Gary Johnson on the DOJ's Medical Marijuana Crackdown: "Maybe it's time for the feds to just admit that their law is just wrong"

We asked GOP Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson for his reaction to the news that the Department of Justice has ordered California medical marijuana dispensaries, including those operating legally under local and state laws, to close their doors within 45 days. Johnson's campaign emailed his response just now: 

"With weapons being allowed to 'walk' to drug cartels in Mexico and Solyndra walking with $500 million of taxpayers' money, I would think DOJ and the Administration has better things to do than mount an assault on medical marijuana dispensaries in California that are legal under state law. Regardless of one's view of medical marijuana, Americans who believe in states' rights should be extremely disturbed that the federal government is in the process of shutting down businesses, threatening criminal charges, and confiscating the property of small businesses operating under good faith according to state law.

"We have a drug war along the border that has taken tens of thousands of lives, and the federal government is spending its time and resources declaring war on small businesses whose only 'crime' is trying to dispense medical relief in a regulated, taxed, and legal manner. If there is a conflict between state law and federal law, maybe it's time for the feds to just admit that their law is just wrong, and let the states decide for themselves how they want to handle the issue of medical marijuana."

Morgan Fox at the Marijuana Policy Project also sent us a response:

We'll see if there is any enforcement on this, but it seems like it would be difficult to go after all dispensaries and their landlords in a astate like California, where medical marijuana is a crucial part of their already frail economy. It is astonishing that the administration would escalate the war on the medical marijuana industry at a time when the entire nation is hurting for jobs and revenue. Doing so by threatening property owners and legitimate businesses is especially disturbing, and an egregious example of federal over-reaching. This action will only drive patients into the hands of illicit dealers and cartels. 

Read Jacob Sullum on the the DOJ's Oregon crackdown here.