HTTP/1.0 200 OK Content-Type: text/html
Pubdate: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 Source: Times-Herald, The (Vallejo, CA) Copyright: 2011 Paul Armentano Contact: http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/993 Author: Paul Armentano Note: Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. MR. PRESIDENT, RESPECT THE VOTERS' WILL ON POT As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama stated: "The basic concept of using medical marijuana ... (is) entirely appropriate" and pledged, "I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try and circumvent state laws on this issue." As president, Obama promised, "Science and the scientific process must inform and guide (the) decisions of my administration." Yet recent actions of the administration belie these assurances. These actions include: n The IRS has assessed crippling penalties on tax-paying medical cannabis facilities in California by denying these operations from filing standard expense deductions. n The Department of Treasury has strong-armed local banks and other financial institutions into closing their accounts with medicinal marijuana operators. n The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms has sternly warned firearms dealers not to sell guns to medical cannabis consumers, and stated that patients who otherwise legally possess firearms are in violation of federal law and may face criminal prosecution. n The Drug Enforcement Administration has rejected a nine-year-old administrative petition that called for hearings regarding the federal rescheduling of marijuana for medical use, ignoring extensive scientific evidence of its medical efficacy. n The National Institute on Drug Abuse rejected an FDA-approved protocol to allow for clinical research assessing the use of cannabis to treat post-traumatic stress disorder; a spokesperson for the agency conceded, "We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana." n The DEA has reduced the total number of federally qualified investigators licensed to study plant marijuana in humans to 14 nationwide. In recent months, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, along with the four U.S. attorneys from California, announced plans for a coordinated effort against operations in California that provide access to cannabis for those patients qualified to use the substance in accordance with state law. Since that time U.S. attorneys have sent eviction notices to the landlords of several of the state's more prominent medical cannabis providers, causing several to close their doors and others to initiate a slew of federal lawsuits. Federal officials have also threatened to sanction local financial institutions that hold accounts with cannabis-related businesses. At least one U.S. attorney has even gone so far as to threaten to federally prosecute print publishers who accept ad revenue from medical cannabis facilities. (This paper is one such publisher.) Does anyone really believe that this is an appropriate use of scarce federal resources? If the federal government is truly concerned about the diversion of medical marijuana or its potential abuse in California then it would be better served to encourage -- rather than to discourage -- statewide and local efforts to regulate this industry accordingly. The Obama administration's troubling actions in California will only result in limiting adults' regulated, safe access to cannabis therapy, it will also cost California jobs and needed tax revenue. Finally, these actions will most likely stifle efforts by local lawmakers in cities like Vallejo from moving forward with the implementation local regulations that seek to license and authorize medical cannabis facilities in a manner that best serves their proprietors and the public. Legislating medical marijuana operations and prosecuting those who act in a manner that is inconsistent with California law and voters' sentiment should be a responsibility left to the state and local officials, not the federal government. It is time for this administration to fulfill the assurances it gave to the medical cannabis community and to respect the decisions of voters and lawmakers in states that recognize its therapeutic efficacy. Paul Armentano Vallejo - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom