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DEA Backs Down After Threatening Colorado Dispensaries
"Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of federal law," he said. "The time is coming when we go into a dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of arrest and imprisonment." [Denver Post]
Jeff Sweetin today:
"We are not declaring war on dispensaries," he says -- though he adds with a laugh, "If we were declaring war on dispensaries, they would not be hard to find. You can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting thirty of them."
Sweetin makes note of the fact that the DEA hasn't ever shut down a Colorado dispensary, and the agency doesn't plan on doing so unless there are aggravating factors involved -- like violence, ties to drug cartels or distribution to children. [Westword]
It sounds an awful lot like Sweetin's comments over the weekend may have resulted in somebody important telling him to calm the hell down. What goes on behind the scenes with this stuff is a mystery to me, but I doubt Sweetin figured out on his own that those nasty comments about raiding dispensaries weren't playing well in the press. I'd prefer to think maybe he got a quick phone call from Washington.
The DOJ's "official" policy of respecting state medical marijuana laws is hardly written in stone, leaving more than enough room for a nut like Sweetin to make a big mess provided that nobody yanks his leash. But if one thing is clear about medical marijuana policy under Obama, it's that they have no interest in doing battle with the 80% of Americans who support it. This latest episode isn't the first time one of the President's drug warriors has back-pedaled after making a stupid public comment about medical marijuana. There are new rules in place, and while they still leave much to be desired, it's important to appreciate the extent to which the old smash and grab medical marijuana policy has been put in check.
The point here isnât that Obama loves medical marijuana, or that the DEA can now be counted on to behave itself. Politicians and drug war soldiers don't change overnight, but the mere expectation that the raids have ended can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy when the media and the public generally believe such activity is now illegal in addition to being unpopular. Imagine trying to convict a medical marijuana defendant in federal court in the current political climate. If you lose, the Dept. of Justice will look impotent during a period of surging marijuana entrepreneurship, and if you win, Obama will get skewered in the press.
So if rogue DEA officials still feel compelled to go around making angry threats in the newspaper, I say bring it on. The war on medical marijuana gets less popular every time they open their mouths.
DrugSense FOCUS ALERT: #433 Black Tar Heroin
Drug Truth 02/15/10
Action #1 for Medical Marijuana Week!
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Why Drugs Matter: The Impact of Drug Policy on Connecticut's Economy, A Forum with Connecticut Gubernatorial Candidates
Drop the Rock Coalition Meeting
Will you help MPP?
Dear friends:
Hi there. My name is Teresa Skipper, and I use marijuana to stay alive. I wrote to you last week â but maybe my message slipped your attention â to ask you to support MPP with a contribution. For those of us who, for whatever reason, believe that bad marijuana laws need to be changed, MPP is our best hope. Here is why I support MPP.
When I found out in 1995 that I had HIV, my doctors gave me many different medications, and I'm grateful for them because they have kept me alive!
But the side effects are awful. One of my meds comes with a warning that it's sometimes fatal. My stomach feels like a raw egg most days, which is strange because I can't eat most foods. I have no appetite, and it's hard to keep my weight up.
But I've been lucky enough to find something that makes me feel better, restores my appetite, and is the reason I still have good days. That something is marijuana.
Unfortunately, my marijuana also makes me a criminal, because medical marijuana is illegal where I live. In fact, only 14 states allow medical marijuana. MPP is working hard to increase the number of medical marijuana states by changing laws all across the U.S.
MPP is successful because of its strategic approach and its top-notch lobbyists. MPP has a strong track record of actually changing laws, but that work is expensive and MPP is financed by donations from individuals like you and like me. That's why Iâm telling you my story and asking you, from the bottom of my heart, to help MPP fight marijuana prohibition, because marijuana use should not make criminals of sick people.
Like many other marijuana users, I have a husband, two children, and one beautiful grandson. I have a bachelor's degree in financial management. I just want to go to work and have a normal life.
But my marijuana use makes me a criminal, and who wants to hire a criminal? If I give up using marijuana, my health deteriorates to the point that I can't work anyway.
MPP is fighting to change marijuana laws so that sick people wonât become criminals when they use marijuana to get relief from pain and suffering. If you share my vision for the future, where medical marijuana will be available in every state, please help MPP today with a donation.
Thank you for letting me tell you my story.
Best wishes,
Teresa Skipper
P.S. $7.7 billion â that's how much the U.S. government spends on marijuana prohibition every year. If you'd rather have your tax money spent on something useful, like stopping violent crimes, please donate now to help MPP change marijuana laws.Retirement Home Fires Staffer for Medical Marijuana Use
ANDERSON - Although he says he has a doctor's recommendation to smoke medical marijuana, the on-site manager of a senior apartment complex here claims he was fired by its new Southern California-based management company after he failed its drug-screening test.
The firing of Christian Hughes, 33, who has two weeks in which to leave his apartment in the well-kept complex, has raised the ire of some of those senior citizens who live comfortably at the 81-unit Regency Place Senior Apartments on Red Bud Lane. [Record-Searchlight]
Apparently, Hughes's popularity with the residents has made things complicated:
Sixty-four-year-old Diane Bethany, an apartment complex resident who started a petition drive that obtained about 60 signatures in support of Hughes, says she and many others there are upset by his firing.
"He's a terrific guy," she said, adding that he's always been protective of the residents and goes above and beyond his management duties to help them out.
I can't help but grin at the thought of a bunch of seniors signing a petition to protest an unfair marijuana policy. Hopefully, the press coverage will help Christian Hughes find new employment. Moreover, any companies that still discriminate against patients should take note of the public controversy you invite when you fire good people for bad reasons.
DEA Raids Legal Grower in Colorado, Threatens to Target Dispensaries
Angry Man Says Potheads Should be Kicked in the Nuts
As the debate over marijuana policy becomes increasingly mainstream, our opponents sound increasingly violent, reckless and insane.
Hemp: Idaho Resolution Supporting Industrial Production Fails in Legislature
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