I wish everyone were here to see it.

As many of you know by now, on Wednesday U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters at a press conference, while standing next to acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart that ending federal raids on medical cannabis dispensaries “is now American policy.” This unprecedented comment comes on the heels of a statement on February 4 by White House Spokesman Nick Shapiro reiterating the President’s campaign pledges to stop wasting federal resources in efforts to circumvent state medical cannabis laws.

Congress has also tossed its weight behind medical cannabis reforms. US House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) sharply criticized DEA interference and intimidation in medical cannabis states last year. On February 6, Congressman John Olver (D-MA) and fifteen of his colleagues sent the Attorney General a letter asking him to abandon his predecessor’s policy of blocking medical cannabis research; and on February 16 Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) asked him to stop threatening California property owners who rent to medical cannabis providers.

Why is this happening now? How is it that patients are now getting the attention of policy makers? Of course, having a levelheaded President in the White House helps. But there are more fundamental causes to explain this sea change in Washington.

One is that over the years, despite the fear created by Bush’s outdated policy, thousands of you have stood up to policies you knew were wrong. Thousands of you educated your communities, elected officials, friends and neighbors about the medical cannabis. We all helped build a movement that generated hundreds of thousands of phone calls and emails to the White House following the raids in CA and when the Obama Administration asked for citizens to weigh in on Change.gov. Through ASA chapters, e-mail lists and coalitions WE held the Obama Administration accountable. And as a patient, I am very proud of us all.

Another factor forcing change is a little harder too see. In 2006, ASA opened the first office in Washington, DC, dedicated exclusively to medical cannabis advocacy. Until then, medical cannabis was part of a larger criminal justice and drug policy debate. Through tireless lobbying in DC, with condition-based allies, and your work at home, ASA put the debate squarely where it belongs: in the field of health care. We have done a lot of the necessary legwork to build our capacity in Congress and improve understanding about medical cannabis in the federal government since then. That long-term strategic work is paying off with the new President and his appointees opening up an opportunity for change. Congress and the new Administration are looking to us for direction.

We are looking forward to working with the Obama Administration to harmonize federal and state law once and for all.  ASA has spent the last seven years not only fighting to protect patients’ rights, but we have also been working with patients, providers, doctors, and scientists to develop a comprehensive plan to move this issue forward. We are working with members of Congress to make those polices a reality, and with a supportive administration I am confident that soon medical cannabis will no longer be a political issue but simply a conversation between a doctor and a patient, and a patient and his/her provider.

To accomplish this, we must take this momentum directly to Congress with strategic lobbying, supported by an organized and trained grassroots base. We are ready to do this because ASA has built the relationships and credibility we need to make it happen. We have distributed our recommendations for policy changes to President Obama’s transition team and every member of Congress. Next, we will publish the first ever Congressional Briefing Book on medical cannabis, a comprehensive science-based look at medical cannabis and politically viable solutions to the need for safe access at the federal level. ASA staff will be talking to members of Congress in their offices, and bringing them expert testimony at oversight hearings and first-of-a-kind briefings on medical cannabis.

This is going to be a big year for medical cannabis in America. Help us keep pressure on our representatives to provide compassionate and reasonable leadership. If we can, this new American policy may signal and end to the conflict between state and federal law, and point to a future where patients all over the country have safe access to the medicine they need.

While I am so very excited today, I wish everyone on this journey were here to see it. Thank you to all those that impacted this fight and today I really wish I was sharing this victory with my dear friends and heroes Mike Alcalay, John Shaw, Virginia Resner and Jane Weirick to name a few.

I toast you all, and may many Californians and patients everywhere sleep a little easier tonight because tomorrow the work begins!

This guest post was written by Jahan Marcu, a cannabis researcher who is a member of ASA’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Board.

In a press release issued February 24th 2009, GW pharmaceuticals reported that there is no evidence of withdrawal from long term use of Sativex, an oral cannabis spray. The study looked at 36 MS (Multiple Sclerosis) patients who used the medicine for over 3 years. The patients were divided into two groups for this 4 week investigation. One group kept using Sativex and the other switched to placebo (no drug). Of course, without their medicine, patient’s muscle spasms became worse. The link between cannabis for the treatment of spasms has been established for a long time, over 150 years ago. Yet, this is study may provide some unique evidence that cannabis, if allowed to be researched for medical use, can grow into a safe and effective medicine.

Before we can understand the meaning of these findings, we should take a minute to review how Sativex is made. Sativex is an extract of two cannabis varieties. This isn’t a crude extract, but precise and scientific removal of all the essential plant components. Cannabinoids and terpenes are extracted from soil grown plants which produce a specific ratio of the active ingredients. GW has different types of stable cannabis plants available for their work, such as varieties that have been cultivated to produce a certain cannabinoid or ingredient. Of the more than 70 cannabinoids that can be found on the plant, generally the two most common molecules are THC and CBD. Thus, GW basically combines a THC-rich and CBD-rich plant to maximize specific therapeutic actions (decrease muscle spasms) and minimize negative effects (withdrawal symptoms).

Combining different strains or varieties of cannabis to create a medicine with virtually no withdrawal or side effects may seem counter intuitive to some people or it may even sound like a plot for a Pineapple Express sequel. However, the individual compounds found in cannabis varieties, produce different beneficial effects and sometimes even opposite effects. With the help of science these compounds can be measured, plant materials can be mixed, extracted, and delivered with precision.
Furthermore, not only were there no withdrawal symptoms reported but there were little or no negative effects reported that are usually associated with a long term THC treatment. Pure THC and cannabis (or cannabis extracts) have unique properties which separate them from each other.

This surprising detail may be partially due to misconceptions resulting from restrictions on cannabis research in the U.S; most of the public knowledge on the negative effects of cannabis comes from studies looking at the effects of pure THC. For lack of a better analogy, this is like studying the effects of beer by giving research subjects pure alcohol.

When given the opportunity and access to openly investigate cannabis, researchers can readily provide a cannabis medicine with symptom specificity. GW’s ongoing work demonstrates that with proper knowledge and scientific methods, a safe and effective medicine can be made from mixtures of soil grown cannabis plants.

More than 100 protesters gathered in at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles today to call for leniency in the March 23 sentencing of Charles C. Lynch, who was convicted in August of operating a medical cannabis facility in Morro Bay. The protesters called on Judge Wu to keep Lynch out of jail and asked President Obama to move quickly in changing federal policy.

The crowd and a dozen journalists heard emotional words from Lynch’s mother, Bodine Jones. “I already lost one son to diabetes,” Jones said in a broken voice. “I’m not going to stand by while they take another from me.” At age 46, Lynch faces decades in prison if he receives the harsh mandatory minimum sentences the US Attorney is seeking. Ms. Jones said she will hold San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Hedges responsible for turning her son’s case over to the DEA, and she is reaching out to state and federal officials – including President Obama – on her son’s behalf.

<Pictured above: Lynch’s sister, Amanda Garcia (left), Charles C. Lynch (center), and his mother Bodine Jones (right)>

LA County Public Defender Guy Iverson told the crowd that Lynch was the most decent man ever convicted in the courthouse. Iverson told the crowd that one of his own son’s told him that he wanted to be a public defender so he could help people like Lynch, too. Iverson and his colleagues mounted a robust and innovative defense, but as in all federal medical cannabis cases, testimony about medical cannabis was excluded and jury instructions left no option for discretion.

Lynch spoke to the crowd dressed in a satirical orange jump suit with a string of silk hemp leaves tied around his head. He thanked the crowd and event organizer Cheryl Aichele for her tireless support on his behalf. Cheryl adopted Lynch’s cases as a personal crusade after responding to a call for court support from ASA.

Grassroots support for Lynch has been strong, and a Reason.TV documentary by Drew Carey about the trial has drawn national media attention. The Los Angeles medical cannabis community has embraced Lynch as a kind of medical cannabis Everyman, and sees him as a victim caught between state and federal law. It is unclear whether this tremendous grassroots support will result in leniency or intervention by the President,  but Lynch’s case has galvanized the community and put a very human face on the medical cannabis issue.

2009 Medical Marijuana Week Recap

Medical cannabis activists across the country have been participating in this year’s “Medical Marijuana Week 2009“, which has included a week long series of events and actions designed to get people to participate, become active advocates, and to learn and think more about what issues, prejudices, and exciting medical breakthroughs surround the cannabis plant and are as yet still unaddressed.

In the past week, activists in California took part in events that included legal trainings, film screenings, public seed plantings, art shows, and festivals, as well as charity events that raised awareness and benefited homeless communities.  All the way across the country in our nation’s capital, activists from Maryland ASA chapters held candle light vigils, educational medical cannabis teach-ins, and a party to celebrate the hard work their chapters have done to introduce legislation in the Maryland state legislature.

On the activism side, ASA has been sending actions to our national list all week, encouraging people to stand up and get active in ways they might normally wouldn’t.  Actions this week included officially joining up with ASA through a membership or signing up for the Ambassador program, spending a day reading and learning about the history or new science of cannabis, recruiting others, meeting with elected officials, and connecting with medical cannabis POW’s.  We’ve received great feedback and lots of participation from our membership.  Here’s a quote from a Fresno Activist who took part in the Letter to the Editor campaign:

“It has been my experience that writing letters to the editor of my local paper can be very satisfying and a really good way to vent my dissatisfaction with the world around me. Its great for anger management! I started writing about 3 years ago and I think I have about 25 letters printed. Its real cool when you send in a letter, and a few days later you get to read it! People I know see them and sometimes they agree, and sometimes they don’t – but its great when they say something in return. When that happens I always feel as though I did what I wanted; I got somebody to think about an injustice in our community. I think its Important to let our elected officials know what we think, and I know in Fresno most politicians read these letters often.”

Dana Bobbit, Fresno ASA

Thanks to all of you who took part in the actions of the past week!  Keep it up!   This has been a great way to bring attention to medical cannabis with a week of actions that have helped to rejuvenate our community  of activists.   It’s been a great week and I can’t wait until 2010!

2. Palm Springs Votes to Allow Dispensaries

This week the City Council members of Palm Springs voted to make it the first city in Riverside County to allow medical cannabis dispensing collectives.  The decision by the Council was intended to improve access of medical cannabis and keep local residents from having to resort to the illicit market for their treatment.  Activists have long been pressuring Palm Springs and other parts of Riverside County to allow dispensing collectives, and the 3-1 vote in favor demonstrates the fruits of that labor.

The ordinance will go into effect in 30 days following its second reading, and allows two dispensing collectives to operate within city limits.  According to Councilmember Ginny Foat, “This is an incredible first step.”

Dispensary regulations have been a growing trend in California, as cities and counties work to address the needs of the medical cannabis patients in their communities, and as California state law has become increasingly clear about the legality of the dispensing collectives, as evidenced most recently in guidelines released by California Attorney General Jerry Brown.  In addition, research has indicated that dispensing collectives can not only improve the safety of communities, but can also lead to greater health outcomes of patients who are members.

3. Laguna Beach Passes Dispensary Moratorium

Unfortunately, not all municipalities are moving in the same direction with regard to dispensary regulations.  While Palm Springs became the first city in Riverside County to allow dispensing collectives, the City Council of Laguna Beach voted to implement a moratorium,  putting the halt on a dispensary that had been set to open in the city’s downtown area.

The 45-day moratorium was established at least in part because Councilors claimed to require more time to consider how the permit process would move forward and for them to consider their “regulatory options”.   Some cities have passed moratoriums in order to buy themselves time to draft ordinances, but others have used the moratoriums as a means to stall and postpone dealing with the issue, before ultimately passing bans altogether.   This was a concern of local advocates.

Laguna Beach residents who spoke out in defense of the dispensing collective cited personal stories of loved ones with severe illness and their need for safe access to  their medication,  as opposed to driving to “illegal set-ups”, as one resident put it.

This report tracks the number of medical cannabis related law enforcement encounters reported to our office each month.  It serves to identify trends in and hot spots for law enforcement activity.  Having this information is important because it can help us to better protect ourselves as medical cannabis patients.  Check back each month for the latest State of the State blog posting!

The first chart shows the total amount of law enforcement encounters, in January, that patients reported to our office.  The types of law enforcement encounters are broken down into two categories:  those where the patient possessed an amount of medicine exceeding the guidelines and those where the patient was within the guidelines.

From this chart we can tell that there are clearly still some local law enforcement agents that seem to be ignoring California’s medical cannabis laws.  Because of this, we as patients need to be sure we know our rights ahead of time so we can help to protect ourselves in the event of a law enforcement encounter.

While most of these encounters are scattered throughout the state of California, there are several areas, or “hot spots,” where multiple incidents occurred and/or the severity of the encounter was considerable.  For the month of January, we have identified Mono, Monterey, Riverside and Sonoma counties as hot spots for law enforcement activity.

In order to provide you with the most accurate information possible, I encourage all of you to contact our office if you are ever involved in a medical cannabis related law enforcement encounter and to encourage other patients to do so as well.  And, most importantly, always remember the magic words:  “I choose to remain silent and I want to see my lawyer.”

In honor of ASA’s “Come Out of the Closet and Recruit your Community” event on Wednesday, February 18th, I’ve decided to come out to my parents about using medical cannabis.

I am a Freshman at UC Berkeley this year and have recently become involved in the fight against the Drug War through Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Americans for Safe Access.  Considering I knew practically nothing about the drug war or medical cannabis only months ago, there have been many changes in my life. I was hesitant at first to inform my parents that I was involved in such organizations because I wasn’t sure how they’d react, but they’ve been supportive so far. What I’m especially scared to tell them, though, is that I recently received my medical cannabis card.

Depression runs in my family — all of my aunts and uncles on my father’s side of the family (he has 7 siblings) are on antidepressants and both my father’s father and my father’s brother commited suicide at fairly young ages. After being myself diagnosed with clinical depression I took Lexapro for about 4 years. The results were satisfactory, but I could tell I needed something different. Since I’ve started medicating with cannabis, I’ve experienced all of the same benefitial results that I did on Lexapro, but some of the drawbacks of Lexapro have been diminished. I have been able to fall asleep much easier (the Lexapro had made it difficult for me to fall asleep at night — I’d roll around in bed for hours before I could finally rest), and my appetite has been much steadier.

So one large problem with medical cannabis… is that telling my parents about it will be an obstacle. My parents have always been supportive of me and the things that I do, but they’ve never been advocates of medical marijuana use. I remember once they asked me to stop hanging out with a high school friend because his mother was a “pothead.” But when I “come out” to them tomorrow, I hope they’ll be accepting of my choice. I’m still unsure of how I’ll approach the situation, but I know that I will feel much better once I do. It may take time, but I know that after some discussion and thought on their part, they’ll realize that medical cannabis really has made a positive impact on my psyche and my life as a whole. My greatest hope is that my parents will support me in my choice to use the medicine that works best for me.
I hope the rest of you put some thought into this issue and join me by telling those close (or not so close) to you if you use medical cannabis.

Megan Sand

ASA Intern

Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) sent a letter to newly appointed Attorney General Eric Holder today asking the Department of Justice and the Office of the US Attorney to “immediately suspend any and all enforcement actions against said property owners in California who lease property to medical cannabis dispensing collectives in accordance with state laws.” Representatives Capps’ letter follows renewed pressure on property owners in Santa Barbara County, who have been the victims of repeated threats of prosecution and asset forfeiture over the last year. The letter also follows a statement by White House Spokesman Nick Shapiro on February 4 indicating that federal medical cannabis policy would change under the new Administration.

Property owners all over California continue to receive letters from the DEA making as yet unfulfilled threats of prosecution and asset forfeiture, but the DEA and US Attorney’s office have been most aggressive in Santa Barbara County, the heart of Representatives Capps’ Congressional District. Property owners here have received repeated threats – sometimes hand delivered by DEA Agent Darrell Sheets – and been summoned to private meetings with the US Attorney. On January 7, those property owners still renting to collectives received a final ultimatum, giving them just 45 days to evict their tenants or face the consequences.

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) took immediate steps to reach out to collective operators and property owners impacted by the Santa Barbara escalation last year, in hopes of building opposition to federal interference in the community and preventing evictions. We arranged meetings at Representative Capps’ field office, while our staff in Washington, DC, worked with her office there and other Democratic leaders. That legwork paid off: there was a tremendous grassroots outcry when the newest threats came to light, and Representative Capps was poised to act!

Representative Capps’ courageous leadership is the result of hearing from her constituents, and having the credible information she needed to respond at the right moment. Grassroots support is a crucial element behind our strategic work in Washington, DC, and one of the fundamental strengths of ASA. A big part of our work in Congress and with the new Administration this year will be based on this grassroots/national synergy. Representative Capps’ letter is good evidence that we can be effective with this kind of geographically targeted organizing and sustained national coordination for strategic objectives.  ASA can bring activists together to form a strong national movement to achieve a significant impact on lawmakers’ opinions.

Never doubt the power that the grassroots puts behind our words in Washington, DC. We are starting to see the tangible outcomes of that power now. If we are successful, patients and property owners in Santa Barbara will be safe from federal intimidation – and the voices of millions of medical cannabis supporters will finally be heard in the Halls of Congress and the White House. Keep speaking up!

The San Diego Union-Tribune published opposing op-eds yesterday, one from Alex Kreit, an assistant professor and director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, and another from Ralph W. Partridge, the special agent in charge of the San Diego Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

I helped get Kreit’s op-ed published, but we were not able to directly refute the comments by DEA agent Partridge. Unexpectedly, Partridge recycles the same old tired claims about the danger of medical marijuana and the lack of evidence of its therapeutic value. Unfortunately, the DEA continues to ignore the mountain of evidence from studies around the world and even in the United States.

And yet, as these op-eds are printed, a new policy is emerging; one in which compassion for our most vulnerable citizens is given priority over political expediency. ASA is working with the Obama Administration and Congress to craft both short and long term strategies for ending federal raids on state-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries, expanding research into this promising medicine, and a comprehensive federal policy to establish access for all of the sick Americans that would benefit from its medical qualities.

1.  DEA Raids 4 L.A. Dispensing Collectives, Spark Community Uproar; White House Response

DEA carried out four simultaneous “smash and grab” raids on medical cannabis dispensing collectives in Los Angeles this week (Beach Center Collective, Venice Alternative Healing, Marina Caregivers, and Alternative Caregivers Discount Collective).  It was the second time that the agency – still staffed with holdovers from the Bush Administration – had defied President Obama’s campaign pledges not to undermine state medical cannabis laws since he took office.

The aggression by DEA spun the community into an uproar as protests were immediately scheduled and ASA membership called on the White House in droves to implore President Obama to fulfill his pre-election promises to end the raids.  Since the first raid under Obama on Jan. 22nd, thousands of phone calls have been placed to the White House asking the President to take action.  And on Wednesday the President responded.  White House Spokesman Nick Shapiro issued a statement to the Washington Times, saying, “The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind.”

The following morning, over 130 protesters organized a response to the raid in front of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles.  Though still angry over the DEA’s “smash and grabs”, the tone of the protest was much lighter given the statements made by the White House the previous evening.  Participants chanted “DEA go away” and blew up a banner which indicated that perhaps DEA hadn’t “gotten the memo” that the raids were against the stated policy position of President Obama.  However, its likely that a new DEA administrator won’t be seated until April or May, and the community is greatly concerned about the actions of a rogue DEA in that time.  ASA activists should be ready to continue to act in case DEA again undermines the will of the President and continues to raid.

2.  Congress to DEA: Lift Restrictions on Cannabis Research

In another action directed against what is shaping up to be a “rogue agency”, 16 Members of Congress sent a letter this week to the Department of Justice and DEA in response to the “11th hour” Bush Administration denial of a long-standing request to lift restrictions on medical cannabis research.  For over eight years, DEA (now under Acting Administrator Michelle Leonhart) had delayed a decision to grant a license to one of the nation’s top botanists,  Prof. Lyle Craker, to grow medical cannabis at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst strictly for government-approved research.  Then, less than a week before Bush was to leave office, against the 2007 ruling of the DEA’s own Administrative Law Judge,  and after eight years of no response, Leonhart denied the petition, upholding the restrictions on researching cannabis.

The Congressional letter addressed to new Attorney General Eric Holder and authored by Rep. John Olver (D-MA) urged the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to act “swiftly to amend or withdraw” Leonhart’s decision.  For more than forty years, the federal government has allowed no other source to produce cannabis for medical research, as they do other drugs, impeding both research and the ability to bring it to market.  Then in February 2007, DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner ruled to end that monopoly, stating that it was not in the public interest.

The letter also states that forty-five members of the House of Representatives, Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, as well as a broad range of scientific, medical and public health organizations including the Lymphoma Foundation of America, the National Association for Public Health Policy, and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation have all written to DEA in support of Professor Craker’s efforts.

“Given President Obama’s commitment to end federal enforcement in medical marijuana states, it stands to reason that he would be in favor of expanded research into this important medication,” said Caren Woodson, Director of Government Affairs with Americans for Safe Access. “His Department of Justice has the opportunity to place science above politics and to facilitate unfettered research into medical marijuana.” The DEA took nearly two years to respond to Judge Bittner’s ruling and with less than one week before a change in Administration, acting-DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart rejected the ruling and denied Professor Craker’s application.

The ACLU, which represents Professor Craker in this matter, is requesting reconsideration and an opportunity to respond to new evidence used by the DEA in its rejection.

3.  San Bernardino County to Continue Lawsuit Against Medical Cannabis Patients

Despite being rejected by 2 courts and denied even review by the CA Supreme Court, San Bernardino County supervisors voted in a closed session on Tuesday to rejoin San Diego County in an increasingly frivolous challenge to California’s medical cannabis law, attempting to bring the case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The two counties have been engaged in a 3-year losing battle after refusing to issue identification cards to patients legally qualified to use medical-cannabis.  The cards are intended to avoid false arrests of law abiding, seriously ill people, and to make complying with California law easier on law enforcement.

As all courts have so far ruled against the counties, and legal experts consider it highly unlikely the U.S. Supreme Court will grant review, continuing this action has been increasingly seen by members of the community as a waste of critical resources during a time of economic crisis.

San Bernardino Undersheriff Richard Beemer said at the Tuesday meeting that his deputies are trying to enforce federal law, even though Guidelines issued by the Attorney General, the top law enforcement official in the state, explicitly direct California police to follow California, not federal law.

Americans for Safe Access is currently engaged in litigation against Solano County for defying California law and not issuing the ID cards.

This post was written by Rick Doblin, Ph.D, who is a member of ASA’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Board and who founded and leads M.A.P.S., the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit that since 1986 has assisted scientists in designing, funding, obtaining approval for and reporting on studies into the risks and benefits of marijuana and psychotropic drugs.

ASA has done impressive work these last few weeks trying to overcome a last-minute Bush Administration blow to scientific freedom and to medical marijuana research.  ASA’s efforts are increasing the chances that the new Obama Administration will reject the Bush Administration’s active suppression of medical marijuana research in favor of a policy of science over ideology.

The most logical approach to ending the controversy over the medical use of marijuana is to conduct the research and gather the data required by FDA to evaluate whether marijuana should be approved as a prescription medicine. For over 40 years, the major obstacle to this approach has been the federal government’s monopoly on the supply of marijuana than can be used in legal, federally-licensed research.

Less than a week before the Bush Administration had to leave office, the DEA ended almost two years of passive resistance (death by delay) to the possibility of privately-funded medical marijuana research.  On January 14, 2009,  DEA published in the Federal Register its rejection of the February 12, 2007 recommendation of DEA Administrative Law Judge Bittner that it would be in the public interest for DEA to license Prof. Lyle Craker, UMass Amherst, to grow marijuana exclusively for federally-approved research. DEA has been quite successful in its efforts to block scientific research into the medical use of marijuana, since Prof. Craker first submitted his MAPS-sponsored application to DEA on June 25, 2001!

DEA’s final ruling was a mix of old arguments that DEA ALJ Bittner had already rejected after extensive hearings and cross-examinations of witnesses, along with the same old, stale arguments but based on new evidence that the DEA was citing and introducing for the first time into its final ruling.

In a further challenge to the Obama Administration, shortly after the inauguration on January 20, 2009, the DEA launched five raids in California against medical marijuana dispensaries, which Obama had promised on the campaign trail to eliminate.

ASA has been working actively for years to assist Prof. Craker, and was poised to react immediately after DEA issued its final ruling.

On January 30, ACLU lawyer Allen Hopper and Julie Carpenter, of the DC firm Jenner & Block, with research assistance from me, filed a Motion to Reconsider with DEA, based on Prof. Craker’s need to review the new evidence entered into the record by DEA and to refute the biased and misleading inferences that DEA drew from that evidence. Our goal for the Motion to Reconsider was to bring this matter to the attention of the Obama Administration in the hopes that new officials at DEA would see the matter differently than the holdovers from the Bush Administration who are still in charge at DEA.

ASA then did great in two different ways. ASA helped generate pressure on the White House protesting the DEA’s post-election raids. This resulted in a statement on Wednesday, Feb. 4 by a White House spokesperson  that Obama would end the raids once his appointees were in place at DEA.

ASA also generated a letter from Rep. Olver (whose district includes UMass Amherst) and 15 other Congressional Reps to the just-confirmed new Attorney General Eric Holder, requesting that he ensure that DEA granted the Motion to Reconsider.

As of next Friday, February 13, Prof. Craker’s lawyers need to file an appeal of the final ruling in the SC Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, unless DEA responds to the Motion to Reconsider.

For the last months, it seemed that the Obama Administration might throw drug policy as a bone to the right wing. The initial person proposed as Drug Czar, Rep. Jim Ramstad, stirred up such protests due to his opposition to needle exchange and harm reduction that he withdrew himself from consideration, saying he didn’t really want the job.

Two weeks ago, I had a dream.  I was present at a party at which President Obama was going to attend. I decided to speak to him about the Craker case, and DEA’s final ruling.  When President Obama entered the door to the party, I was one of the first in line to speak with him. I  had a good chance to explain the issue to him. Then he said, “This is going to be a difficult issue to resolve.”  He called an aide over to us, and I expected he was going to instruct the aide to work on resolving this matter.  Instead,  when the aide arrived, President Obama spoke to him and pointed to the buffet table at the side of the room, saying, “Try that lamb, it’s delicious.”  The Craker issue wasn’t going to be resolved, and I woke up.   After pondering the feelings of frustration and helplessness I felt, I interpreted the dream as meaning that medical marijuana policy was going to be the delicious sacrificial lamb thrown by Obama  to the right wing.

That may still be the case,  but it seems less likely now that ASA is so skillfully on the case.