NEW FEDERAL ARRESTS RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT OBAMA MEDICAL MARIJUANA POLICY

Ridgecrest, CA:  A medical marijuana raid by the Naval Criminal Intelligence Service has led to the arrest of five defendants. They have been federally charged for distributing marijuana for the R&C
Collective next to the China Lake Naval Base.
  It should be noted that the NCIS, not the DEA, led the operation  Unlike the NCIS, the DEA operates under the Justice Dept and is supposedly subject to AG Holder's memo to honor state MMJ laws. Other federal agencies that are outside the DOJ do not seem to be bound by the AG's directive. Patients living near the border have reported harassment from Immigration agents, who are under the Dept of Homeland Security, and who claim they have received  no instructions to honor state medical marijuana laws.)
   A summary of federal medical marijuana defendants can be found at  www.canorml.org/news/fedmmjcases.htm The continuing raids point to  glaring weaknesses in the Obama administration's announced policy of DOJ non-enforcement. The time is overdue for real regulatory reforms  to  fix bankrupt federal MJ laws. One of these is rescheduling marijuana for medical use, the object of an eight-year-old petition that is overdue for a response from the DEA. The upcoming confirmation hearings of DEA chief Michele Leonhart present an excellent opportunity for Senators to quiz the administration on its policy.
- California NORML Release - May 1, 2010
- Dale Gieringer, Director (415) 563-5858