Federal news that have direct bearing on Californians: The Department of Justice has sent a memo to prosecutors in the fourteen states that allow for medical marijuana dispensation, instructing them to refrain from prosecuting. Here is the original memo, which instructs prosecutors to assess marijuana cases on a case-by-case basis, and to prosecute only when there are sales to minors, firearms, violence, ties to organized crime, excessive amounts of marijuana or sales of other drugs.
The politics swirling around marijuana cross ideological lines. For instance, in effectively deferring to the states on some issues involving marijuana, the Obama administration is taking what could be seen as a states’ rights stance, more commonly associated with conservatives. That was a theme that echoed on many conservative and libertarian Internet sites in the wake of Monday’s announcement.
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For more in-depth analysis of the memo's text and likely policy paths, see Sterling on Justice: http://justiceanddrugs.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-department-of-justice-medical.html
That's an interesting analysis. My sense is that, while there are a lot of holes in the memo, its practical implication will be more optimistic for medical marijuana advocates; the message, in general, is a (grumpy, granted) "back off" message.