Big News About Federal Medical Marijuana Policy

Although 14 states have passed laws legalizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, marijuana is classified by the federal government as a Schedule I narcotic, and thus remains illegal at the federal level. However, today the Obama administration announced that federal officials will not target medical marijuana users who comply with their states' laws:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes...

A three-page memo spelling out the policy is expected to be sent Monday to federal prosecutors in the 14 states, and also to top officials at the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.The memo, the officials said, emphasizes that prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing which cases to pursue, and says it is not a good use of federal manpower to prosecute those who are without a doubt in compliance with state law...

And while the policy memo describes a change in priorities away from prosecuting medical marijuana cases, it does not rule out the possibility that the federal government could still prosecute someone whose activities are allowed under state law.

This is a smart, long overdue move, and hopefully is the first tiny, baby step on the path toward reclassifying (or declassifiying) marijuana, which has no business being a Schedule I drug.

P.S. I would like acknowledgment for resisting the urge to begin this post with the following taunt: "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!"

Jena Six Back in the News

I was just listening to CNN and heard that 5 of the 6 defendants in the Jena 6 case are close to entering pleas relating to the case. I was curious if any of the six were charged with hate crimes and was surprised to find out that the answer to this question was no. Even more surprising, my very quick scan of the news articles I searched indicated the only "hate crime" discussion was around the original incident when the noose was hung from the tree. It seems that this original incident did not result in hate crime charges because of the age of the defendants (all juveniles not eligible to be certified as adults - fyi, I am embarrassed to say I only recently learned juveniles cannot be charged in federal court....good or bad I will not conclude. I just didn't realize that was the case).

Maybe there was a discussion on charging the "Jena 6" with hate crimes (age notwithstanding) and I missed it, but I simply cannot believe anyone would conclude this did not meet any such definition. For what is worth, I don't think anyone should be charged with hate crimes, including the Jena 6. I think it is quite simply the worst piece of federal (political) legislation ever written. Ok, maybe "worst" is a bit strong but it is close at a minimum.

PS: Dr. H, I MISSED the man-step post you did a while back. That quite simply is the best commerical of all time! As you suggest, you need to lighten up!