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Editorial: Leaving medical marijuana to states is a welcome change
BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
Posted: 03/03/2009 12:35:29 PM PST
Updated: 03/03/2009 12:35:30 PM PST
FINALLY, USERS OF marijuana for legitimate medicinal purposes can stop living in fear of the federal government. Cancer patients in California, for example, will be able to use cannabis to treat the nausea brought on by chemotherapy without worries of winding up in jail.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said last week that the Obama administration will leave it to states to enforce their own rules on medical use of pot. It's a welcome change from the aggressive attacks by the past two presidential administrations on laws legalizing use in California and now about a dozen other states.
California voters in 1996 passed Proposition 215, which made it legal to sell marijuana to people who have a doctor's prescription. As a result, hundreds of dispensaries regulated under state law by local governments have opened up across the state. But it's been a constant struggle.
The Clinton administration launched an attack on the law, eventually winning a Supreme Court case granting the federal government authority to shut down nonprofit organizations that supplied medical marijuana. The administration also tried unsuccessfully to punish California doctors who recommended marijuana to their patients.
Then the Bush administration stepped up the harassment by raiding medical marijuana growers and clinics, and using federal drug laws to prosecute suppliers. In some cases, the Drug Enforcement Administration and federal prosecutors have written to dispensaries' landlords, threatening forfeiture of their properties unless they evict their tenants.
For an administration that preached states' rights, this was an appalling usurpation by the federal government.
During last year's campaign, Obama made it clear that he would reverse the policies. Asked about that last week, Holder said the change was being implemented.
"What the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing in law enforcement," Holder said. "What he said during the campaign is now American policy."
Medical marijuana advocates are pleased. But it's unclear what will happen to prosecutions already in progress and to those who have been convicted under the federal crackdown.
The Obama administration should dismiss the pending cases and release people currently serving federal marijuana sentences who had complied with state laws.
Moreover, the administration should consider expanding research into therapeutic uses for marijuana. The drug is a low-cost treatment alternative that shouldn't be dismissed because of prejudices about cannabis.
It's been more than 12 years since voters voiced their preferences. Finally, their wishes are being respected in Washington.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/opinion/ci_11826996
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