Obama's getting it done son!

**Bearsy** · 03-24-2009 06:03 PM

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government will now defer to state governments on medical marijuana — a 180-degree reversal of the Bush administration's anti-democratic policies.

The impact was immediate. On the day of Holder's announcement, New Mexico announced that it had issued the first license that any state government has ever issued to a medical marijuana producer in any state. That first nonprofit provider will be able to grow and sell medical marijuana to card-carrying patients without being harassed or raided by local, state, or federal law enforcement officials.

Additionally:

* Rhode Island is poised to expand its existing medical marijuana law to allow for three nonprofits to dispense medical marijuana to registered patients.
* This November, Maine voters will consider a ballot initiative similar to what Rhode Island envisions. MPP's polling shows the initiative is supported by 66% of likely voters.
* The Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota legislatures are debating bills to create new medical marijuana laws that allow for licensed dispensing from day one.
* In Arizona, MPP's campaign committee will be placing a similar proposal on the statewide ballot in November 2010. That initiative is supported by 65% of likely voters.
* In California, medical marijuana is dispensed at approximately 400 collectives that are generating approximately $100 million annually in state tax revenues. They operate under a state law that allows their activity but doesn't provide for state licensing. With federal policy improved and clarified, we expect the California Legislature to pass legislation similar to our Arizona proposal.

To fully appreciate the changes we're seeing, compare the Obama administration's policy to the Bush administration's policy. In the fall of 2001, after executing the first of what would be dozens of medical marijuana dispensary raids over eight years, a spokesperson for Bush's Justice Department said, "The recent enforcement is indicative that we have not lost our priorities in other areas since September 11. The attorney general and the administration have been very clear: we will be aggressive."

As the World Trade Center was still literally smoldering and our country was about to launch two foreign wars, the Bush administration was crowing about how it was arresting medical marijuana patients. That policy was not only cruel, but stupid. Good riddance.

Now that the Obama administration has taken the Drug Enforcement Administration out of the business of busting pharmacy-like establishments, MPP will be lobbying the federal government to also do the following:

* Congress should remove the federal ban on the District of Columbia enacting a local medical marijuana law. In November 1998, 69% of D.C. voters passed a medical marijuana ballot initiative, but every year since then Congress has attached a rider to its D.C. spending bill that prevents this law from taking effect. Even former Republican Congressman Bob Barr, the author of the federal ban, now supports lifting it — and has lobbied on MPP's behalf to do exactly that.
* The DEA should stop preventing the University of Massachusetts from growing medical marijuana for research purposes. A privately grown, regulated supply of marijuana is a prerequisite to getting marijuana approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a prescription medicine.
* The Obama administration should reopen the existing federal program that currently provides medical marijuana to only three patients nationwide but that was closed to new enrollment in 1992. This could be a huge boon to patients in states without medical marijuana laws.

**O'nus** · 03-24-2009 09:41 PM

It's all a conspiracy and Obama is not even american because his birth certificate is fake. He does nothing. He only won cause he's black. This is all a clever ruse.

/paranoid american stereotype.

~

**Bearsy** · 03-24-2009 10:20 PM

I can't wait to see The Obama Deception. I'm gonna have a good laugh at that.

**Alric** · 03-24-2009 11:44 PM

So basically it is still illegal, but the federal government is just not going to bother enforcing it?

**Odd_Nonposter** · 03-25-2009 02:42 AM

No, the Feds are still going to conduct raids, but only on establishments that are in violation of both state and federal law.

As far as I know, this bill hasn't left committee in Ohio yet, but it's a start.

**Bearsy** · 03-25-2009 07:00 AM

Right, they've decided to go back(at least in small part) to the early American standard that Federal law rarely trumps state law, and that this shouldn't be one of those instances.

It's a pretty huge step in the right direction.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason Obama is still against legalizing it outright.
Maybe he'll do it after his second term starts(or he realizes there won't be one.)
It's probably a really political decision for him to wait.
It's pretty stupid though, seeing as how it would save the US ~$19B a year and add revenue of anywhere from ~$14B-$30B a year. It could potentially be the savior of this economic crisis, or at least a large reason for it.

I can't wait til NY passes MMJ laws. I really thought we'd be like the 8th-10th state to do so. It seems were not even gonna crack the top 15(maybe even 20) which is kind of a bummer.

**grasshoppa** · 03-25-2009 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by Elis D.

I can't wait to see The Obama Deception. I'm gonna have a good laugh at that.

Obama is just like bush.

**Alric** · 03-25-2009 08:49 AM

I don't really like him at all, but to be fair he did about all that he can and should do. Its congresses job to pass laws. They are the ones who need to legalize it, or pass laws regarding it.

**ninja9578** · 03-26-2009 02:58 AM

Is this really the best use of his time?

We're in a costly and illegal war
We are the last civilized country without socialized medicine
Our carbon footprint is still growing
We're in a financial meltdown

I think legalizing drugs should have a lower priority than all of those much more pressing issues.

**Mes Tarrant** · 03-26-2009 03:02 AM

^^ But the point of legalizing drugs is to bring a ton of money into the economy... right? It's not just for kicks or something.

**Bearsy** · 03-26-2009 03:20 AM

Originally Posted by Elis D.

It's a pretty huge step in the right direction.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason Obama is still against legalizing it outright.
Maybe he'll do it after his second term starts(or he realizes there won't be one.)
It's probably a really political decision for him to wait.
It's pretty stupid though, seeing as how it would save the US ~$19B a year and add revenue of anywhere from ~$14B-$30B a year. It could potentially be the savior of this economic crisis, or at least a large reason for it.

.

**Black_Eagle** · 03-26-2009 03:49 AM

And it would drastically reduce crime as the gun-carrying dealers would be driven out of business.

**Descensus** · 03-26-2009 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by grasshoppa

Obama is just like bush.

Well not exactly. You need to factor in skin color and party affiliation.

Actually, scratch party affiliation. Democrats and Republicans seem to be doing the same thing now-a-days.

And scratch the skin color thing. We're all equal, remember?

So really, you're correct.

**Xei** · 03-27-2009 01:01 AM

It's pretty stupid though, seeing as how it would save the US ~$19B a year and add revenue of anywhere from ~$14B-$30B a year. It could potentially be the savior of this economic crisis, or at least a large reason for it.

20 billion or so from drugs could be the saviour of the financial crisis..?

Uh... slight misunderstanding of orders of magnitudes there I think.

But the point of legalizing drugs is to bring a ton of money into the economy... right? It's not just for kicks or something.

And here was me thinking the point is to nullify the multifarious negatives of a black market...

**Black_Eagle** · 03-27-2009 01:13 AM

Originally Posted by Xei

20 billion or so from drugs could be the saviour of the financial crisis..?

It would save and it would create a new source of income. Net gain is above 35 billion. It's actually quite significant seeing as it would be one step toward reversing the financial crisis.

**ninja9578** · 03-27-2009 03:09 AM

35 billion is what the US spends in Iraq in 10 weeks. That's hardly a step towards digging out of Bush's 11 Trillion dollar hole. The only way to fix the financial problem is to stop hemorrhaging money in Iraq and the military.

The national debt at midnight last night was $11,042,292,166,059.11. That's $36,100 from every American over that past 8 years. That's why the economy has stalled, people don't have as much money because it's going to Iraq and the military. That could have gone to giving every american a college education, or health care, but instead it went to the personal vendetta of George Bush against Saddam Hussein.

I hope Obama and the liberal congress push some more legislation through quickly crippling the money-hungry military.

**Techno** · 03-27-2009 03:14 AM

The only way to fix the financial problem? I like the wording there.

**Taosaur** · 03-27-2009 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by Daniel Danciu

The only way to fix the financial problem? I like the wording there.

Ya, I think the only answer is to manufacture silver bullets. Demand is high.

**ninja9578** · 03-27-2009 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by Daniel Danciu

The only way to fix the financial problem? I like the wording there.

That's the only way to make it stick. You can't have a strong economy while pissing that much money away.

I bought us volcano insurance.

- ~~George Bush~~ Peter Griffen

**Universal Mind** · 03-27-2009 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by ninja9578

I hope... crippling the money-hungry military.

"Crippling"???????

**grasshoppa** · 03-27-2009 07:05 PM

Originally Posted by BLUELINE976

So really, you're correct.

finally!

**Descensus** · 03-27-2009 07:38 PM

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

"Crippling"???????

We would all benefit from a smaller military. Government spending is outrageous.

Edit - However, crippling the military is not a good idea.

**ninja9578** · 03-28-2009 09:43 PM

I meant crippling as in capping their spending and taking most of it apart. We need a defensive military, not an offensive one. Fight wars that are worth fighting, like Afghanistan. Iraq is none of our business and never was. Regardless of whatever reason or reasons you pick: money, revenge, democracy... we all know it has nothing to do with the war on terror and distracted people from a real war that is worth winning.

The military thinks they have a blank check to do whatever they want, congress should give them a big screw you and force them to cut back. They answer to congress, and someone needs to remind them of that. We don't have a brain-dead president anymore who was the 2nd highest threat to world peace (higher than kim jong il, behind osama bin laden), we have allies again if we need to go to war.

The american money should be used on more important things like... americans maybe?

**Descensus** · 03-29-2009 04:52 AM

Originally Posted by ninja9578

I meant crippling as in capping their spending and taking most of it apart. We need a defensive military, not an offensive one. Fight wars that are worth fighting, like Afghanistan. Iraq is none of our business and never was. Regardless of whatever reason or reasons you pick: money, revenge, democracy... we all know it has nothing to do with the war on terror and distracted people from a real war that is worth winning.

The military thinks they have a blank check to do whatever they want, congress should give them a big screw you and force them to cut back. They answer to congress, and someone needs to remind them of that. We don't have a brain-dead president anymore who was the 2nd highest threat to world peace (higher than kim jong il, behind osama bin laden), we have allies again if we need to go to war.

The american money should be used on more important things like... americans maybe?

This is exactly what I hoped you meant.