AG Holder: DOJ is Working to “Clarify” Federal Position on Medical Marijuana
June 2nd, 2011Posted by Kris Hermes
At a press conference earlier today in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was peppered with questions about medical marijuana. This is understandable, given that a month ago U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha sent a letter to Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee and other state officials threatening:
[C]ivil or criminal remedies against those individuals and entities who set up marijuana growing facilities and dispensaries.
Holder responded that the White House policy outlined in the Ogden memo, which de-emphasized federal interference, “made sense given…the limited resources that we have.” Addressing the obvious discord between policy and practice, Holder said he was working in Rhode Island and other parts of the country to “clarify what this policy means and how the policy can be implemented.”
Holder further stated that:
What we have to do is try to effectuate that policy in a way that we give comfort to somebody who is using it appropriately.
Patient advocates are pleased that Holder wants to clarify this glaring contradiction in Justice Department policy. Rhode Island was not the only state to endure threats from U.S. Attorneys. The Justice Department sent letters to local and state officials in at least 10 different states. These letters and the ongoing federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raids occurring across the country have had a devastating impact on patients’ rights and safe access. Programs have been suspended not only in Rhode Island, but in Arizona and New Jersey as well. State and local laws were arguably curtailed by federal interference in California, Montana and Washington.
Holder did say that he wants the process of clarifying federal policy to involve “dialog” and “communication.” We certainly hope he includes patients — the ones directly affected by these policies — in the dialog. But, we’re not waiting for his invitation so stay tuned for ways to make your voice heard.
June 3rd, 2011 at 4:05 am
Dialogue and communication? Oh, kind of like the “open, honest discussions” that President Obama said we should have during a town meeting last year. Or like talking about moving cannabis from schedule I, 7 years of talking.
Time for talk is over. We are tired of listening to you not talk. How about you listen to the AMA, Leap(Law enforcement against prohibition) and many many more. Have you read the US Government’s page on cancer? Did you hear about the report from the commission yesterday, June 1, 2011?
Oh, yes, I forgot. They are all liars or misled or more potheads to be laughed off(other town hall meetings). The only “TRUTH” about drugs comes from the “DEA”.
President Obama: Do the right thing. Declare the drug war laws indefensible. End Nixon’s Drug War! Please! One pen, one signature, poof!
Watch us turn from a nation of petty non-criminals to a thriving mass of entrepreneurs, voting and paying taxes like crazy.
June 3rd, 2011 at 9:01 pm
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