation that had plenty of exposure to pot.

In his memoir, ''Dreams from My Father,'' he described time spent as a youth struggling with questions about his race and identity, and turning to drugs -- including marijuana and c*****e -- to ''push questions of who I was out of my mind.''

The new president is unlikely to make any official change in policy before he has a new DEA chief and drug czar in place.

Yet experts believe it is already clear the Obama administration will change the strategy, if not the law, on medical marijuana.

Philip Heymann, a former deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration who is now a Harvard professor, said it's time for the agency to put more effort into fighting drugs more dangerous than marijuana.

''I do expect him to appoint an administrator who takes marijuana less seriously than is traditional for the DEA, as I think most Americans do,'' said Heymann.

Heymann said he expects the Obama administration will eventually instruct the DEA to emphatically scale back raids on dispensaries, and conduct such raids only in instances where investigators believe a business is abusing the dispensary system as a cover for other criminal behavior.

So last week's raids in California may be the last of their kind.

''The DEA's not likely to want to confront a new president,'' said Heymann. ''It may simply be that they're behaving as they have traditionally, and they haven't anticipated the change Obama and his spokesman are signaling.''


News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: New York Times
Contact: The New York Times
Copyright: 2009 The Associated Press
Website: Whiff of Change in US Medical Marijuana Policy

 

[TheBest]

GG DEA, GG. but time for "change" stop messin around with our medicine

 

[Cherma]

Until the new administration signs into effect any law or madate that replaces the current head of the DEA and mandates a Cease and Desist order to not be raiding any Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, noone should count out the fact the Dark Environment Around us will let up. This is exactly what they want until they have their marching orders. Continue to write & call your Congressman your Senators and demand a change and repeal of all Cannabis Prohibition Laws. Do this respectfully and peacfully.

 

[Paladin]

Until the new administration signs into effect any law or madate that replaces the current head of the DEA and mandates a Cease and Desist order to not be raiding any Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, noone should count out the fact the Dark Environment Around us will let up. This is exactly what they want until they have their marching orders. Continue to write & call your Congressman your Senators and demand a change and repeal of all Cannabis Prohibition Laws. Do this respectfully and peacfully.

While your at it .... remind them of Article 1 , Section 8 of the Constitution. If government refuses to adhere to the law ( constitution ) as authorized by " we the people " ...why should the people follow the unauthorized laws written by a unlawful government ?

 

[Triconomics]

500 pounds? Seems like the DEA raids needs to boost their confiscation numbers to make it seem like they actually do some confiscations outside of their own drug network they run.

Just imagine some old hack cop in the DEA who is lazy and needs to boost his numbers who better to do that then the dispensaries. Easy prey. To them it's better than busting someone who might be working undercover for them anyway. Kill's two birds with one stone. They can be lazy and get the job done at the same time.

If you want change your going to have to make the cops and DEA work for whatever they get. Not hand it over on a platter hiding behind the law. The police and government are above the law. I know this is common knowledge but some people will never learn until the government breaks every law they pass then passes more laws justifying their previous breakings' of the law.

The more cannabis they confiscate the bigger budget they get. The bigger budget they get the more the inefficient beuracratic system expands

 

[TheBest]

While your at it .... remind them of Article 1 , Section 8 of the Constitution. If government refuses to adhere to the law ( constitution ) as authorized by " we the people " ...why should the people follow the unauthorized laws written by a unlawful government ?

I agree, the government is not for the people by the people. and Not just on the aspects of Marijuana laws. Its time we make a change.

 

[Nigtmove]

Does anyone here do one panel political cartoons?

I had an idea for a cartoon but, artist? Not so much.

The background is a tattered and run down Oval Office, Obama is dealing out small stacks of money to skeletons in suits with all the big company names written on them, BEHIND THE SUITS are drawn the public begging for stimulus. Right behind the Prez are some government people trying their best to hold back a wall bulging at the seams with money and on the wall is written one small word...pot. (Make sure ALL of Jon Q Herb is represented from suit and tie to sandals and tie-dye.)

I would love to see some stuff posted and if something catches on...

Where to post it? EVERYWHERE!

Ps Obama could be standing in or next to one of those giant bank safes that have the round crank on the front and it could be open to like a desert scene or an obviously pillaged safe.