We discussed earlier how, when trying to lure back liberal voters for his reelection, President Obama’s administration went into radio silence on its past crackdown on marijuana use, including medical marijuana. Then, the day after reelection, the Justice Department announced that it would continue its unpopular crackdown on pot distribution and possession. Now, after the legalization of marijuana use in Washington state, the Justice Department has announced that it would not yield to the citizens of the state and would continue its crackdown. The statement came from the office of the United States Attorney in Seattle, the highest ranking Justice official in the state.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Seattle warned “[r]egardless of any changes in state law, including the change that will go into effect on Dec. 6 in Washington state, growing, selling or possessing any amount of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. … Neither states nor the executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress.”
That is a curious statement since the Obama Administration recently did precisely that in the immigration area — it declared that it would no longer enforce the express law with regard to certain illegal aliens. It also refused to defend such laws as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Moreover, the Justice Department routinely makes decisions on the allocation of resources and priorities. Many citizens question the need and efficiency of fighting the use of pot, particularly for medical purposes. The statement from the highest DOJ attorney in the state is therefore not only misleading but appears intentionally misleading. It expressly states (wrongly) that the Administration has no choice but to prosecute the possession and distribution of marijuana.
It is also worth noting that the Administration did not need these state laws to alter its senseless actions in this area for the last four years. It has continued its policy despite widespread criticism and indeed these laws were responses to that ongoing federal campaign.
For the moment, federal agents stood aside as citizens in Washington celebrated the legalization of marijuana. However, the message is clear — if belated after the election — that President Obama will continue the mindless campaign in the area. We have a huge bureaucracy that is entirely geared toward the prosecution of these cases, including the ability to keep “proceeds” seized in these raids by police and prosecutors. It has become something of a perpetual enforcement machine unconnected to any sense of priority or logic. It also denies the right of these states to go their own way under federalism principles.
Source: ABC
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http://www.thenation.com/blog/171700/drug-war-small-victories-are-not-revolution-director-eugene-jarecki-video#
Feemeister:
I believe it will be illegal under WA law to grow marjuana for personal use, that is they if don’t posess a valid Marijuana Producers License under the initiative. WA does have a provision under the medical marijuana statute that currently exists to do so provided they posess a valid Medical Marijuana Card and they posess an amount that is less than that provided in the law. I don’t know how this is going to be affected by the change under I-502
Pragmaticly people do as Gene says make beer and such under certain quantities more or less as a hobby, but people here do not produce their own tobacco for cigarrette or pipe smoking because it is so readily available everywhere. If Mary Jane is easy as buying a bottle of liquor I don’t think very many people will grow it themselves.
Here is the text of the Marijuana Initiative.
http://sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/initiatives/i502.pdf
I have focused most of my reading only in certain areas of the law so you might want to take a look if there was something that I might have missed.
feemeister,
Not to put words in Darren’s mouth, but if they follow the alcohol model, there will be a set limit for personal production that is tax exempt. If you brew your own beer, you can make up to 100 gal. (20 x 5 gal. batches) for a single adult, or 200 gal. (40 x 5 gal. batches) for a household with two or more adults under Federal law, but each state may have additional regulation. Here’s a site that breaks down those laws state by state:
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/government-affairs/statutes
Darren, do you have any idea how they will handle people growing their own, for their own use (no sale)? I mean, will they still have to pay taxes on that?
If marijuana is a Schedule I substance, why does the Department of Health and Human Services hold a medical marijuana patent? Perhaps to just sit on it, and thereby prevent a particular medical use from being developed?
http://www.google.com/patents/US6630507
And why does medicine have to come in the form of an expensive, bitter pill, anyway?
This whole issue is surrounded by such nonsense. Cannabis is already the country’s third largest cash crop behind corn and soybeans. Hemp seed contains all essential amino acids and is an excellent source of protein, and hemp fiber is strong and easy to produce sustainably.
And then there’s the whole duplicity of the CIA running drugs, and picking winners in our militarized gang war down in Mexico. From Barry Seal and Oliver North to states secrets in the case Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, almost everything about the government’s drug policy is at best absurd and at worst downright corrupt.
Oops, forgive the above OT posting; it was meant to go elsewhere on the Internet and I got my tabs confussed. 😳
Nice to see you, Whonoze.
Great work on the picture. That is a mini-nosebleed if anything at all, and I agree with you that there’s a high probability of Fogen “getting good and bloody” for the camera. Still, it’s so minor as to be laughable. A guy who allegedly defended the victim of a three-thug pile-on, a guy who worked private parties as a bouncer, a guy who has been “datniggyTB” for all those years with his bellicose attitude and his guntotin’ swagger, getting all hot and bothered about a catsup-nose like that? I had worse when I had a bad cold for four days and the dry air caused cracks in my nasal passages; one tissue and a 30-second pinch with my head back and it’s over and I never killed anybody. The bigger question is how somebody held one hand over his mouth and another hand over his nose and didn’t get his DNA or blood on THEM from the transaction.
Anyway…
These picture of injuries are not relevant. There is no law in Florida that says that you get a free murder if your victim tries to prevent it before the fact, and I’ll bet that there’s no law in Florida or any other state that says you get exonerated from any crime you want to commit so long as you’re injured in the process.
Criminalizing Marijuana use = jobs in the public sector + more prisoners.
Criminalizing Marijuana use = enormous DISCRETION in the hands of police as to whom to jail and imprison and whom to economically disable.
Criminalizing Marijuana use = easy way to practice hidden institutional racism and at the same time collect enormous amount of invisible, non-taxable bribes.
And you think any American President (especially Obama) is going to give this up?
Jeepers creepers, Jame’s prognosis is so exciting. 27 kinds. Who’s gonna keep score.
Longing back to LA. Or Santa Barbara was also good for a change to LA.
Just dreaming.
Did I say we got a foot of snow?
In CA, the commercial infrastructure grows more mature by the hour. The number of THC-based products numbers in the tens of thousands, all made locally in CA. More states are considering it, and voters will likely follow, as polls show increasing support. Medical mj beat the pants off Obama in Arkansas so it’s hard to see any real partisan divide.
The fed silence is rather stunning. One suspects they are not deciding how to crack down, but how to avoid getting sued equal-protection style. They will probably attempt to cobble something together like liquor control where everyone gets their cuts and personal restrictions come into play.
But weed is not booze. You need no stills, no yeast, no bottles. All that is required is sunshine and rain. It requires zero processing from root to lip. So regulating it like booze will be akin to herding cats, it will soon be discovered.
Add the billion dollar prison pyramid scheme, jury nullification that will likely follow, drug cartels from which Americans get 2/3rds of their pot, and this is going to get 27 different kinds of interesting.
And what of “driving while impaired?” All I can say is: come drive in LA, and experience it for yourself. They wave and smile as they cut you off, so all’s good…
To my conservative friends: want back in the game and quick? Call — nay, scream — for the end to the Drug War. Call Obama’s hand.
Hopefully the feds will back down and leave us be. But, we can always listen to to some good music either way…
Well that explains right THERE why it’s illegal in a nutshell. We KNOW they don’t want cures for cancer; they’ve made that bloody obvious. They don’t want anything cutting into that multibillion dollar industry, now DO they! We’ve known that for years; Royal Raymond Rife, etc. Had they wanted to cure cancer, the info would have been out there long ago. The head of the AMA wanted to buy the rights to Rife’s cure for cancer. He wouldn’t sell it to him, because he was not going to see it exploited so poor people couldn’t afford it. And look what happened to HIM because he wouldn’t sell! (And by the way, just very recently Texas has decided not to take Dr. Burzynski’s license–great news finally on that front. If he hadn’t had that movie made that went all over the world though I’m sure that would never have happened and they would still be hounding him like they did Rife.)
Black Salve is also supposed to cure skin cancers. I ordered some recently, and I was just floored by the ingredients! It has comfrey, chapparal, lobelia, goldenseal and myrrh in it (among other things). Now this stuff SHOULD be fantastic!
So pot cures cancer; that just explains so much. Thanks very much for sharing this video! I’m going to share it with friends!