Obama Breaks Promises On Medical Marijuana Laws

Jim Finnel

Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Two weeks ago, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire vetoed a bill that would have clarified the rules for supplying medical marijuana in her state. She cited an April 14 letter in which Jenny Durkan and Michael Ormsby, the U.S. attorneys for Washington, threatened to prosecute not only growers and providers but also "others who knowingly facilitate" their actions, including landlords, financiers, and even state employees who license and regulate medical marijuana suppliers.

U.S. attorneys in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Rhode Island and Vermont have sent similar letters in recent months, discouraging some jurisdictions from proceeding with plans to establish licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. These threats, which are backed by the Justice Department, kill any lingering hopes that President Obama would keep his campaign promise to respect the medical marijuana laws that have been enacted in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

During his presidential campaign, Obama repeatedly said he would call off the Drug Enforcement Administration's raids on both medical marijuana users and their suppliers. In a March 2008 interview with Southern Oregon's Mail Tribune, he said, "I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue." Two weeks after Obama took office, a White House spokesman reiterated that position, saying, "The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws."

In October 2009, David Ogden, then the deputy attorney general, sent a memo that seemed to fulfill this promise. "As a general matter," he told U.S. attorneys, they "should not focus federal resources" on "individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana."

Yet the DEA's medical marijuana raids not only have continued but are more frequent under Obama than they were under George W. Bush. Americans for Safe Access ( ASA ), which argues that patients who can benefit from marijuana should be able to obtain it legally, counts well over 100 raids in the two years and four months since Obama's inauguration, compared to about 200 during Bush's eight years in office. "The Obama administration really is being more aggressive than the administration of his predecessor," says ASA spokesman Kris Hermes.

At first, it seemed the DEA was targeting growers and sellers who arguably were not "in clear and unambiguous compliance" with state law, since the rules for supplying medical marijuana were fuzzy in jurisdictions such as California, Colorado and Montana. But the U.S. attorney letters conclusively show that, contrary to the impression left by the Ogden memo, complying with state law provides no protection against federal prosecution.

Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler insists there is "no inconsistency" between the recent threats and the Ogden memo, which she says "talks about not investigating sick individuals who might be in compliance with state law." Actually, the memo refers not to "sick individuals" but to "individuals" generally, and it cites as examples not only patients but "caregivers" who supply them with marijuana.

In any case, the Justice Department's distinction between patients and suppliers cannot be reconciled with Attorney General Eric Holder's description of the new policy. "The policy is to go after those people who violate both federal and state law," he said in March 2009. "Our focus will be on people, organizations that are growing, cultivating substantial amounts of marijuana and doing so in a way that's inconsistent with federal and state law."

The new gloss on the Ogden memo, notes Hermes, is "exactly the same as what Bush said for years: 'We're not targeting patients.' There is no change."

The problem, of course, is that most of the "sick individuals" the Obama administration claims to be sparing are not up to the task of growing their own marijuana. When DEA raids or threats to landlords shut down dispensaries, Hermes notes, "patients wake up the next morning wondering where they're going to find their medication." Obama's position is that patients can have marijuana - they just can't get it anywhere.

ObamaonMedicalMarijuana.jpg



NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Desert Dispatch, The (Victorville, CA)
Copyright: 2011 Freedom Communications, Inc.
Contact: editorial@desertdispatch.com
Website: Desert Dispatch
Details: MapInc
Author: Jacob Sullum
 
Remind me again how many raids did Obama direct ?
Zero .. so your headline is just a 'trick' to get readers,
or are you one of those disappointed he presented his
birth certificate ??
Like Bill M. says " All these attacks begin to look like racism."
 
It would seem that you are the one that is bringing up the racial issue!

Did you even read the "trick"headline?
"Obama Breaks Promises On Medical Marijuana Laws "
If a dog on a leash bites you, are you gonna blame the dog or the person holding his leash...

It said nothing about the Prez (who promised voters he would not use Federal resources) leading or directing any raids... being the boss means that he sets the policies and can change much of it any time he pleases!

I would have to say that him being a liar is the issue... not the mans color!



Remind me again how many raids did Obama direct ?
Zero .. so your headline is just a 'trick' to get readers,
or are you one of those disappointed he presented his
birth certificate ??
Like Bill M. says " All these attacks begin to look like racism."
 
IMO,,,,all politicians are liars,,, they say what is needed to be elected....
 
Remind me again how many raids did Obama direct ?
Zero .. so your headline is just a 'trick' to get readers,
or are you one of those disappointed he presented his
birth certificate ??
Like Bill M. says " All these attacks begin to look like racism."

And I bet you beleive that OJ didn't kill Nicole.......
 
The same prez. who as well promised to "Not use federal funds, or third party interests to run for office", until he received the nomination to run...
It doesn't matter what color the skin of a man is that makes him a liar, it's the agenda he has and the process he uses getting there, that makes him the man he is.
Judge not the rock, but the mountain it becomes.
Obama is just another politician. 'Political agenda' is what makes our decisions for us. It is only "US" we can blame as to why a promise is just words... & no politician ever has to live up to it. We have the power to stop the lies, and the ability to stand up for our rights, and obligate him to keep all the promises he made. "Promise to reduce debt"; "Promise to reduce spending"; The "Promise to 'Bring our troops' home"; the "promise to eliminate raids"; but the thing is it's not even his fault in total, he's just the puppet in the play. He doesn't even write all of his own promises. Someone whom is politically agenda'ed is writing em' for him. Even Obama is only responsible for laws so far. Busch is still honestly primarily responsible for a majority of the events transpiring today.
It is never the reigning president who affects the society he reigns over... But the President which he is taking over for that still lingers on. We blame those that can make a difference, simply because we need someone to blame, so it can't be our own fault's.
I Blame the person holding the leash as to why the dog got a hold of em'. It is the intellectual mind that is the world's most powerful weapon... And in ending, if you believe a lie from the story you heard it from, you can only blame yourself if you're wealth is stripped from you.
It would seem that you are the one that is bringing up the racial issue!

Did you even read the "trick"headline?
"Obama Breaks Promises On Medical Marijuana Laws "
If a dog on a leash bites you, are you gonna blame the dog or the person holding his leash...

It said nothing about the Prez (who promised voters he would not use Federal resources) leading or directing any raids... being the boss means that he sets the policies and can change much of it any time he pleases!

I would have to say that him being a liar is the issue... not the mans color!
 
How many murders did Charles Manson personally commit? 0!
Yet convicted of 15!!!!
How many murders or contracts did Don Corleone order? NEVER ONCE!!!

You can't have a face "in the public eye", and have scars on the surface to be judged by??? It has nothing to do with birth certificate's or skin color, the report is simple basic statistical facts that control and decipher you're life no matter what state you reside in, or what side you vote for.
"...the flutter of a butterflies wings, causes a tsunami throughout all of time..."
Remind me again how many raids did Obama direct ?
Zero .. so your headline is just a 'trick' to get readers,
or are you one of those disappointed he presented his
birth certificate ??
Like Bill M. says " All these attacks begin to look like racism."
 
" All these attacks begin to look like racism."

To me, playing the race card is the most pitiful, weak and ignorant method of responding to any situation. Shame on you......
 
I supported Obama's campaign and I am proud of it because what he said he wanted for America was what I wanted.
I flew over 900 hours in combat in Vietnam so You could say what you please, so go ahead.
 
An Ignorant, stupid & lazy person blames everything on anything except their own reality... sound familiar? Everyone needs to blame their pathetic existence on something, other then their own minuscule, disgusting existence's. No-one wants to look in the mirror and say, "I am a disgusting excuse for a human being, and I give nothing to contribute to human kind". Can we? Anyone who reminds us of the suppression of their ancestors, as a reason for why we are criticizing a man for his actions, and failures to accept responsibilities for said actions, is as irresponsible as the man being questioned for his decisions and actions.

To me, playing the race card is the most pitiful, weak and ignorant method of responding to any situation. Shame on you......
 
I commend you for being brave enough to sacrifice your will for a country so quick to ignore you, and turn their backs on you. I believe in willingness to die for our freedoms, but to die for a game, a man plays is foolish. "...Anyone who repeats the same process, and expects a different outcome is insane..." (Albert Einstein)
If you expect to change the outcome of war, change the procedure of war! You did for your country, and preacher, no different then any other has in the history of war. You fought and died for a cause you believed in. the same as your enemy, Hell Tupac Shakur did that, and we still to this day condemn him as a gangster, instead of a poet. We assault countries with little to no justifications, and call it in the name of "Freedom", yet their doing the same to their warriors. We just disagree with their terms.
I don't blame you for believing in the system. If you fought in Vietnam, that means you grew up in a blind and angry society even more so then today. Even in your time, you still believed in the government.
Nixon, Ford, are directly (never blamable, but read between the lines of their terms and you'll see) for the predicaments we're in as a world right now. You where probably raised on a culture of limited communications and space-ship freak-outs. Citizens believe almost anything, because of -the need for the sense of security, trust brings.
I grew up naive and trusting, only to be raised to see reality for what it is, because most of the time what you never want to see has been obvious since you first saw it.
If any politician ever came on stage and said I am going to screw you, the people, in every way the money I want decides I am going to, would you really vote him into a position to decide and run your life?
I wrote more on the topic I'm starting to stray on here: Cannabis Facts
But seriously, if you truly refuse to open your shutters, and see that the choices he has made, is affecting everyone. I'm sorry. And I apologize for this expression of freedom of speech, but you flew 900 hours so we could have big screen TV's and stupid j*ck*ss gas-guzzling road hogs. You flew and fought in Vietnam, just like in every war, for the industries to rake-in billions.
Obama broke his promises for the same reasons Nixon quit. His greed obligates him to!
If I held a promise of "Gates of Gold" on earth, and a life of worship and adornment, would you play by your own rules?
To me, playing the race card is the most pitiful, weak and ignorant method of responding to any situation. Shame on you......

I supported Obama's campaign and I am proud of it because what he said he wanted for America was what I wanted.
I flew over 900 hours in combat in Vietnam so You could say what you please, so go ahead.
 
This thread seems kinda Harsh! some of this stuff should be in caps,but then I'm high. Politics and religion are arguments waiting to happen. No matter how you try to avoid them they pull you back in. :peace:
 
This thread seems kinda Harsh! some of this stuff should be in caps,but then I'm high. Politics and religion are arguments waiting to happen. No matter how you try to avoid them they pull you back in. :peace:

OOOOhhhh boy do they, lol!!! I was soooo trying to be gentle too!!!
I do apologize for being a little too realistic sometimes...
 
How about staying on topic...
Mr. Obama promised to leave mmj patients and caregivers alone if they followed state law. To date there have been hundreds of DEA raids across the country on legitimite mmj grow operations. To me, when you promise you will do one thing and then break that promise by doing the exact opposite, you sir, are a liar!
 
How about staying on topic...
To me, when you promise you will do one thing and then break that promise by doing the exact opposite, you sir, are a liar!

Is exactly where I was going with this, I just strayed a bit I did apologize, bringing it back to the exact mentioned quote, LIAR=Politician. Officer of the Government, same thing...
 
Is exactly where I was going with this, I just strayed a bit I did apologize, bringing it back to the exact mentioned quote, LIAR=Politician. Officer of the Government, same thing...

When I was a younger man, I was naive enough to beleive that some politicians actually gave a shit. Unfortunately, time has revealed the truth...
 
I love how anyone that disagrees with Obama is a racist or a GW Bush Supporter.


See, I do not attack people that are gay. I consider that their choice. I attack people that are gay that pretend not to be gay.

All the politicians we have that make it to that office are pure shit. Bill Clinton was a righteous man, but the right wing attacked him in office and made him have to fight to survive instead of running the country.

Once a politician gets to the US Senate or President they have special interest so far up their ass they cannot even consider a unique thought... But there is no other way. It cost half a billion dollars to even run for office and that money never comes out of a politicians own pocket. Only business, unions, the church and other special interest pay that bill.
 
Likewise, and believe it or not, I never attended a single high school for more then a month. I read, everything. I opened my imagination as I learned. I grew to see things from an intellectual mature imaginative manner. And I looked into the favorite subject of mine, History. I learned there is no politician to be honest, it's a contradiction of their offices policy.Obama played on the ways of the "New Age" and listened to what everyone needed to hear in order to get from them what he wanted. "The Raids" are just loop holes he never answered questions directly about. If we never listened to begin with, he never would've "TWEETED" about it!
Seriously we live our lives around a screen of some sort, giving a crap, about someone taking a crap. And we wonder how it is they do these things to us, and how everyday we become more and more at the mercy of people just him. Stop the Greed, Stop the need for them!
When I was a younger man, I was naive enough to beleive that some politicians actually gave a shit. Unfortunately, time has revealed the truth...
 
Liked and +rep

How about staying on topic...
Mr. Obama promised to leave mmj patients and caregivers alone if they followed state law. To date there have been hundreds of DEA raids across the country on legitimite mmj grow operations. To me, when you promise you will do one thing and then break that promise by doing the exact opposite, you sir, are a liar!
 
:Namaste:
Even Clinton, and Kennedy (I know, Lord help Me!) had their own agenda's. They just stood up for more people being appreciated. I agree with you here, except that once a politician decides he/she is going to become a politician, he has special interest groups up their ___!!! Again I direct you to the link here:Cannabis Facts in regard to religion and special interest groups and why he has to lie. I believe those that are insecure and grieve their decisions are the ones that point fingers in blame.
I agree with the point you're saying about blaming those that pretend, but our "Racist" hatred is being directed in the wrong directions. Hell every culture has suffered suppression and human loss. Persians, Egyptians, Romans... They used to loose lives by the hundreds of thousands, and lied with ease. Now its politics of our culture and societies that have cameras and nosey "POP-A-Ratzi" lurking around every corner, oh wait that's right it is a 'Federal' Offense to be on the grounds of a president, and take their photograph with written consent... Why else would they need sooooo much security? Oh, right the "TERRORISTS" might have him waking up with a horse's head in his bed with him?
We endure the "RAIDS" because we long so desperately for the "RIGHT" to smoke, that we so eagerly allow bill's to be passed, without ever listening to what the bill states.
There is a reason you need a couple of degrees in History and the English language to understand what the words really mean in the papers every government office uses, and/or passes in front of future politicians, I mean judges...
:Namaste:
I love how anyone that disagrees with Obama is a racist or a GW Bush Supporter.


See, I do not attack people that are gay. I consider that their choice. I attack people that are gay that pretend not to be gay.

All the politicians we have that make it to that office are pure shit. Bill Clinton was a righteous man, but the right wing attacked him in office and made him have to fight to survive instead of running the country.

Once a politician gets to the US Senate or President they have special interest so far up their ass they cannot even consider a unique thought... But there is no other way. It cost half a billion dollars to even run for office and that money never comes out of a politicians own pocket. Only business, unions, the church and other special interest pay that bill.
 
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