Is Obama Planning to Allow More Medical Marijuana Raids?
In the aftermath of a couple very questionable DEA raids of medical marijuana providers, not to mention the nomination of notorious drug warrior Michele Leonhart to head the DEA, we're forced to question once again whether President Obama intends to abide by his pledge to tolerate medical marijuana in states that have legalized its use.
I'll be the first to tell you that the medical marijuana situation has improved considerably since Obama took office. The aggressive anti-pot posturing of the previous administration has largely subsided, and the DEA's hideous practice of raiding medical marijuana facilities has certainly declined. But in light of recent events, the future of federal medical marijuana policy is anything but certain.
Mike Riggs has a story in The Daily Caller today that isn't going to make anyone feel better about the situation:
But the White House and the Justice Department both told TheDC that Holder’s memo does not give dispensaries carte blanche to grow or sell marijuana, and that recent raids don’t conflict with what Obama expressed while campaigning.
“I wouldn’t say the memo ‘discourages’ certain raids,” a DOJ offical told TheDC. Rather, “it talks about prioritizing resources most efficiently.” And both the White House and the DOJ argued that the gist of the Holder memo was that the DEA would “not focus its limited resources on individual patients with cancer or other serious diseases.”
Admittedly, the Holder Memo does suck if you actually read it. Alas, we find ourselves confronted with the exact sort of shameless backtracking that the memo was so deliberately crafted to allow for.
Whether Obama is breaking the various vague promises he's made with regards to medical marijuana policy is debatable depending how one interprets events up to this point. But there's no doubt that he's positioning himself to horribly piss off the large majority of Americans who've long opposed federal harassment of patients and providers. To whatever extent to ugliness of Bush era medical marijuana policy is behind us, Obama would be wise to keep it that way.
Obama's REAL deal, fools!
How many of you know the name of the SF herb shop FIRST raided and robbed by Obama's DEA, early 2009? The shop who gave out FREE MEDICAL HERB to the poor on Wednesdays?
What day of the week do you suppose the FEDS came a callin'? WEDNESDAY!
EMMALYNS DISPENSARY
http://theholyherb.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=333:...
http://obama-mccain.info/compare-obama-mccain-marijuana.php
hoping for a compassionate result
I often wonder why our fellow citizens cannot see the positive work being done within the medical cannabis community and must take such aggressive positions when it comes to the sick and dying.
We provide service to the most severely disabled, quads, cancer patients, amputees and heroes from the
Middle East wars that have left so many scarred and haunted by their experiences and trying to only find peace of mind and some relief from their illness.
We work diligently to maintain accurate records and provide assistance to our clients with housing issues and work related advocacy when needed.
We employee people who are disabled and want to return to work for a few hours a week, and are trying to return to a life filled with laughter instead of tears.
Please understand that there are many of us who are trying to do the right thing and make this work for the sick and suffering.
Thank you
Rick Rosio
Mointana Pain Management
Mid-Term Elections
Obama may be trying to create as few waves as possible with the November mid-term elections looming less than eleven weeks away. Drug law reformers and compassionate care centers aren’t the only ones having these types of problems with the President. If Prop 19 passes, we may see more of this.
That doesn’t mean reformers are powerless. Activists and voters should consider the advice of the late great Saul Alinsky:
“It is not enough just to elect candidates. You must keep the pressure on. Radicals should keep in mind Franklin D. Roosevelt’s response to a reform delegation, ‘Okay, you’ve convinced me. Now go out and put pressure on me!’”—Saul D. Alinsky, Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals, (1972) p. xxiii.
Giordano
obama is already doomed. his
obama is already doomed. his ratings are so low it's not even funny. not even pushing to "rethink and decriminalize" our marijuana laws is going to save him.
not that i care... I hated him the moment he started making pretty promises that he cannot keep. unfortunately, marijuana reform was one of those promises. all we got from him was that awful memo that merely suggested that it might be a bad idea to waste money on arresting potheads.
I hate this vague approach to everything he does. there is a big f***ing difference between yes we CAN and yes we WILL!
His approval ratings are
His approval ratings are still twice that of Bush's when he left office. It is still near 50% which is higher than the percentage of votes Bush got in 2000 and 2004.
The article suggest that something has changed in Obama's dealing with MMJ. However there is only circumstantial evidence at best.
im ashamed
of my government they have lied to us vets stole our youth and put us on the street like trash
USA government knows how the
USA government knows how the hemp plants helps people in the world and yet they keep arresting and prosecuting pot smokers and anyone who uses it, dont you find this sad? that the government is actually doing stuff to weaken your life and future, put you in jail and sometimes kill you in a raid?. WAKE UP.
Does anyone remember this
cannabis
Most people use cannabis for chronic pain and it has never caused anyone's death. The government is on the side of "legitimate" prescription medication that kills people but puts money in their pockets via big Pharma. Here are some very interesting statistics.
The crude rate for opioid-related poisoning deaths increased 156% between 1990 and 1998
(from 1.6 to 4.1 per 100,000), and 90.4% between 1999 and 2007 (from 5.2 to 9.9 per
100,000).
Put that in your pipe and smoke it baby...smoke it!
SO CAN PEOPLE ON HUD HOUSING
SO CAN PEOPLE ON HUD HOUSING LOSE THEIR HOUSING IF THEY POSSES A MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD AND THEIR LEGAL MARIJUANA THAT COMES WITH IT!! DO PEOPLE WITH DIABETES GET THREATENED WITH THEIR HOUSING DUE TO THEIR MEDICINE? OTHER MEDS WHILE ON THE HOUSING? WAS IT NOT ORDERED THAT PATIENTS WERE TO BE LEFT ALONE. IF MESSED WITH IS IT NOT A PUNISHMENT BY A FINE? THIS IS WHY IT NEEDS TO BE LEGAL ACROSS THE BOARD SO PATIENTS CAN TRAVEL TO SEE FAMILY AND FRIENDS WITHOUT HAVING TO GO WITHOUT THEIR MEDICINE. IT'S MEDICINE GET IT GOT IT GOOD!! COME ON LETS WAKE UP. WHAT IS SO HARD ABOUT THIS?
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