By Ethan Nadelmann
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 10:34 a.m.
Read more: Crime, Politics, Politico, Politics, Medical Marijuana
The Justice Department's new guidelines on prosecuting medical marijuana cases represent a clear step in the right direction. They're consistent with candidate Barack Obama's comments in 2008 regarding the medical value of marijuana and with Attorney General Eric Holder's statement earlier this year that federal law enforcement authorities would no longer target medical marijuana patients and providers operating legally under state law.
Both the issuance of the guidelines and their carefully crafted language send a signal that federal prosecutors and police should look for better things to do than target medical marijuana providers.
The devil's obviously in the details as to how these guidelines will play out legally, especially in California, but my guess is that they will give federal authorities in California greater pause in deciding to pursue medical marijuana raids and prosecutions. One hopes they'll also signal to renegade local district attorneys like San Diego's Bonnie Dumanis that the feds are no longer game for helping them undermine state law.
The most positive political impact of the new guidelines will most likely be seen in those states, like New Mexico and Rhode Island, where state law authorizes government authorities to license medical marijuana providers and in the many other states that are considering medical marijuana legislation. State legislators across the country have often pointed to federal law and intransigence regarding medical marijuana as the principal reason they have hesitated to support legalizing medical marijuana under state law.-These guidelines send a persuasive signal that the feds will respect state medical marijuana laws and no longer exercise or threaten the constitutional trump card of federal supremacy.
Why is the Obama administration moving in the right direction on this?-Making good on candidate Obama's promises has to be one motivating factor.-But it also is responding to the ever-increasing questions from media and supporters as to why federal authorities keep raiding medical marijuana dispensaries.-And it cannot ignore the consistent polling that shows that more than 75 percent of Americans favor the legalization of medical marijuana.
There's also no ignoring the rapidly growing support for ending marijuana prohibition entirely.-A new Gallup Poll out Monday found that the proportion of Americans who favor making marijuana legal is now 44 percent -- almost double what it was in the mid-1980s. Among Democrats, support for legalizing marijuana jumped from 41 percent in 2005 to 54 percent now.-Obama's drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, thinks he's protecting the president by repeatedly insisting that "marijuana legalization is not part of my vocabulary or the administration's," but it's going to be increasingly difficult for him to maintain that posture if support for making marijuana legal continues to increase.
I don't expect Obama to provide any sort of bold leadership on the marijuana issue, mostly because presidents rarely provide any sort of leadership on hot-button issues involving cultural conflict, personal behavior and morality.-Both the new guidelines, and the drug czar's stated desire to avoid the marijuana issue as much as possible, suggest that the Obama administration prefers to let this issue play out at the state and local level, with little in the way of federal support or interference.
Neither the administration nor Congress is ready for a serious debate on medical marijuana, much less on ending marijuana prohibition, at this time.-The only members of Congress who have been willing to introduce marijuana decriminalization legislation are Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).-Both know that many of their colleagues agree in principle, but no Republicans and only a handful of Democrats are ready to say so publicly.
It's only a matter of time before marijuana is taxed, controlled and regulated in the United States.-The tragedy is that tens of billions of dollars will continue to be wasted, and millions of people arrested and otherwise harmed by the marijuana laws, until that time. It's up to us -- as responsible citizens who care about freedom, justice and compassion -- to ensure that this day comes sooner, not later.
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Ethan Nadelmann is executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
