The On-Again, Off-Again, On-Again Crackdown on Medical Marijuana

Last month Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that the Justice Department would follow through on President Obama's promise to call off federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. Two days later, seemingly taking a cue from his boss, Thomas O'Brien, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, emailed a confidential memo to prosecutors in his office, telling them to stop pursuing medical marijuana cases. "In addition to being told to stop filing new cases," the Los Angeles Times reports, "prosecutors were instructed to refrain from issuing subpoenas or applying for search warrants in pending cases." But O'Brien rescinded his directive last Friday for reasons he declined to discuss with the Times.

If O'Brien was implementing the policy of restraint and respect for state law that Obama promised and Holder said is now the administration's official position, the memo might be the first concrete action in this area to result from the change in administrations. And it lasted a week. They're really dragging this thing out, aren't they? On the brighter side, since Holder's statement there haven't been any DEA raids on dispensaries in states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes.

[Thanks to Paul Rako for the tip.]

Comments

[Mad Max]

Even if O'Brien changed his mind about putting a policy in writing, that doesn't automatically mean he's going to ignore Holder's directives, assuming Holder and his boss are telling the truth about stopping the raids.

We will have to see.

[FTG]

Last month Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that the Justice Department would follow through on President Obama's promise to call off federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Let the "Playing Games" game begin!

On the brighter side, since Holder's statement there haven't been any DEA raids on dispensaries in states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes.

You jus' w-ait, Mr. Higgins, you jus' w-ait!

[brotherben]

Oregon has a house bill right now for the state to grow tax a sell pot.

California legislators were discussing the same thing today. It is estimated that Ca. could see an increase in tax revenue of 1 Billion dollars a year with another 1 billion dollars saved from lack of prosecution and incarceration of pot offenders.

[Orange Line Special]

I can think of few things Reason could do better for the Pot Movement than to make a washed-up cable magician who looks like a 60-year-old hippie tree woman their spokesmodel.

Of course, Reason could have come up with a real question and submitted it to BHO's site and encouraged everyone to vote it up. Then, he would have either answered it or looked bad by not answering it. They did nothing, and instead only the weakest were voted up.

That's from back in December. Reason couldn't even come up with a frigging question and be bothered to submit it to a website. Instead, they think whining about the issue is somehow going to solve things.

[Warty]

Shut the fuck up, Lonewacko.

[TMOF]

Let the Orange Line Special
light up a dobbie
Let the Orange Line Special
light up a big, fat delicious doobie!

[TMOF]

Damn I suck ... second line ... *doobie*

[crimethink]

Ah, I get it. The President called off the raids, and then reverted the policy a week later.

It still counts as satisfying his campaign promise, since he did after all call them off (albeit temporarily).

[Warty]

The verse flows better if you misspell it as dooble.

[brotherben]

The Malfoys house elf be mighty pissed if you light him up.

[Paul]

Thomas O'Brien, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, emailed a confidential memo to prosecutors in his office, telling them to stop pursuing medical marijuana cases.

An underreported story currently circulating reports that at the end of the memo, O'Brien had added the comment, "lolz!!1! j/k!11!"

Insiders point to this as a possible reason for O'Brien rescinding the directive.

[juris imprudent]

bb imparsibly sez Oregon has a house bill right now for the state to grow tax a sell pot.

This was of course posted after 4:20.

[skr]

Obama respecting the rights of states?

Does anyone else sense the irony in an African-American supporting federalism. I'm thinking of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

[James]

Just legalize it already!!

[Robert]

If you have a secret order and a public order, I'm sure it's the secret order that's operative -- else why would it be secret?

[Mad Max]

skr,

Lincoln claimed during the 1858 campaign - and returned to the theme during the Lincoln-Douglas debates, that certain politicians on the federal level were engaging in what he called a combination and conspiracy to make the institution of slavery national. He claimed that the federal government, if it remained under the control of allegedly proslavery Democrats like Douglas, would work to make slavery legal in the Northern states which had abolished slavery.

Lincoln, then, called for the election of Republicans, in part, to defend the rights of the non-slave states against the alleged conspiracy to use federal authority to introduce slavery into those states.

In other words, Lincoln himself claimed to be championing states' rights.

[max hats]

Obama respecting the rights of states?

Does anyone else sense the irony in an African-American supporting federalism. I'm thinking of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

It's about as ironic as the Republican being the de facto party of southern whites.

About as odd as anything else that changes over the course of a century and a half.

[max hats]

That's what I get for not hitting "preview"

Obama respecting the rights of states?

Does anyone else sense the irony in an African-American supporting federalism. I'm thinking of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

It's about as ironic as the Republican being the de facto party of southern whites.

About as ironic as anything else that changes over the course of a century and a half.

[almost dead]

before i die please

[Anonymous]

Communists are really good at selective enforcement, huh? I guess I should have believed the wise folks who protested to tell me such at Berkley.

[LookyLou2]

The people have spoken Pres...you better lissen or lose your momentum when you need it most. Just legalize the stuff already!

[American_Guy]

Too many people have suffered under the oppressive old laws. Make new ones. I have lit up many times and unlike booze, can still remember doing it the next day! End Prohibition! End Incarceration! Stop wrecking our lives! Keep your promises or we want a new pres!