By "Radical" Russ Belville on February 25, 2009
Speaking at a press conference with DEA administrator Michelle Leonhart, Attorney General Eric Holder declared that ending medical marijuana raids ”is now American policy.”
A reporter asked, “shortly after the inauguration there were raids on California medical marijuana dispensaries…do you expect these to continue?”, noting that the President had promised to end the raids in the campaign.
Holder responded, “What the President said during the campaign…is consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement. He was my boss in the campaign….He is my boss now. What he said in the campaign is now American policy.”
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The question appears about 25 minutes into the press conference, which was devoted to an operation against the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel.
February 25th, 2009. Mark it as the day on your calendar when the beginning of the end of adult marijuana prohibition happened. With federal pressure off of California and other medical marijuana states, the acceptance of cannabis will grow… like a weed!
I think I am crying… Good night, y’all!
Posted in ACTIVISM, ENTERTAINMENT, LAW ENFORCEMENT, SCIENCE | Tagged Administrator Michele Leonhart, Attorney General, C-SPAN, California, DEA, DEA Raids, dispensaries, Eric Holder
I am the producer of The NORML Network, the host of the NORML SHOW LIVE and The NORML Stash Blog, and NORML's Outreach Coordinator. I'm married, live in Portland, Oregon, and I am a registered medical marijuana caregiver in this state. I've worked days as an IT geek and nights as a professional musician. Previously, I have been the host of my own political talk radio show on satellite radio. I've been the High Times "Freedom Fighter of the Month" and I travel across the country to educate people on marijuana reform. I've dedicated my life to bringing an end to adult marijuana prohibition and re-legalizing cannabis hemp, and I'm honored to be chosen by NORML to give voice to the Marijuana Nation and to speak for those who can't speak up.
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i have story for that shows Goage Bushes atatude to Human rights. in 2006 2007 i proved that Pinellas county florida DCFGroup home system ran by Merry Manviech and sister charlete Drisco.with the help of Anita sivlia and Diane Kissick.the name of system was HRS.after 4 year old autistic boy was put in cage naked out side from starvashing and exsposser state leaders lied to public .and said new gruop was taken over. that little boy had so many bug bites on him he didint look human. they changed name to family contanutys.Same people just new name of program. and that Pineallas county was running crimanal manufacturing scam hell they even had crack lab in court house it was proven that judges and state atorneys office and public defenders office was crooked people that numbers in the thousnds over the years have been torctoerd there teeth ground down durin the time that i was looking into it i was jumped whyl cooking diner for me and my father and younger brother.and charged with 6 copunts of battery on law inforcement.by father was beeten they threaten ower nambers.while they had me in jail i was beeten my teeth ground down denied food and sleep regurly.and all legal rights now durin FBIinvestagation GW bush pulled FBI out of it.Left it in the hands of son JEB BUSH who was Govener of Florida at that time. HE prolonged it out intill Charley crist took office. they lied to public agan said private group was taken over gave Merry Manvieh promtion and anita sivlia Diane Kissick now have same jobs under maiden names sence then children have been taken for resons that are lies and parents forced to Adopt them out. They admited Judges are crooked but said they serve the system so they moved them to another court .what happen to serve the the people.these people dont just use there power to get away with crimanal acts they comitt human rights violations.and now it has gotin worst
[...] Control, Regulation, and Education Act) – 5,536 viewsBarack Obama and Marijuana – 3,368 viewsAttorney General Eric Holder: ending medical marijuana raids “now American policy” – 2,754 viewsConnecticut introduces medical marijuana and decriminalization bills – 2,687 [...]
Speaking of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder:
Eric Holder is a racial-minority individual, and in his heart and mind he inevitably does not endorse hate crimes committed by George W. Bush.
George W. Bush committed hate crimes of epic proportions and with the stench of terrorism (indicated in my blog).
George W. Bush did in fact commit innumerable hate crimes.
And I do solemnly swear by Almighty God that George W. Bush committed other hate crimes of epic proportions and with the stench of terrorism which I am not at liberty to mention.
Many people know what Bush did.
And many people will know what Bush did—even to the end of the world.
Bush was absolute evil.
Bush is now like a fugitive from justice.
Bush is a psychological prisoner.
Bush has a lot to worry about.
Bush can technically be prosecuted for hate crimes at any time.
In any case, Bush will go down in history in infamy.
Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993
“GEORGE W. BUSH IS THE WORST PRESIDENT IN U.S. HISTORY” BLOG OF ANDREW YU-JEN WANG
______________________
I am not sure where I had read it before, but anyway, it is a linguistically excellent statement, and it goes kind of like this: “If only it were possible to ban invention that bottled up memories so they never got stale and faded.” Oh wait—off the top of my head—I think the quotation came from my Lower Merion High School yearbook.
[...] Attorney General Eric Holder: ending medical marijuana raids “now American policy” | NOR… __________________ UNBAN MY NIGGAS. [...]
Yes, sir. You are thinking of the DEA ruling in my case from December 19. I’m appealing that to the Eighth Circuit, Carl Olsen v. DEA, No. 09-1162. My brief is going in the mail tomorrow.
Im pretty sure I just made sticky in my pants….:P”
Carl, I get you now. I may have the wrong decision on the brain. There was one like what I’m describing. So many decisions, so few brain cells.
I just saw another news report.. woman said 60,000 pounds of marijuana.
You seem to be missing my point here. The Craker decision was not about the federal government failing to remove marijuana from Schedule I once it had been accepted for medical use by the states. You seem to think the Craker decision was a ruling on something entirely unrelated to the case.
great work this a.m. Russ, I have been STOKED all day about this….
Congrats to all Med MJ states out there!!!!
Oh, Carl, hold up, I’m on your side. I completely agree with your logic. The DEA administrator didn’t. http://tinyurl.com/8vq5ld Logic is no currency in drug law reform. If you ask me, the entire prohibition of marijuana is unconstitutional, as we have an inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness, an implied right of privacy in the Bill of Rights, and the Commerce Clause can’t possibly be meant to cover the non-commercial cultivation and personal use of a natural substance, Wickard v. Filburn be damned!
Good people are appealing this ruling in every way possible. Recent events make me hopeful that logic will prevail.
I think the DEA is going to do what it’s told, otherwise it’ll be a rogue organization, at least on the surface. I think with all the drug dealers in the DEA we can effectively consider them a rogue organization. But, I digress. Under past presidents, they were told to erradicate the drug problem as they saw fit. Under Obama and AG Holder, they’re going to do what they’re told. If they’re being told to fall back on the raids, then that’s what they better do.
But, even Obama said that he didn’t believe in complete legalization. At the same time, I think he was just coming of moderate AND I believe he’s too smart to not appreciate the opportunity to use California as a testing ground if the people vote to pass this law.
He is a pothead, in my opinion, after all even though he MAY not use now (he’s too calm for me to think he doesn’t use lol). Being a Constitutional lawyer, I think he’d find some workaround to keep the DEA out of California’s way on this one.
[...] permalink well looky here….this is a good start. Attorney General Eric Holder: ending medical marijuana raids “now American policy” | NOR… [...]
I don’t suppose you could give us the page number where the DEA says that state laws do not require removal from Schedule I. I have the 118 page order and I don’t see it. It’s odd that something like that would come up, because all Dr. Craker was trying to do is get a license to grow pot like University of Mississippi already has. None of that would require rescheduling. It’s hard to believe something that wasn’t even relevant to the issue would have been decided in that case. Let us know when you find that page number.
How cool would that be, A plant saves America
&
Kick the bums out that don’t follow the U.S. Constitution!
Who knows, but its gonna be worth finding out!!!!
What page is that on? On the one hand, you have the medical professional (Dr. Craker) saying it has accepted medical use in the United States, on the other, you have the DEA saying it doesn’t. The judge hearing the evidence, says she agrees with the medical professional (Dr. Craker). The DEA Administrator overrules the judge. So, just because the DEA says it has no accepted medical use, does that make it true?
I agree, Russ. This is my perception of what the new marijuana industry will look like:
1. The personal use of marijuana by adults in the privacy of their own home and in licensed establishments would be legal.
2. The production and sale of marijuana by licensed, reputable businesses in accordance with all relevant regulations would be legal and taxed.
3. The personal production of marijuana for personal use would be legal and untaxed, just as the production of homebrew is legal today.
At the same time, unlicensed production and sale, and the consumption of marijuana by minors, would remain illegal and continue to be subject to enforcement by the DEA and local police. Also, just as with alcohol and tobacco, advertising of marijuana should be illegal. The goal is to prevent use by minors and drive criminals out of the market, not encourage use of the drug.
I goofed, heroin is schedule 1.
I think this brings up deeper issues as it pertains to drug use in general. If the government is absolutely lying about marijuana and blatantly so, what’s one to think about other substances, especially those that are schedule 2. This goes directly to individuals who don’t know any better.
It’s only in practice a person NOT in the know would ever find out that marijuana is not the demon weed the DEA makes it out to be. If marijuana isn’t that dangerous yet is considered dangerous, it’s not exactly far fetched for one to extrapolate that cocaine or even heroin is not only not dangerous but most likely safer than marijuana.
It’s my opinion that the DEA’s erroneous prohibition classifications do absolutely more harm to the American public than any drug pusher ever could. If I was a drug dealer wanting to move cocaine and heroin, I’d use the DEA’s own argument to push that drug harder.
“Hey no one’s ever died from marijuana use and millions of people are saying that marijuana isn’t addictive, look at your friends. Come over here and try this cocaine. I’ve got some heroin for you as well. Remember, even the DEA thinks cocaine and heroin is safer than marijuana. Try it out!”
The most recent petition by Craker against DEA made this very point: that is marijuana is being used medically in the US, then it has medical use and the feds can’t trump it. The DEA said, sorry, marijuana doesn’t have an accepted medical use, all those states that are doing that just don’t realize marijuana has no accepted medical use.
Shorter:
DEA: Marijuana is not medicine
States: We’re using it as medicine!
DEA: No, you’re not!
States: Yes, we are!
DEA: You cannot be.
States: Why?
(return to first DEA)
While this is only an initial step, this is fantastic news. What I wonder is this: if assemblyman Ammiano’s proposal for legalized, taxed marijuana were to pass by some miracle, would the feds still maintain a “hands off” approach?
I hope it is true but It seems to me Carl makes a lot of sense. The scheduling law doesn’t pass the smell test. It is obvious that marijuana has had and does have medical use in the United States. That being the case legally it can not be a schedule one drug by the governments own definition. That brings us to how do you trust a government that harshly enforces laws that are not legitimate? Courts continue to find excuses to send people to prison in obvious violation of the law. Obama and Holder simply need to enforce the law not pretend to do us a favor wink wink. The entire justice system in the U.S. operates in an unjust manner, it appears to me to be broken. This just shows one example of that.
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No, I think you’re on to something – the lack of a marijuana mention was notable. I think it may be more that it isn’t positive PR to note that you’re spending money eradicating weed.
I don’t know. The one above “Federal law does not prevent states…” didn’t seem to have any hyperlinks in it when I approved it.
Weird. Such are the mysteries of the WordPress. I hope your next hyperlinked comment works OK – I’ll keep an eye out.
did anyone notice he didn’t mention how much marijuana was retrieved? listen to how he lays out the numbers in the first 2 min of the conference.
50 members of sinaloa cartel
21 months
US, Mexico, Canada
750 ppl
$59,000,000
12,000 kilos of cocaine
1200 pounds of meth
1.3M extasy pills
160 weapons
But, there was no mention of marijuana. Maybe it was a slip? But, these guys are smart. This is not the Bush administration. I think he may have left out that figure on purpose. Maybe an early attempt to disconnect marijuana from big drug cartels in a way to eliminate ammo of anti-marijuana groups.
I think too much. What do you guys think?
It’s great to have a position from the administration. Now we need to reschedule it! Baby steps are small, but frequent
Where did my first post, the one with the hyperlinks in it, go?
Uh, you do know that in 48 states, people have to pay sales taxes on oregano, right?
Look, I get the “it’s a plant, I should be able to use it freely” angle. I’m all for that at the personal level. Grow your own, smoke your own, no licenses, taxes, or fees.
But if you want to sell it to other people, you need to pay the taxes on it just like every other commodity in this country is taxed. The “eliminate all sales taxes” argument is one thing, but if oregano is going to be taxed, then cannabis should be taxed.
Carl, relax. Your first post, and any post with hyperlinks in it, are moderated. By me, just me, and I do have to sleep and look at other webpages occasionally.
WTF? Why are my comments being censored?
It is about damn time!
Another brick falls from the wall!
This is a big brick.
Federal law does not prevent states from accepting the medical use of marijuana. When the federal drug law was written in 1970, marijuana was placed in Schedule I because it had no accepted medical use in the United States. Since 1996, 13 states have accepted the medical use of marijuana. Federal drug law requires that anything in Schedule I must have no accepted medical use in the United States. Obviously, the federal drug law requires that marijuana be removed from Schedule I and the federal government has failed to do that for 13 years now.
President Bush didn’t tell the DEA to obey federal law and remove marijuana from Schedule I, and neither is President Obama. What President Obama should be saying is that we need to obey the drug law as it was written and remove marijuana from Schedule I. Having Eric Holder tell everybody that federal law will not be enforced against medical marijuana users in states that have accepted its use is nonsense.
Federal law should be enforced as it was written. The federal government has been breaking the law since 1996 when California accepted the medical use of marijuana.
This is great news to wake up to this morning. WOW, what a great day!!!!!
Change the law, not just the policy.
[...] The first to break this story was “Radical Russ”, producer of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law’s Daily Audio Stash. Here is his post that includes an audio excerpt of the press conference. http://stash.norml.org/attorney-general-eric-holder-ending-medical-marijuana-raids-now-american-poli… [...]
Forget taxing cannabis. It’s our right to use this amazing plant as we see fit. I no more support taxing it than I do taxing oregano. Regrettably, the government will inevitably do just that.
Yeah, I was tired. Fixed now!
Ha! Of course I meant “beginning of the end”. I couldn’t type well through my tears. I’ll go fix that now.
And who’s grass would be greener if it were legal.
!. Get rid of the Federal Reserve.
2. Tax and regulate marijuana like Alcohol.
I hope it holds – but I don’t trust anything any government official says anymore..
Also:
“February 25th, 2009. Mark it as the day on your calendar when the beginning of adult marijuana prohibition happened.”
I certainly hope not! lol
This is a historic statement to be sure. It is a real step foreward. But I wonder when the first time we will ever hear one of Obama’s cabinet members use the actual WORD MARIJUANA?!? I only hope the new Drug Czar isn’t so allergic to the word! We need actual discussion, not beating around the bush.
He needs to say “It is the belief of the administration that raiding state-legal Medical Marijuana dispensaries is wasteful spending, takes DEA agents off important cases that pose a threat to the security of the US, and violates the civil rights of terminally ill patients. Therefore we will no longer conduct these raids.”
Not “My boss said something during the campaign, so I feel obligated to follow the apparent wishes of my boss. I don’t really understand the details, and I havent spoken to him about it specifically, but uuuuuuhhhhh yeah if he thinks that then so do I , I guess”
The federal drug law requires the federal government to accept the medical use of marijuana by any state that enacts a medical marijuana law. All you have to do is read the required findings for Schedule I (“no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States”), 21 U.S.C. 812(b)(1)(B). It’s just that simple. No change in fejderal law is required. All that is required is that the DEA obey the federal drug law and remove marijuana from ScheduleI like Congress intended when it wrote the law.
In 1970, when the federal drug law was written, there were no state laws accepting the medical use of marijuana or anything else in Schedule I. The only thing that has changed since then is 13 state medical marijuana laws.
So, you had the Bush Administration refusing to order the DEA to obey the federal drug law, and now you have the Obama Administration doing the same thing, only Obama is saying it is now federal policy not to enforce federal law, when the reality is that it has never been enforced (against the DEA). What a mess.
I’m not waiting for Presidents to obey federal law. I’ve filed civil complaints in the federal and state courts. You can read them on my web site.
Carl Olsen
Iowans for Medical Marijuana
Post Office Box 4091
Des Moines, Iowa 50333
http://www.iowamedicalmarijuana.org/
“Mark it as the day on your calendar when the beginning of adult marijuana prohibition happened.”
I was nervous there for a second! I gather you were beat tired when you wrote this, but I think you meant to say:
“Mark it as the day on your calendar when the beginning of the end of adult marijuana prohibition happened.”
Otherwise, I truly hope that the momentum that seems to be occurring is going to continue to gather strength.
Good and now put it into law.
Policies can change over night, Laws take a longer time to change.
WOW!
PRAISE JAH !!!!!!!
[...] 2/25/09 MARK THIS DAY. A DAY THAT MARIJUANA POLICY HAS SHIFTED IN THE UNITED STATES. HEAD TO NORML AUDIO STASH FOR THIS ENTRY: Attorney General Eric Holder: ending medical marijuana raids “now American policy” | NORML’…/ [...]
Well hell yes!!!