DEA To halt all raids on Medical Marajuana Dispenseraries.

[Mr. Coffee]

MSNBC

Medical marijuana advocates were celebrating Thursday night.

The U.S. Attorney General has announced plans to end raids on medical marijuana dispensaries that are legal under state law.

Newly installed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder declared he would stop the practice established by the Bush administration of raiding legally licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.

The Drug Enforcement Agency will now cease the raids that have continued, according to reports, even after Bush left office.

Holder said Obama's campaign promise to stop the raids is "now American policy."

Score one for states rights.

[dragon]

Good that means the money can be spend where its more important. Granted this is the goverment what they consider important might be new toilets for the federal buildings or something.

[Kanastrous]

The DEA has become expensive to the tune of over US$2 billion per year.

Seems like that's a good place to make some very deep cuts.

[Rahvin]

The DEA has become expensive to the tune of over US$2 billion per year.

Seems like that's a good place to make some very deep cuts.

Especially since cuts to the DEA can translate into reduced spending in federal prisons and courts.

I'm no legal expert, but it sounds to me like this policy might also translate into a general "hands-off" policy from the Feds for any other state de-criminalization of controlled substances. For instance, if the bill currently in the California legislature to legalize (and tax the hell out of) recreational marijuana use were to pass (I know, snowball's chance in hell), the AG might apply this policy and let California experiment with regulated legalization.

[Kitsune]

I would love for the Federal Government to simply not prosecute all cannabis offenses.

One item which concerns me is would releasing the individuals incarcerated for marijuana offenses cause a serious economic ripple the way the United States economy is right now?

[Kanastrous]

You mean in the form of dumping a whole bunch of new job-seekers into the pool?

If that's what you have in mind, I think I'd rather see a whole bunch of frustrated job-seekers than a whole bunch of wrongfully-imprisoned people.

[Illuminatus Primus]

I'd rather have job seekers, potential entrepreneurs, potential useful basic labor - even if they all have to pull supervision costs and cost of social services and support because all that for nonviolent drug offenders has to be less than the cost of imprisoning them. Just pulling out the cost of prison guards and infrastructure in the form of prisons.

[Kitsune]

I can certainly understand your point and even if you were wrong, locking people up for cannabis is simply wrong in my opinion.

[Rahvin]

Having people locked up for marijuana use is not only ethically wrong, their actual arrest, trial, and incarceration all cost a great deal of money. I don't know the numbers offhand, but I'd very much like to see what could be done if marijuana offenders were all released and the money previously used to prosecute and incarcerate them was used to give them socially productive jobs.

And honestly - the tax revenue gained by ending cannabis prohibition is potentially massive. I really don't understand how a society can allow alcohol and tobacco use and disallow marijuana. I certainly don't claim that any of the three are good for you, but cannabis certainly isn't any worse than the other two.

[Ekiqa]

Having people locked up for marijuana use is not only ethically wrong, their actual arrest, trial, and incarceration all cost a great deal of money. I don't know the numbers offhand, but I'd very much like to see what could be done if marijuana offenders were all released and the money previously used to prosecute and incarcerate them was used to give them socially productive jobs.

And honestly - the tax revenue gained by ending cannabis prohibition is potentially massive. I really don't understand how a society can allow alcohol and tobacco use and disallow marijuana. I certainly don't claim that any of the three are good for you, but cannabis certainly isn't any worse than the other two.

If you legalize the sale of cannabis, you strike a death knell to the gangs and mobs, who depend on the sale of drugs.

As well, it would lessen the numbers in jail, down from 10% or so of the adult male population.

[rhoenix]

If you legalize the sale of cannabis, you strike a death knell to the gangs and mobs, who depend on the sale of drugs.

See, I knew it! Those damn liberals just want to cut down our jobs in this country!

As well, it would lessen the numbers in jail, down from 10% or so of the adult male population.

You want to cut wages to our prison workers too?! You heartless liberal!

In all seriousness, this will be very interesting to watch over the next little while, as well as its possible effects should the law pass.

[General Zod]

In all seriousness, this will be very interesting to watch over the next little while, as well as its possible effects should the law pass.

. . .what law? I don't remember the last time anyone actually managed to get a proposal to legalize marijuana out of committee.

[rhoenix]

. . .what law? I don't remember the last time anyone actually managed to get a proposal to legalize marijuana out of committee.

Oh, the irony that I'd confuse articles, particularly regarding this particular subject.

I was thinking of the proposed CA law that would simply tax the sale of cannibis and treat it as decriminalized - my apologies.

[Phantasee]

I don't know how successful decriminalizing marijuana could be, in the US. But the DEA should be refocused on cocaine, heroin, and the other 'harder' drugs, because those A) cause more harm to the users, B) involve more violence, throughout the supply chain, and C) would be easier to take down, than the infinite-headed hydra of marijuana.

[Mayabird]

Just decriminalize? Hell, they should legalize and then tax the ever loving snot of it, turning marijuana from a massive governmental resource drain to an source of funding. But I guess this is a start.

[Darth Yoshi]

Why aren't we already doing that, anyway? I'm sure there must be some professional economist/lawyer/legislator/whatnot who has realized this.

[Mayabird]

From the thread about Tijuana drug gangs which has gone to pot, apparently there's a California state assemblyman who's been using that argument. He's from San Fransisco and I don't know how much success he might have, but at least someone aside from Ray Smuckles and I are talking about it.