THANK YOU OBAMA Vol. Its Time To End This Silly War

[jaysrcrak]

I didnt see this posted anywhere, but very exciting news no doubt.
As long as Colorado and Washington can keep it together, prohibition is doomed.

WASHINGTON | Thu Aug 29, 2013 4:05pm EDT
(Reuters) - In a move marijuana advocates hailed as a historic shift, the Obama administration on Thursday began giving U.S. states wide leeway to experiment with pot legalization and started by letting Colorado and Washington carry out new laws permitting recreational use.

The Justice Department said it would refocus marijuana enforcement nationwide by bringing criminal charges only in eight defined areas - such as distribution to minors - and giving breathing room to users, growers and related businesses that have feared prosecution.

The decisions end nearly a year of deliberation inside President Barack Obama's administration about how to react to the growing movement for relaxed U.S. marijuana laws.

Advocates for legalization welcomed the announcement as a major step toward ending what they called "marijuana prohibition."

"Today's announcement demonstrates the sort of political vision and foresight from the White House we've been seeking for a long time," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group.

"I must admit, I was expecting a yellow light from the White House," he said in a statement. "But this light looks a lot more green-ish than I had hoped. The White House is basically saying to Washington and Colorado: Proceed with caution."

Marijuana remains illegal and tightly controlled under federal law, even as about 20 states, plus the District of Columbia, allow the use of medical marijuana. Voters in Colorado and Washington legalized recreational use in groundbreaking ballot measures in November 2012.

Obama had signaled he did not want a new crackdown, telling ABC News in December: "It does not make sense, from a prioritization point of view, for us to focus on recreational drug users in a state that has already said that's legal."

The leeway for the states will go only so far, though, if Colorado, Washington or other states show they are unable to control the drug, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Forty-two percent of Americans age 12 or older have used marijuana at some point, according to a 2011 survey by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Obama has said he used marijuana when he was young.

One opponent of marijuana legalization said his group would redouble efforts to spread word of the negative effects the drug can have on adolescents.

"This is going to really quicken the realization among folks that more marijuana in our communities is not a good thing," said Kevin Sabet, a co-founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

EIGHT AREAS IN FOCUS

The Justice Department could have sued to block the Colorado and Washington laws from taking effect under the theory that they conflict with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the primary U.S. anti-drug law.

Coupled with the decision not to sue, the Justice Department sent a four-page memorandum to federal prosecutors nationwide outlining eight priority areas for marijuana enforcement.

While department officials said they are committed to enforcing federal restrictions on marijuana, prosecutors have now been told not to expend effort on cases unless they fall in one of the eight areas.

The areas include distribution to minors, situations when marijuana revenue is going to other criminal enterprises, trafficking across state lines and growing on public land.

The criteria mean, for example, that federal prosecutors will not charge a marijuana dispensary simply because it is large or profitable, said a Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But the criteria also stop short of guaranteeing immunity for anyone, leaving business and individuals open to prosecution if the case fits one of the eight areas, the official said.

Colorado and Washington will need to have regulatory systems to protect against those types of crimes, or else risk giving up the whole experiment, the department said in a statement.

Attorney General Eric Holder had a phone call on Thursday with the governors of Colorado and Washington to inform them of the decisions and told them there would be a "trust but verify" relationship between the Justice Department and the states, said the department official.

State officials said they shared Holder's concerns.

"This reflects a balanced approach by the federal government that respects the states' interests in implementing these laws and recognizes the federal government's role in fighting illegal drugs and criminal activity," Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, both of whom are Democrats, said in a statement.

Source

 

[rillo561]

Sounds great, but TBH I can't believe anything these guys say.

 

[drones]

Sounds great, but TBH I can't believe anything these guys say.

this.  also, I notice that this doesn't really say that the feds will stop raiding dispensaries and suing people in medical MMJ states like California.

 

[mrsneakerman]

This is exciting news. I can't wait to see what those 2 states do and how it affects the rest of the country. IMO they need to stop playing around and just legalize it every where and start focusing on more important things.

 

[yeah]

 

[tr1ll]

Seems to be working pretty good in Colorado, so far.

 

[rillo561]

this.  also, I notice that this doesn't really say that the feds will stop raiding dispensaries and suing people in medical MMJ states like California.

Agreed, let's not forget that Obama said they'll leave them alone too a while back. I know some dispensaries weren't following the rules, however there were many that did and still got raided.

It's a cash cow, the DEA loves the seizures in these cases and they have zero accountability . We'll see how this works, would love to go to Colorado for some Cannabis tourism I really believe that America needs something like this.

 

[milestailsprowe]

Man I came in here hoping for news on Syria

Still this is great to hear

 

[jaysrcrak]

this.  also, I notice that this doesn't really say that the feds will stop raiding dispensaries and suing people in medical MMJ states like California.

The criteria mean, for example, that federal prosecutors will not charge a marijuana dispensary simply because it is large or profitable, said a Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Justice Department said it would refocus marijuana enforcement nationwide by bringing criminal charges only in eight defined areas - such as distribution to minors - and giving breathing room to users, growers and related businesses that have feared prosecution.

To me that sounds like they are going to focus more on the criminals and less on the honest growers and people in the dispensary community.
And not only in just Colorado and Washington but opening it up nationwide. It could be a big step.

 

[RIP sleazyy]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-e-sterling/holder-to-justice-departm_b_3838659.html

Deputy Attorney General James Cole also issued a three-and-a-half page memo to U.S. attorneys across the country. "The Department's guidance in this memorandum rests on its expectation that states and local governments that have enacted laws authorizing marijuana-related conduct will implement strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems that will address the threat those state laws could pose to public safety, public health and other law enforcement interests," it reads. "A system adequate to that task must not only contain robust controls and procedures on paper; it must also be effective in practice."

The memo also outlines eight priorities for federal prosecutors enforcing marijuana laws. According to the guidance, DOJ will still prosecute individuals or entities to prevent:


the distribution of marijuana to minors;

revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels;

the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;

state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;

violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana;

drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;

growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands;

preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property.

 

[teamjordan79]

baby steps

 

[sooperhooper]

There is no legitimate reason for it to be illegal. People are finally starting to open their eyes.

 

[jaysrcrak]

Older generation that was tricked by "Reefer Madness" propaganda starting to die off.
A lie only lasts so long

 

[apx2323]

purple flowers...good thing Northern California has the best no competition and i can vouch for that
legalization yes...weed game has been ****** up for years if your paying more than 5 a gram i feel sorry for you