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Veterans Administration eases rules for medical marijuana patients!
Washington, D.C. medical marijuana law clears congressional hurdle!
More than 2,000 apply for marijuana business licenses in Colorado
Police targeted wrong man in deadly Las Vegas marijuana raid
Two-thirds of Americans believe legalization “somewhat likely” in the next 10 years
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Dear friends, The DEA’s vendetta against medical marijuana patients and providers keeps getting more and more infuriating. Mendocino County, California passed a new medical marijuana ordinance this year that allows local growers to apply for a cultivation permit with the sheriff. But earlier this month, the DEA swooped in and raided the home of the program’s first applicant. Agents took money and property but made no arrests. What a slap in the face to the local government! The DEA has gone too far, and President Obama needs to replace Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart. The president has directed federal officials to stop wasting time and money on medical marijuana prosecutions. Yet even though Leonhart is blatantly flouting his directive, he’s nominated her to become the permanent head of the DEA. Together with our allies in the movement to end marijuana prohibition, we’re calling on President Obama to withdraw her nomination. Our whole movement is united and working together to demand a DEA administrator who respects the right of patients to use their legal, doctor-recommended medicine. Will you join us? The raid in Mendocino County is part of a disturbing trend. DEA agents have raided four other medical marijuana providers in the past few weeks. The timing is hardly coincidental — California voters could pass a ballot initiative in November that would make marijuana legal throughout the state, and I suspect the DEA is conducting the raids to intimidate growers and activists. President Obama has called federal medical marijuana raids a waste of resources. Yet his nominee continues to relentlessly harass patients and providers. If she refuses to respect the administration’s stated principles, the president needs to find a new nominee who will. Tell the president to withdraw Michele Leonhart's nomination for DEA administrator. Sincerely, Bill Piper |
In a historic move, the Department of Veterans Affairs has formally announced that patients being treated at V.A. facilities will be allowed to use medical marijuana if they live in one of the 14 states where it is legal. “We now have a branch of the federal government accepting marijuana as a legal medicine,” MPP’s Steve Fox told The New York Times in its front-page story trumpeting the news.
After blocking implementation of a medical marijuana law in the nation’s capital for more than a decade, Congress is no longer standing in the way of D.C. patients and effective relief. Thanks in part to lobbying by MPP and our allies, Congress declined to take action against a bill that will allow the District to license between five and eight medical marijuana dispensaries.
In another sign of the marijuana industry’s growing legitimacy, Colorado witnessed a tremendous outpouring of applicants for state licenses to run medical marijuana dispensaries and other related businesses, netting the state more than $7 million in application fees. Through taxation and licensing, Colorado is establishing what may soon be the largest regulated marijuana market in the world. 
In June, Las Vegas police shot and killed 21-year-old Trevon Cole in front of his pregnant fiancé during a raid on their home. Police charged that Cole was a major marijuana dealer. Now it’s come to light that police meant to target another man with the same name. Their tragic mistake claimed one more needless victim in the government’s war on marijuana.
A new Rasmussen poll shows that 65% of Americans believe it is “something likely” that marijuana will become legal in the United States in the next 10 years. Only 28% think otherwise. This is a huge sign that the movement to end marijuana prohibition is steadily moving in the right direction, but there’s still much work that needs to be done. Help us sustain the momentum by contributing to MPP today. 
Peter McWilliams, stricken with both cancer and AIDS, died because the federal government prevented him from using the one thing that controlled his nausea.
