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Feds not to prosecute state compliant medical marijuana use
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Soldiers burning 13 tons of pot
Today the United States Department of Justice sent a memo to select United States Attorneys with the subject line, “Investigations and Prosecutions in States Authorizing the Medical Use of Marijuana.” The memorandum sent by Deputy Attorney General, David W. Ogden, finally gives “clarification and guidance” on the Obama Administration’s policy towards medical marijuana users and distributors.
Proponents for the legalization of marijuana are touting this as a major turnaround by the federal government, the DOJ and the DEA, and the change is significant compared to the Bush Administration’s stand in relation to marijuana use. However, it is far from a victory when you consider the language of the memo.
The Department of Justice is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all States. Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug, and the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime and provides a significant source of revenue to large-scale criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels. One timely example underscores the importance of our efforts to prosecute significant marijuana traffickers: marijuana distribution in the United States remains the single largest source of revenue for the Mexican cartels.
That paragraph illustrates the hypocrisy of the federal position on marijuana, and it all comes down to the Controlled Substances Act. Despite the fact that 14 states have approved the use of medical marijuana, based on scientific studies and medical evidence, by maintaining its position that marijuana is a Schedule I Controlled Substance, the DEA and the federal government are denying all of that evidence, and claiming the marijuana has no proven medical benefits.
The federal government today said that they will not pursue prosecution of individuals who use medical marijuana or organizations which distribute medical marijuana as long as they are 100% compliant with state laws which permit its use and distribution.
So one must ask the question, if states are allowed by the feds to recognize medical marijuana, why can’t the feds also recognize the data that says, that there really may be some therapeutic benefit from marijuana use for certain medical conditions? The answer, plain and simple is money, greed, and political power.
The feds can’t take that next step towards rescheduling marijuana and its derivatives to a Schedule II status because of the enormous cost to the political status quo if it were to do so. The DOJ 2009 budget makes it perfectly clear why.
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget paints a picture so masterful and so full of detail, that it could only be rivaled by the mastery of the Sistine Chapel.
Fighting Criminal Activity on the U.S. Southwest Border
• Creates the Southwest Border Enforcement Initiative. $100 million in new resources to strategically focus Department of Justice law enforcement and prosecutorial efforts on the U.S. Southwest border to combat violent crime, gun smuggling, and illicit drug trafficking.
• Continues the fight against illegal drugs. $2.2 billion for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and $532 million for the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. Together, DEA and OCDETF fight the spread of illegal drugs and seek to dismantle and disrupt major drug trafficking organizations.Supporting Essential Federal Detention and Incarceration Programs
• Funds Federal detention and incarceration programs. $5.5 billion for the Bureau of Prisons and $1.3 billion for the Office of the Federal Detention Trustee (OFDT), to ensure that Federal criminals and those awaiting trial or sentencing are safely and cost-effectively incarcerated and detained.
• Expands detention capacity. $50 million in new resources to increase the number of contract prison beds and $38 million to strengthen OFDT’s detention resources along the Southwest border.
The Federal government is investing $9.72 billion in drug enforcement, bolstering the border between Mexico and the United States, a real problem which is exacerbated by the War on Drugs, while maintaining and expanding the profitable U.S. prison market.
The U.S. Government will not, cannot, continue to waste millions if not billions of taxpayer’s dollars on pursuing prosecution of medical marijuana cases, when they are not only unpopular, but there is some fear that they may soon lose a case despite stacking the courts against marijuana plaintiffs. Further, the Obama Administration, in its first term, cannot risk and cannot afford to take stronger action against the folly that is U.S. Drug Policy for fear it would appear to be soft on crime. This would be the kiss of death amongst centrist Republicans and Independents and could play out as a negative in the media. That in itself could be enough to negate all of the positive results the Obama Administration has accomplished, and could easily cost Obama a second term.
Today’s DOJ memorandum was a teeny, tiny, baby step in the right direction, but is far from anything the Marijuana Nation should consider even close to a victory.
Until the U.S. Government takes the first step of at least recognizing marijuana’s medical potential and proven value, and reschedules marijuana as anything lower than a Schedule I Controlled Substance, those ill will be denied low-cost effective relief, and the innocent will be incarcerated for possessing a natural herb, that grows just about everywhere, and has proven medical benefits, and yeah, it makes people smile. Is that really so dangerous?
Read the entire memorandum, and then you decide if it is really something to celebrate.
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