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The DEA will no longer be raiding medicinal MJ dispensaries
No-Quarter
Nothing To FearBut Fear ItselfRegistered User regular
Nothing To FearBut Fear ItselfRegistered User regular
It's about fucking time, I've had more than enough of this Draconian bullshit:
I have to say I'm optimistic this. Many were worried about Biden being a wet-blanket given his drug-warrior scthick.
So where do we go from here? I'm presuming that you'll see more and more states either approve MJ for medicinal purposes, decriminalize it, or both.
Given that NJ just approved marijuana for medicinal use ( http://www.northjersey.com/health/medicalmarijuana022309.html) I'd say that the fog is finally starting to clear...
http://www.good.is/?p=15937The other day, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government will no longer spend its money authorizing (and conducting) raids and arrests of people and institutions licensed at the state level to produce and distribute medicinal marijuana. Said a spokesperson: “The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws.†This is dovetailing nicely with another national trend to open up what we tax at the state level. Some cowboys have proposed taxing porn and brothels, while others suggest taxing marijuana sales. In California, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, punned, “We’re all jonesing now for money, and there’s this enormous industry out there.â€
From NYTimes:
Betty Yee, chairwoman of the California Board of Equalization, the state’s tax collector, said that legal marijuana could raise nearly $1 billion per year via a $50-per-ounce fee charged to retailers. An additional $400 million could be raised through sales tax on marijuana sold to buyers.
That’s a lot of money for a state that’s seen better days.
Coming from Canada, I’ve never really understood the big deal about marijuana, specifically its criminalization at the federal level. Laws have been a little confusing, particularly under Bush, when the DEA had authority to conduct raids and prosecutions, even in states where laws have permitted its cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. This could be a real boon to cancer patients and others grappling with chronic pain.
Naturally, our friends at NORML are thrilled. So, too, are stoners—by which we mean “really sick people with official papers sanctioning their use of the chronicâ€â€”everywhere.
I have to say I'm optimistic this. Many were worried about Biden being a wet-blanket given his drug-warrior scthick.
So where do we go from here? I'm presuming that you'll see more and more states either approve MJ for medicinal purposes, decriminalize it, or both.
Given that NJ just approved marijuana for medicinal use ( http://www.northjersey.com/health/medicalmarijuana022309.html) I'd say that the fog is finally starting to clear...
No-Quarter on
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props to obama for following through.
I agree, that's a great line.
I'm pretty certain this won't lead to marijuana being legalized, though. That's a whole 'nother issue, and one I can't see people suddenly changing their minds about as a result of the economy, no matter how bad it gets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQr9ezr8UeA&feature=related
Upon some reflection, this is a pretty huge step in the direction of the federal government giving authority to the states to have their own laws about recreational pot. I can imagine a situation where it's de facto legal, and you just have to get an openly BS medical card. It's like that at least to a degree in California, and I have a friend living there now with a med card for insomnia.
So you believe in Nullification? The idea that state law should overrule federal law is pretty extreme.
This is also not why dispensaries are not being raided nor is the article accurate when it says
or
Obama does not support some kind of rewriting of the relationship between the state and federal government, or the legalization of pot. He just doesn't really think that's what law enforcement or the justice system should be focusing on now.
edit Obama on medical marijuana
tl;dw - Maybe we can have doctors prescribe it legally like they do for morphine if we make some changes to federal law. But we're not going to legalize it, we're not going to use a lot of resources enforcing those laws and he's not going to spend political capital on it
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This is an extreme position? Up here in Canada it's called Federalism. It's pretty rad.
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The state actually made a law in direct conflict with federal law.
But regardless, would you feel the same way if it involved workplace safety? The minimum wage? Environmental restrictions? Corporate regulations? Food safety? Drug testing? If this was meth instead of pot?
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And what taxes can the progressive liberals support? There aren't really that many. Legalized marijuana might be closer than you think.
If a state decriminalizes smoking pot, I don't believe he won't waste DEA agents circumventing the state's laws.
I mean what if my doctor decides I can smoke pot for stress? That would be defacto legalization if given enough time unless challenged.
I thought we wanted to take everyone's money and give it to homeless black women who have had 9 kids out of wedlock with 5 different men? Get your talking points straight, man!
The DEA raids were kind of ridiculous in the first place because they were more harassment than anything that actually stemmed the flow of weed to the public. I mean, it's Cali for fucks' sake.
Finally 'states rights' is invoked by politicians and I'm not cringing.
I mean, I'm a big fan of state's rights but only because I'm a big fan of local government rights and so on down the line. Basically, like the military, the lowest ranking man capable to carrying out an order does so. There is no reason for our entire country to be homogeneous. However, with drugs, you really can't have them legal in one state and illegal in the next one over. Drug enforcement would fall under the Commerce Clause in my opinion. You can't really have drugs illegal in one country and legal in the next country over either.
And if that's the case, it would be stupid to not tax it, and the very nature of the "business". I wonder if it could lead to problems with tax auditing and the like.
Is medical MJ taxed?
What I think is going on is that this is being done to coincide with the bills being proposed at the State level to regulate and tax medical marijuana. The Obama administration is basically allowing them to test the waters to see if it can actually work. Then, whether it works or not, will lead to further policy changes or a reversal of the edict issued by the DOJ. This way it can be tested without any skin being taken off the administration's back.
In California, medical MJ was done as a ballot initiative several years ago. The new one being proposed right now (to regulate and tax it) is being done by the State legislature, although I don't know if that would lead to a ballot initiative later. If Illinois has the same rules, then I would assume it would be done the same way.