Obama’s Justice Dept. Favors States’ Rights On Medical Marijuana

The Obama administration’s Justice Department set forth a new policy favoring states that allow medical marijuana use last week.

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration’s Justice Department set forth a new policy favoring states that allow medical marijuana use last week.

The policy states that federal prosecutors ought not go after patients or suppliers that trade medical marijuana in states that legalized the practice.

The three-page legal memo stipulates that agents will still bring the law down on violators of said state laws.

The Bush administration, by contrast, refused to accept the rights of 14 states that permit marijuana use for medical purposes.

Those states with some permits include Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

The policy memo was distributed to both the FBI and the DEA.

The Marijuana Policy Project hailed the memo as “a major step forward… toward respecting scientific and practical reality.”

However, Republicans were quick to criticize the move as a loss against Mexican drug cartels.

Specifically, though, the Justice Department instructs agents to target cases related to violence, illegal firearms, money laundering, among other issues.