The air inside the Los Angeles Patients and Caregivers Group was pungent with the aroma of premium hydroponic marijuana, but the proprietor, Don Duncan, said on Thursday that he was breathing a bit easier.
A day before, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. had said that the federal authorities would no longer take action against medical marijuana dispensaries if they were in compliance with state and local laws.
While 13 states, including California, have laws allowing medical use of marijuana, they had not been recognized by the federal government.
Dispensers of Marijuana Find Relief in Policy Shift
The Bush Administration's position was that medical marijuana was illegal despite local laws to the contrary. This led to a lot of wasted time in court, and, as the article indicates, made dispensing marijuana according to local laws a hazardous enterprise.
While the best solution would be federal legislation that legalizes marijuana use, this at least will allow the Department of Justice to spend more time doing something useful in court.
2 comments:
It's about time we get away from the drug wars. Pouring resources into busting people for pot is about as ridiculous as prosecuting them for porn. At least this is one small step in the right direction.
I wish that the government would get over its fetish for marijuana laws so that we could stop wasting money on this. That really would be the best solution. All the Executive branch can really do is choose what things to emphasize. That's how it should be - they don't get to choose what laws to enforce and which to ignore. In this case, they've done a good thing.
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