Raids Signal Lack Of Clarity On Cannabis Law

[greenbuddha]

Area Email Index Print Rate Source Translate Next >>

 

US WA: Editorial: Raids Signal Lack Of Clarity On Cannabis Law

 

• Get Active
• Subscribe
• Support Us

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n363/a07.html

Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

Votes: 0

Pubdate: Sat, 27 Jul 2013

Source: Seattle Times (WA)

Copyright: 2013 The Seattle Times Company

Contact: opinion@seattletimes.com

Website: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409

 

RAIDS SIGNAL LACK OF CLARITY ON CANNABIS LAW

 

THE federal Drug Enforcement Administration raids this week on four Puget Sound medical-marijuana dispensaries apparently signal no change in federal policy.  They are a reminder that the Obama administration is overdue in deciding whether to accept the marijuana legalization approved last November by voters in Washington and Colorado.

 

The administration needs to make that step.  The federal government also should reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, as former Gov.  Chris Gregoire requested.

 

The push for change may not feel strong in Washington, D.C., but you can feel it in the states.  Legalization is on the move.  The polls say it.  The votes in Colorado and Washington say it.  The spread of medical marijuana says it: Just last Tuesday, New Hampshire became the 19th medical-marijuana state and several others seem ready to make the move.  Except for the Idaho panhandle, the entire Pacific Time Zone is now medical-cannabis country.

 

The dispensaries raided last week - Seattle Cross, Tacoma Cross, Key Peninsula Cross and Bayside Collective - were among a larger number raided in November 2011.  At the time, the DEA said the dispensaries were selling to non-patients and trafficking in illegal amounts.  If so, that would put them in violation of federal and state law and liable to prosecution.

 

However, under the regime envisioned by Washington's medical-marijuana law and by Initiative 502, the regulation of cannabis grown and consumed here has become a state concern.  If there are to be raids, arrests and prosecutions, they should be done under state authority unless there is evidence of a multistate criminal enterprise.

 

The DEA hasn't said what evidence it was expecting to find, or what it did find.  Its actions may fit with the new regime or not.  Some clarity is in order.

 

The Obama administration should accept state authority over cannabis that does not cross state lines and allow the reform of marijuana prohibition to proceed. 

MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom

[t-pain]

its simple.

its still a state crime (felony?) to have more than a non-medical oz in WA and CO.

as long as the state has laws against marijuana , the feds say 'its not clear'.

 

this is the excuse they will use when the pot shops open.

'colorado springs banned pot shops, so we raid the shops in that town'...

Edited July 30, 2013 by t-pain

[Chauncy Gardner]

The DEA must have nothing better to do? I mean, they have built up quite a large organization over the past 30 or so years and they need to be doing something to justify their existence. I suppose they get some financial remuneration from these raids, but it is still picking on people that the general public no longer believes needs to be picked on. I would hope that a bit of guilt seeps into their conscience now and then. What they are doing should be producing guilty feelings. They can no longer justify their actions based on some nebulous "we're saving society" reasoning. Thanks to the internet, society no longer  believes that it needs to be "saved" from marijuana. In fact, the tables may be turning on the DEA and society may be beginning to believe that it needs to be saved from the DEA. We can only hope...

[bobandtorey]

WASHINGTON -- Medical marijuana is now available in Washington, D.C.

The Washington Post reports (http://wapo.st/14eKWUB ) that Capital City Care sold the city's first medical marijuana on Monday, 15 years after voters approved a legalization initiative.

Congressional intervention blocked implementation for more than a decade, but once restrictions were lifted in 2009 the District government carefully set up a regulatory and licensing regime, aiming to avoid federal intervention. Access tomedical marijuana is limited to city residents with specific chronic illnesses.

D.C. Health Department spokeswoman Najma Roberts says as of Monday, nine patients have obtained a city-issued medical marijuana card and about 20 doctors have requested forms that allow them to recommend it.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/30/5607735/medical-marijuana-now-available.html#storylink=cpy

Wow!

after so long they now have 9 patients with cards