Pubdate: Sat, 15 Dec 2012
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: David G. Savage
Note: Staff writers Kim Murphy in Seattle and Joe Mozingo in Los 
Angeles contributed to this report.
Page: A9

OBAMA TALKS OF REVISITING FEDERAL POT REGULATION

He Is Not Ready to Support Widespread Legalization but Is Willing to 
Reconsider Enforcement.

WASHINGTON - President Obama and a key Senate Democrat said Friday 
they were willing to consider relaxing federal enforcement of the 
laws against marijuana for those who possess small amounts of the drug.

They were reacting to new voter-approved laws in Washington and 
Colorado that permit recreational users to have an ounce of marijuana 
at home. In addition, California and 17 other states allow the 
medical use of marijuana.

Despite this state-by-state move toward limited legalization, federal 
law still classifies marijuana as a highly dangerous drug and makes 
it a crime to sell or possess even tiny amounts.

"So what we're going to need to have is a conversation about, 'How do 
you reconcile a federal law that still says marijuana is a federal 
offense and state laws that it's legal?" Obama told ABC News in an 
interview with Barbara Walters.

The president said he was not ready "at this point" to support 
widespread legalization of marijuana, but added: "It would not make 
sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users 
in states that have determined it's legal.... We've got bigger fish to fry."

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (DVt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, 
said his panel would consider legislation early next year that could 
ease federal law for marijuana possession.

"One option would be to amend the Federal Controlled Substances Act 
to allow possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, at least in 
jurisdictions where it is legal under state law," Leahy said in a 
letter to R. Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy.

Leahy asked Kerlikowske, the administration's so-called drug czar, 
"what assurance can and will the administration give to state 
officials involved in the licensing of marijuana retailers that they 
will not face federal criminal penalties for carrying out duties 
assigned to them under state law?"

Leahy said Obama's comments "reflect common sense. In a time of tight 
budget constraints, I want law enforcement to focus on violent crime. 
But now that we have a gap between federal and state laws on 
marijuana, we need more information and a wider discussion about 
where our priorities should be."

Critics of the federal drug laws saw the comments from Obama and 
Leahy as a sign that Washington's rigid opposition to marijuana may be ending.

"It's a tentative step in the right direction," Ethan Nadelmann, 
executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said of Obama's 
statement. "He said we need a 'conversation,' and that's very 
promising. This sounds a lot like what he said about gay marriage a 
couple of years ago."

Nadelmann said he would watch to see whether federal law enforcement 
officials at the Justice Department will insist on an aggressive 
anti-marijuana policy, despite the milder words from the president 
and Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.

Recent polls have shown the American public is about evenly split on 
whether personal use of small amounts of marijuana should be 
legalized. The initiatives to legalize recreational use of marijuana 
in Washington and Colorado easily won passage Nov. 6.

Steve DeAngelo, executive director of Harborside Health Center in 
Oakland, said he hoped Obama's comments would prompt Justice 
Department prosecutors in California to cease a crackdown on the 
medical cannabis industry that threatens to close his shops.

The U.S. attorney in San Francisco filed a lawsuit in July to seize 
Harborside's two properties, even though its main dispensary is 
licensed and regulated by the city of Oakland and seen by many as a 
model of the industry. A hearing in federal court next Thursday may 
determine whether the dispensary must close its doors.

"It would be a tragedy if the leading example of responsible and 
legally compliant medical cannabis distribution is shut down next 
week on the verge of a change in federal policy," DeAngelo said. "The 
word ironic doesn't just quite have enough bitterness in it."

In the past, the Obama administration has sent conflicting messages 
on medical marijuana. Soon after taking office, the president and the 
attorney general pledged to pull back from the George W. Bush 
administration's policy of using federal agents to shut down 
dispensaries in California and other states where medical marijuana 
is legal. But U.S. prosecutors there have continued to take 
aggressive action against those who sell large quantities of marijuana.

Obama said he has a duty to follow the law as it now exists. "This is 
a tough problem because Congress has not yet changed the law," he 
told ABC. "I head up the executive branch. We're supposed to be 
carrying out the laws."

Tom Angell, chairman of the Marijuana Majority, said Obama could do 
more. The executive branch could take action to change the 
classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug.

"The president should lead on this issue instead of deferring to 
Congress," Angell said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom