Pubdate: Mon, 16 May 2016
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321

NO MORE FEDERAL MEDICAL POT PROSECUTIONS

Although marijuana legalization remains a contentious issue, some 
consensus has emerged across the country to allow medical marijuana 
regulation among the 50 states. Yet the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of 
Appeals soon will decide three cases in which the U.S. Justice 
Department continues to prosecute people for violating federal laws 
against medical pot.

At issue is Congress' reauthorization last year of the 
Rohrabacher-Farr Medical Cannabis Amendment, which bans using federal 
funds to prosecute medical marijuana cases in states where it's 
legal. It was co-authored by two California representatives, 
Republican Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach and Democrat Sam Farr 
of Carmel.

One case is United States v. Steve McIntosh, a dispensary owner in 
Los Angeles. The DOJ charges he had ties to local gangs. But the 
Associated Press reported he "had permits from local officials that 
show him in compliance with state law, according to his attorney, 
Marc Zilversmit. Under the congressional amendment, the most the 
federal government can do is refer him to state authorities for 
prosecution, Zilversmit said."

The court is "expected to clarify" the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment, 
which the congressional authors "thought had barred the federal 
government from prosecuting activities that were compliant with state 
medical marijuana laws," R. Keith Stroup told us; he's an attorney 
and a co-founder of the National Organization for the Reform of 
Marijuana Laws. "The DOJ is taking a needlessly restrictive 
interpretation of the budget amendment, claiming it only bars them 
from interfering with the state medical-use laws, and from 
prosecuting state employees."

In a friend-of-the-court brief, Reps. Rohrabacher and Farr noted that 
their amendment's "fundamental purpose is to prevent the DOJ from (i) 
wasting any more of its limited resources prosecuting medical 
marijuana cases where a state's law permits its use and (ii) impeding 
the ability of those states to carry out their medical marijuana laws."

We urge the 9th Circuit to rule against the DOJ, which itself should 
start following the law and end prosecutions.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom