U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told federal prosecutors to stop pursuing cases against medical marijuana patients. Drug advocates are hoping this is the first sign of the country’s willingness to legalize the drug, but San Diego criminal lawyers see it merely as the federal government’s modernization of their marijuana laws. While 14 states permit medical marijuana usage, the federal government still classifies the drug as a Schedule I drug, on the same level as heroin –offering no medical benefits.
The announcement came days after the senate’s second-ranking Democrat introduced a bill that would help stop the sentencing discrepancy between suspects caught with crack cocaine and those caught with the drug in its powder form. This two-decade long law has often been held as evidence of the government’s preference for arresting and imprisoning African Americans over Caucasians, as black males are much more likely to be selling the drug in its crystallized form.
Legislation to support a federal needle exchange program is also moving through the house. Localized measures for needle exchanges have shown reductions in the spread of disease in the communities that take advantage of the practice.
The efforts all seem to back one of Obama’s election promises, to focus the drug war on violent offenders and those who sell to children and take some pressure off of non-violent drug users. Republicans are criticizing the efforts, claiming they may help speed the flow of money to the violent Mexican drug cartels.
“We cannot hope to eradicate the drug trade if we do not first address the cash cow for most drug trafficking organizations: marijuana,” Republican representative Lamar Smith said.
Some San Diego advocates are skeptical. After a similar recent announcement, feds still worked with San Diego police to shut down over 14 medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
To read more about these federal changes to the law, see the article on The Spokesman Review. Image Via R0bz [Flickr]
Even as the state considers legalizing marijuana in an effort to increase tax revenues, the San Diego police have sent out a strong message that illegal drug-related activities will not be tolerated in the meantime. Last week, fourteen marijuana dispensaries were raided. A total of thirty one people were arrested, $700,000 in cash was seized, as well as six guns.