It's been over four years since Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Drug Enforcement Administration would end its raids on state-approved medical marijuana dispensaries. Of course, that statement was undermined when U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, based in San Francisco, joined with her California counterparts two years ago to raid and shutter numerous medical cannabis dispensaries, including many in the Bay Area.
Last week in a major development, the Justice Department said it would not seek to block laws legalizing marijuana in 20 states and the District of Columbia. For California, which was the first state to legalize the drug for medicinal use in 1996, the news was a long time in coming. For Colorado and Washington state, where voters last year okayed legalizing small amounts of marijuana for recreational use, the news means that the feds won't file suit to block the new laws.
Under the new guidance, according to the New York Times , "a large scale and a for-profit status would no longer make dispensaries and cultivation centers a potential target for criminal prosecution."
That should come as a relief to those here who seek cannabis for medical use. Since the U.S. attorney's crackdown, hundreds of patients had to find new avenues to acquire their medicine, and landlords of buildings that house dispensaries have been skittish about extending existing leases or entering into new agreements. At one point Haag had threatened landlords with prosecution if they continued to lease their property to dispensaries.
The American Civil Liberties Union supports Holder's new policy and noted that states must have regulations in place. California developed its regulations years ago under Senate Bill 420, which went into effect on January 1, 2004 as California Health and Safety Code 11362.7-.83. This law broadens the existing Proposition 215 to include transportation and other offenses in certain circumstances; allows patients to form medical cultivation "collectives" or "cooperatives;" and establishes a voluntary state ID card system administered by county health departments. SB 420 also establishes guidelines or limits on amounts patients can possess and cultivate. Legal patients who stay within the guidelines are supposed to be protected from arrest, noted California NORML, the state chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws.
Ever since voters approved Prop 215, there has been conflict between state and federal laws over marijuana. Holder's announcement will help decrease the conflict. Once depicted as a public menace (think: Reefer Madness), today research is increasing scientific knowledge of marijuana's medical benefits that have long been seen in patients with AIDS, glaucoma, and other illnesses.
Regulating cannabis also has an economic benefit. Cities like Oakland have taxed revenue to help offset budget shortfalls (although the federal crackdown and subsequent closure of some facilities has lessened that income in recent years). There's also the potential to reduce prison overcrowding (another hot-button issue).
But it is critical that the Justice Department monitor federal enforcement activity, including civil enforcement and criminal investigations and prosecutions. Haag's action came despite Holder's assurances that medical marijuana dispensaries would not be raided �" so there's definitely a need for careful review of U.S. attorneys and others who aren't complying with the new policy. It's also important to note that the new guidance is not retroactive, so what's done is done.
We look at Holder's new policy as a beginning to sensible drug laws in this country. Whether recreational or medicinal, marijuana should not be viewed and treated as a dangerous drug equivalent to heroin or cocaine, or even alcohol. It's about time that the federal government recognizes that.