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PRESIDENT OBAMA'S WAR ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA-WEED
Return To OnlinePot's
Legal Section Main Page
The White House IS Growing "Medical
Marijuana Plants" In The White House Organic Garden
This
Summer! But! Other Then This "One Single Case". President
Obama Has Sold Out The Sick
& Terminal Medical Marijuana Patients To The FEDS! That He
Promised To Help "During His
Pre-Election Campaigning"
In a Strange About-Face, the President Tries to Hack Medical Marijuana Off at
the Knees.
The new federal crackdown on medical marijuana announced on October 7 by the
four California U.S. Attorneys sent chills throughout the industry. It was a
stunning reversal by the Obama administration.
Only two years ago, Deputy U.S. Attorney General David Ogden wrote his infamous
"Ogden Memo," announcing the feds wouldn't bother businesses in
compliance with their own state laws. It proved a dose of Miracle-Gro to
California, where pot-selling stores multiplied since voters approved the
state's 1996 medical marijuana law. By late last year, California reportedly had
more dispensaries than Starbucks outlets.
Colorado also made it legal in 2000, seeing a similar explosion of new
storefronts. The same thing was happening to varying degrees in 16 states, from
Arizona to Washington, New Jersey to Delaware.
But the feds' tolerance wasn't quite what it seemed. While legal weed grew to an
estimated $10 to $100 billion industry -- no one's quite sure of the exact
figure -- activists noticed an alarming undercurrent to the rhetoric: Raids on
growers and dispensaries actually increased under Obama.
As hundreds of thousands of state-approved, doctor-recommended patients happily
bought their medicine in well-lit stores from knowledgeable "budtenders,"
the ire of cops and prohibitionists rose.
The first sign of Obama's subterfuge came in late 2010, as California prepared
to vote on a ballot proposition that would have legalized growing and possessing
small amounts of marijuana for anyone over the age of 21. Under pressure from
teetotalers -- nine former Drug Enforcement Agency chiefs begged Obama to oppose
the measure -- Attorney General Eric Holder said that it didn't matter what
Californians thought. The feds would continue to bust people regardless of the
election.
The measure got 46 percent of the vote, but not enough to pass. Yet the medical
side of things kept going strong -- too strong for Obama.
When the Oakland City Council prepared to authorize large-scale cultivation
centers, Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for California's Northern District,
issued the first in what would become a series of letters from her fellow
attorneys general. She reminded residents -- in no uncertain terms -- that
marijuana was still criminalized under federal law, considered equal to heroin
or meth, irrespective of its medicinal value.
Nor did she care what California law said. Her "core priority" would
be to prosecute "business enterprises that unlawfully market and sell
marijuana" under federal law.
Over the next few months, attorneys general from Maine to Washington wrote their
own increasingly menacing letters. In Washington, the feds even threatened to
arrest state workers who helped facilitate the industry.
Then the Obama administration released a new letter to "clarify"
Ogden's memo. Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Cole verified the about-face:
The only people safe from arrest were the "seriously ill" patients and
their caregivers.
Everyone else? Be forewarned.
The letter didn't just target those directly involved in the trade. Cole was
also threatening supporting industries -- read: banks -- with money laundering
charges for dealing in the proceeds from marijuana. Obama had launched a full-on
attack on the industries essential to any functioning enterprise.
Banks responded by canceling their weed-related accounts. "Perhaps there
may be a few financial institutions here or there that are still accepting
accounts," says Caroline Joy, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Bankers
Association. "Those facilities don't want to reveal who they are."
The president's push grew louder last month. The U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms bureau warned medical-marijuana patients that they couldn't legally use
pot and own or buy guns.
Then came a one-two punch.
On October 5, the IRS ruled that one of the largest California dispensaries,
Harborside Health Center, owed $2.5 million in taxes because federal law
precluded standard deductions for businesses engaging in illegal activity.
In other words, Obama was not only blowing off state laws. He was declaring that
legal businesses were now nothing more than criminal rackets. And he was carving
away every tool they needed to function.
Harborside's owner said he'd go out of business if the IRS didn't reverse
course. Dispensaries nationwide saw it as a crippling decision.
Then came another blow two days later: The bombshell dropped by California's
four U.S. Attorneys.
They were now going after people who leased stores and land to the pot industry.
Violators were given 45 days to close doors, uproot plants, and kick out
renters. The penalty for not acting: Seizure of property and arrest.
Laura Duffy, the U.S attorney from California's Southern District, went so far
as to threaten media with prosecution for taking pot advertising. ( Disclosure:
This newspaper accepts such ads. )
There was no doubt about it: Obama was intent on killing an entire industry --
in the middle of a depression, no less. Left unexplained was why, especially
since he was giving the finger to voters in 16 states just a year before he
would face them in his own election.
Democratic strategists were perplexed. Roger Salazar, a California party
consultant, believes the president may be trying to reach out to a broader base.
But that doesn't explain the attack on his own base; Democrats support medical
marijuana at high percentages. It doesn't even make sense in luring
conservatives. With the country in economic tatters, no one has weed high on
their radar.
Except one group, says Salazar: "It's a mystery, I think, it really is,
where the pressure is coming from. My sense is it's coming from law
enforcement."
Certainly Obama's threats are real. He may be loath to jail landlords, bankers
or even dispensary owners. Arresting non-violent, state-sanctioned
businesspeople wouldn't be popular. But his quieter war of chopping merchants
off at the knees through credit and leasing would ravage the trade. Still, the
president has thrown himself into an uphill fight. There is reason to believe
medical marijuana will persist, despite his betrayal.
Marijuana Rally Is Medicine
Earlier this month, in a timely coincidence, the California Medical
Association's board voted to encourage the feds to legalize marijuana.
Though spokeswoman Molly Weedn emphasizes that the decision by the doctors'
group hinges on a call for more research, a report studied by the CMA board
before its decision makes it clear that "" at the least ""
marijuana shows promise as a medicine.
The CMA's Council on Clinical and Scientific Affairs "has also concluded
that components of medical cannabis may be effective for the treatment of pain,
nausea, anorexia, and other conditions."
The report goes on to say:
"Cannabinoids are presently thought to exhibit their greatest efficacy when
implemented for the management of neuropathic pain, which is a form of severe
and often chronic pain resulting from nerve injury, disease, or toxicity.
"The University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research ( CMCR
) recently reported to the California legislature the results of a number of
studies. Four studies involved the treatment of neuropathic pain; and all four
demonstrated a significant improvement in pain after cannabis
administration."
The doctors note that while using marijuana may contain risks, such as
addiction, they argue that its prohibition may be more dangerous than the drug
itself:
"Under the current prohibition of cannabis, public health is also affected
by increased rates of crime surrounding cannabis cultivation, sale and use. The
California Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that the incarceration and
parole supervision of cannabis offenders costs the state tens of millions of
dollars annually."
Nationally, prohibition burns through billions of dollars in lives lost to the
violence inherent in the black market, the incarceration of thousands of
productive, non-violent Americans, and the lack of access to a beneficial
medicine.
Are lots of people using weed without suffering from a medical problem?
Absolutely. But just because you've heard that half or more of patients take the
drug for "severe and chronic pain" doesn't mean they're all faking it.
In June, the Institute of Medicine estimated that 116 million Americans suffer
from significant, chronic pain.
As more research comes in showing that pot can be an effective treatment, and
with America's elderly population exploding in the coming decades, the interest
in its medicinal qualities seems only likely to rise.
The Truth Will Prevail
Ignorance, false propaganda and rank political posturing tend to be the
foundation of the anti-marijuana argument. ( Throw in bureaucratic turf
protection as well. The DEA, for example, would need fewer agents if pot was
decriminalized nationwide. )
A new Gallup poll shows that a record 50 percent of Americans believe marijuana
-- and not just the medical kind -- should be legalized. The poll follows a
continuing trend over the past several years of increasing support for
legalization.
Obama has chosen to swim against the tide. But there's reason to believe his
fight is about politics, not public safety. If this were about safety, alcohol
would be his primary target.
Politics cause both sides to fudge the truth. Yet prohibitionists and the
government have been particularly egregious. The government is using taxpayer
dollars to prop up its side, with the U.S. Justice Department's 64-page booklet,
"Speaking Out About Drug Legalization," being a prime example.
The booklet, distributed in print and online, states that "smoked marijuana
is not scientifically approved medicine." Forget that by labeling it a drug
on par with heroin, the DEA is curtailing the proper study of marijuana, since
it prevents even scientists from possessing it for research. The publicly funded
propaganda also flies in the face of the opinion of doctors, who see pot's
potential as medicine.
It's a strategy that's trickled to states with functionaries unhappy about
executing the voters' will. Last December in Arizona, Will Humble, the state's
Department of Health Services director, held a news conference about the state's
new Medical Marijuana Act. He took a moment to remind reporters that more than
1,000 Arizonans died last year from accidental overdoses from prescription
drugs.
But when asked how many of those died from marijuana, Humble refused to answer
-- to chuckles from the audience. He referred the question to his chief medical
officer, Laura Nelson, who would only say she'd "have to do the research on
that" before she could answer.
Then Nelson began stammering about the danger of marijuana due to "car
accidents" -- though she had done no research on that, either.
The CMA's new report, interestingly enough, sheds light on statements like
Nelson's. It says that prohibitionists often make unsubstantiated claims about
car crashes or other purported harms. Studies disagree on its risks to
motorists, though there's no question that booze increases the chances of a
crash, the report says. Moreover, simulated driving tests reveal that pot
smokers overestimate their degree of impairment and "compensate
effectively."
If one were a cynic, one might also view U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy's threat to
target advertising as a less than subtle threat to control the debate.
True: Federal law prohibits advertising illegal drugs. Google, for example,
agreed to pay a $500 million fine this summer for taking online ads promoting
"rogue" Canadian pharmacies.
But pot dispensaries are legal businesses within their states. Under Duffy's
threat, the feds will have their say, while the pro-pot message would be erased
from public view.
Kent Scheidegger, legal director for the conservative Criminal Justice Legal
Foundation, tells New Times that Duffy's threat gave him the willies.
"They're on much thinner ice going after the newspaper," says
Scheidegger, who otherwise believes the feds should enforce its own laws against
marijuana. "... Maybe there is a political strategy."
It's called the "shut them up" strategy.
There Will Be Pushback
Federal law is, for now, on the side of the prohibitionists.
Scheidegger downplays the state victories handed to medical marijuana. He says
if the American people want to change the law, they need to encourage Congress
to do so.
Yet that ignores a basic political reality: It's extremely difficult for any
politician to stand up for marijuana. He or she will be quickly painted as
pro-pothead.
Like women's suffrage, the medical marijuana movement has -- in ten states,
anyway -- benefited by the direct democracy of citizens initiatives. These
elections have taken the pulse of voters in a way that congressional elections
cannot.
In six other states and Washington D.C., medical marijuana was legalized by
local lawmakers. Other states are bound to vote in favor of decriminalizing pot
in the next few years in spite of federal laws.
Phoenix attorney Ty Taber sees it as a major states' rights issue.
"Basically, the citizens of these states ... they want marijuana
legalized," he says. If Obama wants to play hardball, he says, "You're
going to get pushback."
Taber represents Compassion First, a company that helps set up dispensaries. The
firm sued Arizona after Governor Jan Brewer, in blatant defiance of voters'
wishes, derailed the dispensary portion of Arizona's new law by instructing the
Department of Health to reject applications. She simultaneously sued the federal
government, asking a judge to rule on whether the state's new law was legal. (
Ironically, the U.S. Justice Department's civil department is defending against
the lawsuit -- and if the feds win, Arizona might just get its first
dispensaries. )
Compassion First wants the program implemented as Arizonans intended, and to
remove blockades Brewer has thrown in its path. For instance, Arizona requires
dispensary owners to have been residents for at least three years.
But the point isn't so much whether or not the company will win its lawsuit or
not -- it's that they're fighting back, and they're not alone.
Across the country, advocates are returning fire of their own in the court
system. Which means Obama won't be able to do battle by the relatively cheap
means of letters and threats. He'll likely end up burning through millions of
dollars in litigation -- money he doesn't have.
Taber thinks the president may have underestimated his foe. "The people
behind this marijuana movement -- they're committed. They are zealots. And these
are smart people -- not stoners saying, 'Hey dude, pass another slice of
pizza.'"
Half-Hearted Crackdowns Don't Work
The latest crackdown will be bad for the pot business. No question. But Obama
could be doing much, much more.
He could go after patients. Over the summer, a federal judge ruled the DEA could
peek at the names on Michigan's patient registry. Because marijuana is illegal
under federal law, said Judge Hugh Brenneman Jr., patients can't expect privacy.
The feds could also hit pot-tolerant cities. The law doesn't allow municipal
workers to be jailed in such prosecutions, but cities or counties could be
heavily fined just for setting up zoning requirements for dispensaries.
There's a huge downside to that, of course. Obama will only appear mean and
small for having sickly grandmas arrested. And fining cities just enrages
residents picking up the tab -- the very people the president will need a year
from now.
All of which leaves him fighting at partial speed. That, in turn, leaves the
"zealots" Tyber mentions betting their money and freedom that even if
the feds throw the book at some, it won't be them.
Last week, the feds raided several growing operations in California and Oregon,
including one in Mendocino County that appeared to be playing by the state
rules. But it seems safe to assume that few of the hundreds of other growers in
Mendocino County did not uproot their crops in response -- just as the hundreds
of dispensaries in California did not immediately close their doors after the
feds' ominous warning on October 7.
The industry seems to be practicing a form of civil disobedience. And it has
tens of thousands of seriously sick people behind it, who will holler loudly if
they're forced back to the black market.
Indeed, there are some signs that Obama's crackdown will be what the SF Weekly's
Chris Roberts calls a "Passive Aggressive" strategy. Rather than
offend Americans with news footage of police raids, Obama has launched a war of
attrition. Landlords, worried the feds will steal their property, will tell
dispensaries to move out. Banks won't handle money for pot-themed businesses.
Dispensaries will be taxed so heavily they won't be to cover the payroll or pay
the electric bill.
Yet it remains to be seen whether federal prosecutors, who undoubtedly have even
more serious criminals with which to contend, are willing and able to carry out
the threat. When Jack Gillund, Melinda Haag's spokesman, was asked whether her
office had the resources to go after every dispensary or grower who doesn't
comply with the 45-day deadline, he offered a simple reply: "No
comment."
Lauren Horwood, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner in California's
Eastern District, says Wagner's goal isn't to shut down everything. He's
focusing on "large, professional, money-making operations -- the commercial
operations."
Horwood also says that it's wrong to call it "Obama's crackdown." She
says the California U.S. Attorneys decided to take action on their own because
the situation has grown out of control among recreational users. But she
acknowledges that they received Obama's blessing.
It's classic political strategy: Send the underlings out to take the heat, while
the bosses hide under their skirts.
Either way, the end result casts Obama as even more zealous than George W. Bush.
Bush threatened owners of dispensary properties in 2007, but never followed up.
Meanwhile, Colorado and other states have seen no similar crackdowns. Only time
will tell whether Obama plans to destroy the entire medical marijuana industry,
or merely smack California around for a bit.
"I'm willing to give the Obama Administration the benefit of the
doubt," says Blair Butterworth, a Democratic consultant in Seattle, where
about 100 dispensaries operate. "In California, they may be sitting on
uncontrollable drug sales. They need to slap some wrists."
It's easy to pick on California, a state known for its excesses. But "the
last thing Obama needs right now is to go to war nationally with the medical
marijuana community," Butterworth says.
Leniency for marijuana users, medical or otherwise, continues to be a popular
Democratic stance, he says. Butterworth is helping the campaign to put outright
legalization on the Washington state ballot next year. He thinks it's got a good
chance.
Of course, a successful election could just tick off the feds even more.
A Million Patients Can't Be Wrong
An estimated 1 million people in California have obtained a doctor's
recommendation to grow and use marijuana legally.
More than 150,000 medical marijuana patients have registered in Colorado as of
July.
Tens of thousands of patients are registered in the other weed-friendly states.
If the feds shut down every dispensary in the country, all these people will
still be able to legally possess marijuana -- no matter where they bought it --
under their state laws.
The only difference is they'll be forced to go back to buying their weed from
Mexican drug cartels, rather than Americans who provide jobs and pay taxes.
It's akin to the feds saying that Anheuser-Busch can no longer sell beer; they'd
prefer that people only buy from Al Capone.
Hey, wait -- didn't something like that happen?
Pubdate: Thu, 20 Oct 2011
Source: Miami New Times (FL)
Copyright: 2011 New Times, Inc.
Author: Ray Stern
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