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Obama Administration
The Hill: “Obama Drug Plan ‘Firmly Opposes’ Legalization as California Vote Looms”
Is anyone surprised? You shouldn’t be. After all, this is the same Gil Kerlikowske that has said repeatedly that legalization is not in his vocabulary, and publicly stated, “Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit.” And this is the same administration that recently nominated Michele Leonhart to head the DEA — the same Michele Leonhart who overruled the DEA’s own administrative law judge in order to continue to block medical marijuana research, and publicly claimed that the rising death toll civilians attributable to the U.S./Mexican drug war “a signpost of the success” of U.S. prohibitionist policies.
Are U.S. Pot Laws the Root Cause of Mexican Drug Violence?
It was less than one year ago when acting U.S. DEA administrator Michelle Leonhart publicly declared that the escalating violence on the U.S.-Mexico border should be viewed as a sign of the “success” of America’s drug war strategies.
“Our view is that the violence we have been seeing is a signpost of the success our very courageous Mexican counterparts are having,” said Michele Leonhart, who was recently nominated by President Obama to be the agency’s full time director. “The cartels are acting out like caged animals, because they are caged animals.”
American consulate employees killed in Juárez
Gunmen killed a U.S. consulate employee and her husband as they drove in this violent border city with their baby in the back seat, minutes after the husband of another consular employee was shot to death and his two children wounded, officials said Sunday. Security forces suspected a drug gang hit.
Once again, the #1 issue presented to the Obama Administration is…
The winning ideas illustrate that the issues important to people across the country are much broader than those few that consistently dominate debate in Washington. Because they challenge the status quo, these ideas will face resistance from many in power. This is why citizen-driven initiatives like Ideas for Change are so important; by connecting more than one hundred thousand people from all 50 states around ideas that do not always gain national attention, we’re taking an important step toward building a powerful movement for change on these issues.
Stash for Wed, Mar 10, 2010
Dr. Mitch Earleywine answers live Q&A in Cannabis Science; Jacki Rickert updates us on medical marijuana bill in Wisconsin named after her; music by Sahra Indio.
President Obama nominates Bush DEA’s Michele Leonhart to head DEA
Michele Leonhart on the bloody violence that had killed more than 12,000 and destabilized Mexico in the past two years: “Our view is that the violence we have been seeing is a signpost of the success our very courageous Mexican counterparts are having,” said Michele Leonhart, acting DEA administrator. “The cartels are acting out like caged animals, because they are caged animals.”
Northern California federal prosecutor says they will continue to raid dispensaries, despite DOJ memo
(Mission Local) The federal government will continue raids on medical marijuana operations in California despite guidelines issued by the Justice Department two weeks ago indicating the contrary. “I think it’s unfortunate that people have for some reason picked up on this as a change in policy, because it’s really not a change at all,” said [...]
Behind the DOJ Medical Marijuana Memo
10/25/09 by Chris Goldstein Scoop: Staffers at Americans for Safe Access met with Department of Justice officials before the memo on medical marijuana was released last week. My role with several marijuana reform non-profits in New Jersey and Pennsylvania requires interaction with the national reform groups. One that has represented patients with great passion and [...]
Everybody is talking about marijuana after Obama DOJ memo
Does it seem like everybody is talking about marijuana these days? Following yesterday’s announcement of the new Obama Administration DOJ memo outlining a “hands off” approach to states with medical marijuana laws, every local news reporter in a medical marijuana state scrambled to get interviews with local NORML activists for reaction. Even I was contacted [...]
It’s Official: Obama Admin will not raid state-compliant medical marijuana facilities
WASHINGTON (Huffington Post) — The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday. Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is [...]