A Real Important Message To Patients

[AKenewell]

Zap doesn't want secondhand info from the MPP, he want to see the words right of the president's mouth.

 

Secondhand info from the MPP? Wow..just Wow! So then the MPP is wrong..and so is all these other groups like Americans for safe access..NORML, NRA..so if you don't hear it right from him it must be incorrect? Again WOW!

[AKenewell]

I'll work on a series of video's for you..and then what? How will you dispute that?

[GanjaWarrior]

Yes. It is all about that "consider the source" thing. I do feel that ASA, MPP, DPA, and others misinterpreted the Ogden memo with the objective of creating the ensuing nationwide dispensary explosion, and are now attempting to protect those business owners by calling Obama a liar.

 

if you have so much time...look for it....only like 40k things to sift through...considering the video was from b4 his first term....well it takes a bit....ive got 4 kids and 5 pts....maybe u could look a bit yourself....it seems if me, all the mmj groups and few on this site know he said it...well maybe you could do a bit of foot work on ur own. i dont have a lot of time to prove what is common knowledge to so many others.

[Petyr]

I did some digging around the MPP site and I think I found their agenda. This is from a press release title first to worst.

 

(All the raids we hear about — in California, Michigan, Montana, and Washington state — do not involve any state-licensed businesses. At best, some of the targeted businesses were licensed by local governments in California under a loosely worded provision of California state law.)

Technically, federal prosecutors can civilly or criminally target any marijuana businesses they want — in any state — until we change federal law. But, for the time being, the feds appear not to be targeting medical marijuana businesses with state licenses.

It’s worth noting that my organization has successfully enacted new laws that include state licensing in Arizona, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Vermont over the last two years. (And D.C. and New Jersey have licensing systems, too.)

So we may have a way forward. Unfortunately, the plan now assumes hostility from the former marijuana user in the White House who used to profess notions of hope, change, and compassion toward the less fortunate. Shame on him.

 

So, just agree to state licensed grows and all will be OK according to this organization. Gee, I wonder if they get funding from the big commercial dispos.

[Restorium2]

if you have so much time...look for it....only like 40k things to sift through...considering the video was from b4 his first term....well it takes a bit....ive got 4 kids and 5 pts....maybe u could look a bit yourself....it seems if me, all the mmj groups and few on this site know he said it...well maybe you could do a bit of foot work on ur own. i dont have a lot of time to prove what is common knowledge to so many others.

That's not how it works G. He didn't say it like you say he did. Maybe someone lied to you? I can't find it anywhere.

[AKenewell]

DENVER, COLORADO – Leaders of a broad coalition of national and Colorado-based advocacy organizations held a press conference today to announce the launch of the Patient Voter Project. This project is a joint effort of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Sensible Colorado, Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), Medical Marijuana Assistance Program of America (MMAPA), Just Say Now, and others with a combined reach in Colorado of more than 40,000 online supporters.

 

The mission of the Patient Voter Project is to shine a light on the Obama administration’s behavior in the state and to keep medical marijuana patients, their families, and their hundreds of thousands of supporters around the state up-to-date about the latest hostile actions being carried out by the administration.

 

Medical marijuana advocates, providers, and patients are participating in and embracing this campaign.

 

“President Obama stated early in his campaign, and in his presidency, that he would not waste federal resources interfering with state medical marijuana programs. The recent actions of the administration are a complete betrayal of that promise,” said Morgan Fox, spokesperson for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Patients and their supporters need to know what the administration is doing that could hurt them, and Obama needs to be made aware that these crackdowns in medical marijuana states are just denying medicine to patients and putting them in danger. These people deserve elected officials that are going to support them.”

 

The members of the Patient Voter Project coalition are distributing alerts to more than 40,000 email subscribers and Facebook fans today. Recipients are also being encouraged to spread the word to other people in Colorado. In addition to these email alerts, the Patient Voter Project is in the process of distributing postcard flyers to medical marijuana centers around the state so that they will be available to patients.

 

http://www.mpp.org/m...ado-allies.html

 

Here's one

[AKenewell]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier today, the Obama administration released its annual National Drug Control Strategy, detailing the methods and budgets planned to combat drug use for fiscal year 2013. The report stresses that more resources need to be spent on addiction treatment and prevention, and that an enforcement-centric “war on drugs” is unworkable. The report shows, however, that budget allocations for traditional law enforcement methods could increase by hundreds of millions of dollars, including domestic military operations. Government data from previous years have shown no connection between drug-arrest rates and drug-use rates.

 

While significant portions of the budget are dedicated to harm reduction and abuse prevention programs, many of the “drug war” methods that have proven ineffective over the last 40 years — particularly those used to enforce marijuana prohibition — will likely see funding increases this year. Domestic law enforcement is slated to receive $9.4 billion, a $61.4 million increase from last year. The Department of Defense Domestic Counterdrug support program will get nearly $150 million this year, a $124 million increase. Over $4.5 billion will be spent on federal incarceration of drug users and distributors. In addition, the Obama administration has requested the revival of the Youth Drug Prevention Media Program with a $20 million budget. Studies have shown that this program had the opposite of the intended effect on teens, and Congress allocated no money for the program last year.

 

"This budget is appalling. The drug czar is trying to resurrect those stupid TV ads, like the one where a teenager gets his fist stuck in his mouth," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "The budget intentionally undercounts the federal government's expenditures on incarcerating drug offenders, who comprise more than half of the federal prison population. And the budget dangerously proposes a massive escalation in using the military to fight drugs domestically. Congress should just ignore this budget and start from scratch. Specifically, Congress should not provide the Obama administration with any money to go after nonviolent marijuana users, growers, or distributors."

 

The drug czar’s strategy would keep control of the marijuana trade in the hands of drug cartels and illegal operators, endangering communities, and creating massive death tolls throughout Latin America. In the past year, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, current and former Latin American leaders whose countries are being ravaged by drug cartels, and tens of millions of Americans have called for a more rational approach to marijuana policy. The Obama administration has repeatedly stated that making marijuana legal is not an option.

 

 

http://www.mpp.org/m...ado-allies.html

 

Another one...

[Celliach]

if you have so much time...look for it....only like 40k things to sift through...considering the video was from b4 his first term....well it takes a bit....ive got 4 kids and 5 pts....maybe u could look a bit yourself....it seems if me, all the mmj groups and few on this site know he said it...well maybe you could do a bit of foot work on ur own. i dont have a lot of time to prove what is common knowledge to so many others.

 

So now you want zap to look for the evidence that you say exists and that you're supporting your argument with. Didn't it occur to you that if you said it happened, it's your job to show us the evidence?

 

"I can't prove my point, but you can't prove my point either, so you must be wrong, and I'm right." I'm not sure that's the way it works.

[AKenewell]

WASHINGTON -- Elected lawmakers in five states have a message for the federal government: Don't interfere with state medical marijuana laws.

 

In an open letter to the federal government, lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle called on the government to stop using scarce law enforcement resources on taking pot away from medical marijuana patients.

 

"States with medical marijuana laws have chosen to embrace an approach that is based on science, reason, and compassion. We are lawmakers from these states," the lawmakers explained in their letter.

 

"Our state medical marijuana laws differ from one another in their details, such as which patients qualify for medical use; how much marijuana patients may possess; whether patients and caregivers may grow marijuana; and whether regulated entities may grow and sell marijuana to patients. Each of our laws, however, is motivated by a desire to protect seriously ill patients from criminal penalties under state law."

 

The letter -- signed by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-Calif.), Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Wash.), Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-N.M.), Sen. Cisco McSorley (D-N.M.), Assemblyman Chris Norby (R-Calif.), Rep. Deborah Sanderson (R-Maine) and Sen. Pat Steadman (D-Colo.) -- comes directly on the heels of a federal raid in the heart of California's pot legalization movement: medical marijuana training school Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland, where U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials on Monday blocked off doors with yellow tape and carried off trash bags full of unknown substances to a nearby van. An IRS spokeswoman could not comment on the raid except to say the agents had a federal search warrant.

 

The lawmakers called on President Obama to live up to his campaign promise to leave the regulation of medical marijuana to the states, adding raids would only "force patients underground" into the illegal drug market.

 

The president as a candidate promised to maintain a hands-off approach toward pot clinics that adhere to state law. At a 2007 town hall meeting in Manchester, N.H., Obama said raiding patients who use marijuana for medicinal purposes "makes no sense." At another town hall in Nashua, N.H., he said the Justice Department's prosecution of medical marijuana users was "not a good use of our resources." Yet the number of Justice Department raids on marijuana dispensaries has continued to rise.

 

Read the full letter here:

 

Over the last two decades, 16 states and the District of Columbia have chosen to depart from federal policy and chart their own course on the issue of medical marijuana, as states are entitled to do under our federalist system of government. These states have rejected the fallacy long promoted by the federal government -- that marijuana has absolutely no accepted medical use and that seriously ill people must choose between ignoring their doctors' medical advice or risking arrest and prosecution. They have stopped using their scarce law enforcement resources to punish patients and those who care for them and have instead spent considerable resources and time crafting programs that will provide patients with safe and regulated access to medical marijuana.

States with medical marijuana laws have chosen to embrace an approach that is based on science, reason, and compassion. We are lawmakers from these states.

 

Our state medical marijuana laws differ from one another in their details, such as which patients qualify for medical use; how much marijuana patients may possess; whether patients and caregivers may grow marijuana; and whether regulated entities may grow and sell marijuana to patients. Each of our laws, however, is motivated by a desire to protect seriously ill patients from criminal penalties under state law; to provide a safe and reliable source of medical marijuana; and to balance and protect the needs of local communities and other residents in the state. The laws were drafted with considered thoughtfulness and care, and are thoroughly consistent with the American tradition of using the states as laboratories for public policy innovation and experimentation.

 

Unfortunately, these laws face a mounting level of federal hostility and confusing mixed messages from the Obama Administration, the Department of Justice, and the various United States Attorneys. In 2008, then candidate Obama stated that as President, he would not use the federal government to circumvent state laws on the issue of medical marijuana. This promise was followed up in 2009 by President Obama with a Department of Justice memo from former Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden stating that federal resources should not generally be focused "on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." This provided welcome guidance for state legislators and administrators and encouraged us to move forward with drafting and passing responsible regulatory legislation.

 

Nonetheless, the United States Attorneys in several states with medical marijuana laws have chosen a different course. They have explicitly threatened that federal investigative and prosecutorial resources "will continue to be directed" towards the manufacture and distribution of medical marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law. These threats have generally been timed to influence pending legislation or encourage the abandonment of state and local regulatory programs. They contradict President Obama's campaign promise and policy his first year in office and serve to push medical marijuana activity back into the illicit market.

 

Most disturbing is that a few United States Attorneys warn that state employees who implement the laws and regulations of our states are not immune from criminal prosecution under the federal Controlled Substances Act. They do so notwithstanding the fact that no provision exists within the Controlled Substances Act that makes it a crime for a state employee to enforce regulations that help a state define conduct that is legal under its own state laws.

 

Hundreds of state and municipal employees are currently involved in the licensing and regulation of medical marijuana producers and providers in New Mexico, Colorado, Maine, and California, and have been for years. The federal government has never threatened, much less prosecuted, any of these employees. Indeed, the federal government has not, to our knowledge, prosecuted state employees for performing their ministerial duties under state law in modern history. It defies logic and precedent that the federal government would start prosecuting state employees now.

 

Recognizing the lack of any real harm to state employees, a number of states have moved forward. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie drew on his own experience as a former United States Attorney in deciding that New Jersey state workers were not realistically at risk of federal prosecution in his decision to move forward implementing New Jersey’s medical marijuana program. Rhode Island, Vermont, Arizona, and the District of Columbia are also in the process of implementing their state laws.

 

Nonetheless, the suggestion that state employees are at risk is have a destructive and chilling impact. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire vetoed legislation to regulate medical marijuana in her state and Delaware Governor Jack Markell suspended implementation of his state's regulatory program after receiving warnings from the United States Attorneys in their states about state employees. Additionally, a number of localities in California ended or suspended regulatory programs after receiving similar threats to their workers.

 

We, the undersigned state legislators, call on state and local officials to not be intimidated by these empty federal threats. Our state medical marijuana programs should be implemented and move forward. Our work, and the will of our voters, should see the light of day.

 

We call on the federal government not to interfere with our ability to control and regulate how medical marijuana is grown and distributed. Let us seek clarity rather than chaos. Don’t force patients underground, to fuel the illegal drug market.

 

And finally, we call on President Obama to recommit to the principles and policy on which he campaigned and asserted his first year in office. Please respect our state laws. And don't use our employees as pawns in your zealous and misguided war on medical marijuana.

 

Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-CA)

 

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-WA)

 

Representative Antonio Maestas (D-NM)

 

Senator Cisco McSorley (D-NM)

 

Assemblymember Chris Norby (R-CA)

 

Representative Deborah Sanderson (R-ME)

 

Senator Pat Steadman (D-CO)

 

In bold is a copy of the letter lawmakers sent to Obama in regards to MM.

 

And then there's this...

[Restorium2]

Another one...

That's the same one from earlier in the thread. Same stuff different day...

[AKenewell]

Wow, every other major group sans a few here see that Obama is not living up to what he said prior to being elected. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Now, my question remains. Is a lame duck more dangerous than a first term republican?

 

And at least someone get's it!!

[Celliach]

The thing that we are trying to decide the truth on Alicia, is whether or not Obama promised not arrest commercial MMJ operations and leave enforcement up to the states.

 

Nobody is arguing that current drug policy is bad. We all know that it is.

[AKenewell]

That's the same one from earlier in the thread. Same stuff different day...

 

I agree same stuff..different day!

[Restorium2]

And you forgot to put up your source again. You should always put a link to the source.

[GanjaWarrior]

That's not how it works G. He didn't say it like you say he did. Maybe someone lied to you? I can't find it anywhere.

 

nope....one last time...ive seen it. it wasnt a quote it was a youtube video...and no way in hell did you watch all of them in that time.

[Celliach]

nope....one last time...ive seen it. it wasnt a quote it was a youtube video...and no way in hell did you watch all of them in that time.

 

If you've seen it produce it.

[Restorium2]

nope....one last time...ive seen it. it wasnt a quote it was a youtube video...and no way in hell did you watch all of them in that time.

If it was real then MPP would be splashing it all over their campaign right now. There would be a link on their site.

Edited July 11, 2012 by Restorium2

[GanjaWarrior]

The thing that we are trying to decide the truth on Alicia, is whether or not Obama promised not arrest commercial MMJ operations and leave enforcement up to the states.

 

Nobody is arguing that current drug policy is bad. We all know that it is.

 

that is not what i said obammer said...why ask for a link if you will just twist it anyway.... thats the prob no proof is good enough for a drone....i have no intention of wasting my time looking for proof when you wont accept it...drone on.

[Kingpinn]

As far as the Mitt thing . Where can I get some them MAGIC UNDERWEAR !!!!!!!!!

[Restorium2]

As far as the Mitt thing . Where can I get some them MAGIC UNDERWEAR !!!!!!!!!

Got a video? LOL

[Hayduke]

well the sources are bs, Forbes is right wing tools for sure, and so is your claim about the second amendment.

 

To change that would need 3/4s of the states to ratify.

 

I get it you hate Obama and Dems in general.

 

yawn

 

so what

 

you are merely posting personal editorials and opinions....

[AKenewell]

I see you understand how it's supposed to work…. But It does not look like you are well informed on how it works..President signs, 2/3 majority of the Senate votes to ratify. This is the reason why the US has a terrible reputation when it comes to treaties… they have often been signed and not ratified… going all the way back in our history. But there's international law as well. And although we're not part of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, it does set international law… which we've never disputed. Article 18 of the Vienna Convention is what international lawyers and academics use as a basis for creating obligations.

 

http://www.harvardil...e_48-2_bradley/

 

The issue has come up a number of times. The paper above cites the Convention on the Rights of the Child as an example.

 

So, yes, unless the treaty is approved by the senate it's not ratified. But it does create obligations for us even if it's not ratified and it could be ratified years or decades later… whenever a friendly majority exists in the senate. As a former professor of constitutional law, Obama is well versed in these topics. And as he has stated in the past, the 2nd amendment does not preclude the government from regulating where/how/etc you may legally possess your firearms. Did you watch the 2008 presidential debate..where he explained that? I can put it up for you if you like. A signed treaty in the hands of a friendly administration is all the basis they need to implement regulatory changes.

 

And if the administration truly cared about gun exports to foreign countries, they wouldn't have let 2000 weapons walk across the Mexican border during Fast and Furious. Lies and propaganda? Are you guys paying attention? This can't simply be chalked up to lies.

 

@ Hayduke...So this was a reply to Mal..maybe go back and read..I'm not posting personal opinions..or just editorials here...

[Celliach]

@ Hayduke...So this was a reply to Mal..maybe go back and read..I'm not posting personal opinions..or just editorials here...

 

Alicia, again in all due respect, yes, most of what you are posting is opinions and editorials.

[ilynnboy]

Okay so I am pretty much a technological idiot.

I rooted around you tube. I found an interview where he specifically states,he even said" specifically what I won't do " is use justice dept to go after state legal mmj patients and providers.'

Search YouTube for Barack Obama on medical marijuana ( interview Q&A )

The video is 2:31 long it is at around 2:15 where he says it.

Wish I knew how to post links, Because it is There.

[AKenewell]

Alicia, again in all due respect, yes, most of what you are posting is opinions and editorials.

 

Oh really..well then read the laws and show me where I'm wrong regarding international laws..the ATT and the 2nd amendment…do you think everyone is making this up, the NRA too? And I guess Harvard Law has it wrong on the international laws regarding treaties..