High Witness Report

Another big step in the right direction. This is more than we’ve ever gotten from any gov’t before Obama’s.

Well done, Mr. President. Very well done.

This is for you, MM users. All these decades of relentless activism. All those who suffered and died to make this day possible. This is the ends we seek, and we will not stop until MJ is legalized across the nation.
Of course, stupid cops and judges will still commit harassment and assaults upon MM users, but the ball is rolling right over them now.

Spark and celebrate!

From Reuters:

By James Vicini and Dan Whitcomb

WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a sharp policy shift, the Obama administration told federal attorneys not to prosecute patients who use marijuana for medical reasons or dispensaries in states where it has been legalized.

A Justice Department official said the formal guidelines were issued Monday in a policy change reflecting President Barack Obama’s views. The Bush administration had said it could enforce the federal law against marijuana and that it trumped state laws.

The decision was praised by activists in California, the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. But concern remains among some medical and law enforcement authorities about hundreds of clinics thought to be selling pot under the protection of state law and without regard to health.

As a candidate during his presidential bid last year, Obama said he intended to halt raids of medical marijuana facilities operating legally under state laws.

After he took office in January, a Drug Enforcement Administration raid on a medical marijuana dispensary in Lake Tahoe, California, raised questions about whether he would follow that pledge.

A White House spokesman Monday repeated Obama’s view that “federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws.” And Attorney General Eric Holder said he would follow Obama’s position.

Stephen Gutwillig, California head of the Drug Policy Alliance, called the move a good first step.

“There is a fundamental need of patients to access marijuana as medicine right now,” Gutwillig said. “While it’s great to see the Obama administration radically de-escalate the Bush and Clinton administrations’ war on medical marijuana patients, more needs to be done to protect sick people and their caregivers.”

About a dozen states have followed California in adopting medical marijuana laws.

‘MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE’

Gutwillig called on the Obama administration to support a bill pending in Congress, proposed by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, that would give states the right to adopt their own medical marijuana laws.

But the head of a California drug rehabilitation clinic criticized Monday’s move as irresponsible.

“The Justice Department is required to enforce all federal laws that are on the books,” said Jerrod Menz, president of A Better Tomorrow Treatment Center, said in a written statement.

“Imagine if the administration took a similar stance on immigration policy. Can you imagine the outrage?”

In a statement, Holder said the Justice Department will continue to prosecute people who claim to comply with state or local law, but really are concealing illegal operations.

This is great! But it is by no means enough. Protecting the innocent from Godless legislation is the first thing that needed to be done. But there are still miles to go before the evil is completely subdued and freedom rings.
We have won the drug war. Now it’s just a matter of removing the squatters.