Score one for the good guys!
Earlier this month, new U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder promised a clean break from the policies of the Bush administration. Yesterday, during a live interview on C-Span, he affirmed that this change includes ending the DEA raids of state-authorized medical marijuana providers!
Responding to a reporter’s question regarding the DEA’s recent actions against several California medical cannabis providers, Holder stated: “What the President said during the campaign . . . will be consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement. . . What [President Obama] said during the campaign . . . is now American policy.”
You can watch the video of Attorney General Holder’s remarks here.
Holder’s statement marks a dramatic shift in U.S. drug policy, and is a major victory for the 72 million Americans who reside in states where the use of medical cannabis is legal! It also lends support to the ongoing efforts in Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island — each of which are debating legislative proposals to make the production and distribution of medical cannabis legal under state law.
At this time, NORML would like to personally thank those of you who responded to our request to contact the Attorney General’s office and urge Eric Holder to call off the DEA raids. Your phone calls and e-mails have helped to change U.S. marijuana policy!
So go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back. And while you’re at it, click here to thank the new Attorney General for supporting the will of the people and the health and welfare of seriously ill patients.
“Change we can believe in?” Yes it is, and it’s about time.
What about the people who are already in the federal system fighting for thier freedom?
The Attorney General’s comment was pretty vague. He did not even outright say what this article is making it seem like he said.
Damn! Keep the good news rolling guys. What a great week!!
Hip! Hip!,….
Wait til they see how much havoc this doesn’t wreak, and how much money it will bring in to Uncle Sam’s pockets.
Next stop: Legal California Cannabis!
THIS IS SO AWESOME!!!!
I think this calls for a victory toke.
Wooooo. Do you expect to see allot of other states legalizing medical marijuana now that this happened? And do you expect to see a change in the scheduling of marijuana or change in the federal law?
This is great news for all medical marijuana users and providers!
Change is finally coming!
progress baby, PROGRESS!!!!!
I cant believe no one has left a comment here! This is a HUGE WIN. All the recent events that have happened from California to New Jersey have brightened my day. Thank You NORML!
This article should have a blinking headline! WOW!
Oh my God!
This is great, good job NORML!
One Giant Toke for Mankind! Obama seems to be a man of his word. Abe Lincoln, JFK, MLK and all great men that were for the people would be proud. High from the Great Smoky Mountains – Steve and Ervin
FINALLY!
AWESOME!!!! This is a huge win for us. Now lets end this war all together!
Praise all the Gods! This is fantastic news. For once, it seems that a politician is doing what they promised in a campaign.
Cannabis prohibition is nonsense.
Very good news indeed! Next up: decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. Let’s now turn our efforts towards getting the government to reschedule marijuana and remove any criminal penalties for possession. There’s already Senators, Representatives and even poeple in the Administration that fully beleive it should be up to local/state governments on how they want to handle marijuana laws. If we can get this done at the federal level… the only thing left will be to work at the state level, which will be easy!
if ron paul were president this wouldnt even be an issue
About time!!
this is only beating around the bush, it should be completely legal for anyone to consume.
Thank God!
It’s about time. I’m so glad he made good on his promise!
I watched the video and it seemed to me that he was avoiding the question more than answering it. I will believe the new policy when I see it (or I dont see anymore raids say for a period of…… FOREVER!!!
sweet, one step closer to legalization!
i just finished sending my thank you! we all should. while i had their attention i also put in a word for the federal marijuana program. it may help disabled veterans get federal marijuana distributed by the dept. of veterans affairs. my home state of west virginia is no where near a medical marijuana law, the tobacco lobby and alcohol lobby has to much of a voice. dammed revenuers!
we will see if they keep there word?
Tis Is The Best News i have ReaD tis Month…
NO SHIT!
let all states decide…….I have to believe it is possible.
HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sure glad I sold everything and moved all the way from Florida to Oregon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Peace!
Now if we can just get the government to LEGALIZE.
If the pressure is kept up,the will of the people can prevail. Hemp For Victory
Horray! Now that the federal policy against medical marijuana is fixed, now we need to move on to the federal policy against recreational marijuana. It’ll be hard work, but again, I express my gratitude and exitement towards this policy change.
Congrats to the MM patients all around–but don’t forget about us norml users out there getting prosecuted like criminals every day. Keep the battles rolling. And again, congrats 🙂
Bullshit: never trust the feds.
“Holder joked, “What the president said during the campaign, you will be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement.” After a bit of laughter, he repeated, “What he said during the campaign is now American policy.”
Big joke, eh?: not a laughing matter (will Obamba’s DOJ order all prisoners incarcerated for mj offences be they mj or mmj released and their mj returned?). Don’t trust any of them (including the “bit of laughter” reporters: the DEA/ONDCP stills holds the power despite a few words by a corrupt lawyer at a “news conference”.
Certainly wouldn’t be the first time JWG. Certainly not, I think. I guess we just wait and see.
this makes an activist like myself very happy
this gives me hope, just wish i dident spend time in jail already for possession of under a gram!
Now the hard part. getting congress to pass a f-ing law!!!!!
FUCK YEA ITS ABOUT TIME!! God i am tired of this god damn government trying to control us. If i want to smoke pot then I’m going to whether the government wants me to or not. I’m just glad for the marijuana patients so they can smoke cannabis. Well see if the government keeps there word on this.
Let us see if the American policy goes toward legal marijuana for recreationl and cultivation use in our castles we call our homes in the near future. GO NORML!
I certainly see this as a good thing but the battle for MMJ legitimacy is not over til it is removed from Schedule I classification and bumped down a few levels.
Legalize it and I will advertise it.
The mainstream media seems to have completely ignored this.
Best news I heard this year ! 🙂
….next big question: Will the admin. apply the same hands off approach to a states right to regulate cannabis(AB 390) ?
I saw in the comments section on the youtube video someone posted “…Don’t be stupid and f*ck this up Americans.” I believe that this and the comments by John Walters Ghost above to be the case. Don’t light up a fattie in front of a DEA agent just yet. The folks that don’t want to accept cannabis in society are just looking for a reason to go “See, we told you it was bad.” Some additional things must happen before a full celebration can take place:
1. The DEA must come right out and say that these raids will stop in those states that have medical cannabis laws and cannabis has been removed from its Schedule 1 status.
2. For reform to become the norm I would like to see it placed into the Constitution just as the 21st amendment was for alcohol. Without that, we could be right back in the same situation we are now or worse.
Finally, a word of advice for folks that live in highly populated states (Florida, Texas…). You may see a movement of DEA agents into your states that were focused on those MML states. This will produce more arrests and bigger crackdown in those areas. I would almost suggest moving to a MML state or hold off until your state gets with the program.
Finally, an administration that is willing to acknowledge the existence of the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It would appear that the momentum for some serious policy change is really starting to pick-up.
I watched that video and he never outright said that the raids would stop. I have very serious doubts that they will stop.
Does anyone know if a pardon is in the works for Mr. Lynch? I would say that’s a pretty high priority.
They can still “legally” arrest you, however. There’s been no change in law, whatsoever. I’ll get on the “change” bandwagon when I see real change happen.
What Obama’s lackey said is vague and to me it’s bullmess. They’re still bloodthirsty as ever, and the second they get any additional funding, it will be used to bust the most benign and innocent among you. It’s their “job”.
But anything is possible.
I love the new it is a major step thanks to our leader President Obama. I just wish it were nation wide I may have to load up and yell westward HO!!
The draconian laws are finally changing.Bringing Marijuana laws in to the 21st century is way over due.I have been waiting for this since the 60s. Thanks Normal for your years of persistence and hard work.Now we need to free the prisoners of the marijuana war,If the war is truly over then its time to release the prisoners taken during the war. Peace DEL
Shouldn’t this also apply to states like N Dakota who have legalized industrial hemp?Or Native Americans like Alex White Plume growing hemp on sovereign land?
This is the first REAL “change” I have seen. Today is truly a good day. I wonder why there are not parades in the streets and news announcements on TV and such?
Now, all we need to do is find a way to protect the innocent cannabis using Americans who are not terminally ill still being oppressed, pursecuted, and discriminated against…
That sounded like a run around to me.He didn’t say anything about stopping the raids.Trust the government ASK AN AMERICAN INDIAN!!!
Great. That means pretty soon there will no need for people like me lol.
This is good news but there is still no need to trust these fools ! ( they dont care about us just are tax dollars)
Bern: EXCELLENT OBSERVATION AND ADVICE!!!!!
Everyone: The fact that Holder says it is American policy also works in our favor this way: The remaining 37 states who have not legalized medical marijuana (aw fuck – I hate that word) – medical cannabis will NOT have to worry about federal intervention, and that might actually ACCELERATE the nationwide movement to LEGALIZE cannabis. We would be the first country in the world to actually LEGALIZE cannabis. (It is NOT legal in Amsterdam, just tolerated). So AMERICA can actually claim GENUINE LEADERSHIP THAT BENEFITS THE ENTIRE PLANET with the legalization of cannabis!!!!!
Going to straight to legalizing Cannabis in California is a big step, I think the next would be to legalize it for medicinal purposes in many other states before we go and shoot for legalizing it. However, were getting close to the day we can smoke our weed in peace.
Looks like we’ve made the front page on msnbc.com. 🙂
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29433708/
MAINSTREAM IS HERE.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29433708
Now just legalize/decriminalize marijuana in every state in the United States. People are getting locked up for no reason and it’s time to take action!
legalizing marijuana would keep alot more people out of jail an creat space 4 the real criminals…..(legalize/decriminalize it)
my last names mota so i guess im illegal then….
(legalize/decriminalize)
420 all day
On the O’riely factor on fox news they werent very objective about legalizing weed they said legalizing drugs and they gave the example of the heroin addict passed out on the street.
Im pissed a heroin addict passed out on the street is more like an alcoholic passed out.
/rant!
Why does pot always get associated with hard drugs like crack and heroin or meth.
We are merely making a more responsible decision to not consume alcohol to relax wed prefir to smoke.
Jake: Yes a big step, but these are not “modern times”. Bush was “modern times”……..
Legalization will happen within 2 years, or else I’m moving to Europe.
I emailed oreilly@foxnews.com to tell them i thought the report on pot was extremly baised and not objective. And ranted a little about responsible adults choosing to use it over alcholol and happy pills from the docter. I suggest you guys send them some emails. thats not he kind of reporting we need.
Sorry, guys. But this is just a small victory in a long battle. THE PROBLEM is as follows :
The people we are fighting against are Aggressive, extremely Egocentric and willing to fight dirty. Which includes; but is not limited to : False propaganda, dishonorable/dishonest law enforcement methods that causes the public to distrust them, a justice system that hands down harsher and LONGER prison stints for NON-violent drug offenders than rapists/child-molesters!! B.S., I know; but mostly true(check the stats).
POTHEADS are not(for the most part)aggressive; and don’t wanna fight dirty for the cause of Cannabis. WEED is a healing agent, encourages de-tension in the body–making it easy to relax.
Bottom Line : It’s hard to win a war(on drugs) when Your true cause/message is PEACE.
P.S. we CAN win…..remember tho—it takes a lil’ longer to attain victory when you’re killing Em’ with Kindness.
RICO out…………………………..
is no one thinking of the families that are being destroyed, the displaced children who are victims of the war on drugs. some will never see there parents again because there mommy or daddy got high, lets end the war and stop breaking up families in america.
One law doesn’t matter. In my
state we are all criminals. What has
been done to most peaceful cannabis
users is on par to what this gov did to
japanese americans during ww2.
We lock them up. That solves everything?
Yet we as a society are intolerant towards
other.
Home of the free, land of the brave?
I think not. It is so sad what we
have done to people in this country.
I barely even smoke pot just a toke here
or there. But to persecute people
and DENY them of their own free will
is wrong. Do you know the song, where
john lennon says the “karma is going to
get you”. well the karma will get you
someday. 😉
lol. u get an inch and want a mile right away. sure it beating around the bush, but it’ll get legalized in short time.. just be patient and dont come off too liberal that why the power keeps shifting from left to right… were on a good path right now so slow down guys.. but either way its good news!!!
Medical shop owners ought to post this statement to their doors in large font so the police can see it when they think about raiding the joint.
Harry Jacob Anslinger (May 20, 1892 – November 14, 1975) let him and all the horror he caused be purged from the history books of the world. May he be judged according to the lies and fears he invented to infect the world and accomplish his will. In hind sight his lies caused our nation to be split for a while. Born in the 19th century this homegrown terrorist captivated a nation with his underhanded lies, his intent was to manipulate the minds of the American public and ultimately the world. Harry does not belong in the 21st century, he really never belonged to the 20th century. It’s true our drug policies are based on Harry’s 19th century view of the world. His world was in sepia tone our world is digital, high definition, and multidimensional living color. He came from a time when horse buggy racing was the headlines we live in an age of stem cell research, nanotechnologies, international space stations, cloning, mars rover and so many new technical advances that I question again, why are we still prohibiting this particular herb and listening to the nonsensical BS of Harry’s 19th century propaganda?
YES! We are moving FORWARD! Let’s take it all the way home!
Still nothing from CNN or FOX, but MSNBC is out front.
An interesting peice of information, did anybody know that the U.S. Govenment has a patent on the medical use of cannabis. Check it out…
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=
HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.
htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,630,507.PN.&OS=PN/6,630,507&RS=PN/6,630,507
This is outrageous!!!
they also say aliens arent real…dont believe their lies i want it as a law that they wont
I’ll believe it when I see on the ONDCP site. ONDCP should also have on its site the responsible use of cannabis by adults will have the absolute lowest law enforcement priority and that what responsible use is will be defined by consensus with groups and individuals from both the status quo and pro-legalization sides. Do I have to think of everything?! A Hegelian step forward, please.
http://www.ondcp.gov/
WELL DONE ERIC HOLDER.WTG OBAMA
A small victory, lets not get too excited until we see the results (or lack there of in this case!) until we see no unauthorized DEA raids on legal businesses, we will not have won!
This is the best news I have heard in a long time. We now need to leagalize pot and grant amnesty to those people who’s lives have been ruined by becoming felons for pot related offenses.
Don’t worry about the the DEA not having anyting to do if pot is leagalized. They can go after heroin crack and meth and quit wasting time and tax dollars chasing people who use pot.
Our country( U.S.A.) should stop being so stubborn and realize–Hey!!— It’s time to take the HIGH road =]
i havent let up on the government in 30 yrs on this subject. my message has always kinda been “i have morals that you dont even know anything about” and YOURE judging ME!!iwe are seeing a generational changing of the guard and it feels WONDERFUL……
in fact, i think ill have a couple puffs….
Okay, my stoner friends…if marijuana is legalized or decriminalized, would less alcohol be sold? if so, is it reasonable that the alcohol pushers would know this?
I am going to see the day when the US does in fact make medical marijuana accessible for the many people who use it. Hurray for President Obama !!! He will not yield to the pressures including big pharmaceutical companies that I feel sure do not like this.
Again, hats off to NORLM and the people who wrote Holder and/or President Obama for this landmark decision to pass.
A Medical Marijuana Patient
OBAMA IS GIVING MIXED SIGNALS. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t stop questioning his true motives and intentions:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GATES_MEXICO?
SITE=NCWIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Hey NORML Staff;
Do a write up on this: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/
Arizona_AG_Pot_legalization_could_prevent_0227.html
Arizona AG says Pot Legalization could prevent border violence. Show AZ some love lets get this done!
I just skimmed these comments the comments over at SFGate.com.
Dudes: Even if Fed raids cease (which they won’t), marijuana is still against state law in CA. In fact, if you get caught in a non MJ friendly county in CA with weed and your MM license card, YOU WILL STILL BE BUSTED. Okay? Got it? And no judge will throw out the case. READ THE LAW! And stop listening to idiotic news soundbites.
For crying out loud: all Holder is saying that the Feds aren’t going to bust dispensaries just for being dispensaries. But if the Feds believe tax laws or other laws are being broken by said dispensary, then they will raid.
The same policies that were in place for Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2 and Obama are going to be the exact same.
Please, be thoughtful when writing to our representatives! Not to brag, but here is my letter to the A.G. ~
Congratulations, Mr. Atty General.
I just want to welcome you to your position as my Attorney General. I was quite pleased when you were confirmed and finally sworn in.
I was also very pleased when you announced on C-SPAN that, “What the President said during the campaign is now American policy.”, in regard to halting DEA raids on established state-authorized medical marijuana providers. I find it wonderful and encouraging that, according to a new Zogby poll, 72% of the U.S. wants to take this common sense and compassionate stance toward marijuana, and that our government chooses to back us up. It’s about time.
Thank you for supporting the will of the people and the health and welfare of seriously ill patients.
I also hope this is a first step in bringing hemp back into production in the U.S., with it’s many ecologically beneficial uses. Not to mention jobs…
Thank you again, and I look forward to following all of the courageous and morally sound changes made by you and President Obama in the future.
Peace & Blessings ~
Maybe now states like NY will act on their stance of “we will only take action when it is said at the federal level that we (the states) will be able to regulate ourselves without higher intervention.” I have come to settle with the fact that Obama has fooled us all this “news” I fear is not law and is again another example of the administration whispering hollow promises and claiming it to be the percieved “change” we were all hyped Into. I will only celebrate when I hear about documents being signed and legislation passing. I suppose this is still a good thing to hear, at least it’s now a legitimate topic of discussion.
It’s not american policy nor has the Attorney General issued a policy that states in it the DEA stopping the raids. The DEA was asked in an interview from reporters if they would abide by eric holder’s statements and they said they would ignore it until they receive legitimate orders.
a step in the right diraction … keep on fighting ..
it’s not a war on (some) drugs, it’s a war on minorities. After the civil war, corrupt government first passed ‘grandfather clauses’ to prevent the newly freed slaves from actually voting. When those laws were struck down as unconstitutional, the corrupt government outlawed the drugs minorities were using instead of drinking the white man’s alcohol, so they could replace slave labor with prison labor.
tinyurl.com/1mn
tinyurl.com/potconviction
Most of you are missing the point. This has everything to do with Politics and politics alone. Obama is treading VERY lightly with legalizing pot because he doesn’t want a bad image to fall on him…don’t forget he’ll be up for a re-election he’s thinking about with every decision he makes. Not to mention he said directly before the election that he has no intention of legalizing MJ, this would be used against him by the right wing severely if he changed his stance. If it was up to him it would of been legalized yesterday, he is the President after all. But he doesn’t want to be labeled as the “Pro-drug President.” Like everything in Politics this will take years, and it may be something that the Obama administration may not touch until his second term should he be re-elected, since it’s a sensitive issue for many people still. And what about draconian states like Florida where it’s a felony to posess 20 grams…how lonbg will it take those states to make progress?…a very long time I’d imagine. But in the meantime keep writing your reps and the Department of Justice…keep the pressure on!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
What? Ban on medical pot cases quickly lifted!
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/
la-me-medpot7-2009mar07,0,3279260.story
I voted for Obama and i want him to keep his word. thanks obama and blessingS.
We clearly need an unambiguous statement from Obama/Holder that there will be no interference from federal government agencies in any aspect of the state medical marijuana programs.
#101 Jim Says:
March 10th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
We clearly need an unambiguous statement from Obama/Holder. . .
RE:
– – A written, legally-recognized statement,
ammending &/or abolishing the schedule-one
federal CSA-status would be the MOST UNAMBIGUOUS! 8)
this is a MINOR victory. it doesn’t help the majority of us and are you really going to trust the enforcers out there to give up their easy pickings. I trust Mr. Holder but I sure as hell don’t trust all of the peple working for him.
Most of you are missing the point. This has everything to do with Politics and politics alone.
This is the best news I have heard in a long time. We now need to leagalize pot and grant amnesty to those people who’s lives have been ruined by becoming felons for pot related offenses.