Pubdate: Thu, 13 Feb 2014
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Bob Egelko
Page: D2

18 IN CONGRESS URGE EASING LIMITS ON POT

Eighteen members of Congress, including six from Northern California,
urged President Obama on Wednesday to remove marijuana from the
government's list of the most dangerous drugs and allow doctors to
prescribe it.

"Lives and resources are wasted on enforcing harsh, unrealistic and
unfair marijuana laws," the House members said in a letter to Obama.

They cited Obama's recent comment that marijuana, which he smoked as a
youth, was no more dangerous than alcohol. In a later interview,
however, when asked if he would remove marijuana from Schedule One,
the strictest prohibition for narcotics, he replied that was a "job
for Congress."

That appeared to contradict a federal law that allows presidential
appointees to ease drug restrictions they believe are no longer warranted.

The Controlled Substances Act authorizes the attorney general, through
regulations of the Drug Enforcement Administration, to remove a drug
from Schedule One if it has legitimate medical uses. Advocacy groups,
including Americans for Safe Access in Oakland, have repeatedly asked
the DEA to reschedule marijuana, but the agency has refused and fought
off court challenges under successive administrations, including Obama's.

The signers of Wednesday's letter from Northern California were Reps.
Barbara Lee of Oakland, Jared Huffman of San Rafael, Eric Swalwell of
Dublin, Sam Farr of Monterey, and Mike Honda and Zoe Lofgren of San
Jose. All the signers are Democrats, except for Dana Rohrabacher, an
Orange County Republican who has also called for a halt to federal
prosecution of medical marijuana users in states like California. The
letter recommended moving marijuana at least to Schedule Three, which
would authorize medical prescriptions and also allow legal pot
businesses to deduct expenses from taxes.
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MAP posted-by: Matt