Every political administration gets some things right, which is one good reason to despise party hack mouthpieces. As a direct analogy, even the Washington Nationals won 59 games in 2009 - though losing 103 did give Washington the (fitting) status of "the worst team in baseball."
In the win column, the US Department of Justice finally applied some brains to the medical marijuana issue [AP | Politico]. They're going to stop prosecuting sick people who are complying with their states' laws, and use those resources for real problems instead. Yes, those laws do get abused by doctors who hand out free passes. On the other hand, they also get used to sensible benefit by terminally ill people, and how mean and stupid can you be to prosecute them? So, at last we have 2 synapses and a neuron wired up in DoJ. They still reserve the right to go after people who are using those laws as a cover for large-scale trafficking or other serious illegal activities. Which is also smart.
Beyond that, they they will continue to make marijuana enforcement a "core priority." Why? Because according to the DoJ, marijuana distribution in the United States remains the single largest source of revenue for the Mexican cartels.
If that's really the reason, then get 2 more synapses and another neuron, people. Connect the dots and take the next step, in order to de-fund the cartels before they become as serious a problem here as they are in Mexico. Sigh. Since a combination of cleverness and stupidity seems to be the order of the day here, I'll close with a far more entertaining mix of same, from The Family Guy:
Long overdue, and a first step, but bravo to Obama for doing it.
I suggest we take those resources and concentrate on computer crime, particularly identity theft and virus/trojan makers. That is long overdue as well and costing billions in productivity.
Joe, I don't think that's what's happening. US Attorneys have complete discretion to prosecute federal crimes that occur in their district. Obama's policy specifically restates that this is the case, but uses the bully pulpit to argue to local prosecutors that their time and effort would best be focused elsewhere. Maybe they'll agree, maybe not.
The real question is how Charles Lynch is treated. He sought reprieve from the Obama administration a few months ago prior to his sentencing and the Obama DOJ approved the sentencing guidelines which sent him to jail for a year and a day for sales legal under California law. If US Attorneys think Obama will pardon people it spends so much time prosecuting, they will focus their efforts elsewhere. Otherwise, it will appear to be cheap political theatre.
I am completely in favor of legalizing marijuana, and I'm not really unhappy with the Obama Administrations' pledge to not bother small time medical users.
However, I wonder why I would take this any differently in principle than I would take the Administration's soothing noises about the disclosure rules for bloggers. (This is not just an Obama thing-- I wouldn't trust any administration to write vague policies and then act on them precisely. It is not in the nature of bureaucracies to act that sensibly or benevolently.)
PD Shaw is right, I think. Federal law remains, and Obama's talk about "priorities" is thin soup at best. Is he going to lecture on the virtues of federalism now?
The Democrats have for a long time avoided a federal fight on marijuana, and for very good reasons. They have nothing to gain from it. In particular, the Congressional black leadership hates the dope with a passion, and that hatred runs deep in minority communities. Republicans would rejoice in such a fight, which would be a turkey shoot.
The politics and economics of marijuana in America is a much-neglected subject, which even very wise people understand poorly. Unless Obama intends to fall down every poorly-lit hole in existence, he should stay far away from this one.
It's a shame that medical marijuana is as complicated as it is. Last month, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with a second bout of cancer. Chemo hasn't even started yet, and she's already under a healthy weight. Medical marijuana could really help deal with her deal with the nausea that prevents many from staying healthy.
Unfortunately, it was narrowly defeated in her state this year. It's unfortunate, I wish they had something better available. Until they do, it's really the best option many patients have.
I also agree, that this issue is silly. Legalize it, tax it, eliminate the drug lords and make a tidy profit off the whole thing. The fact that we haven't is ridiculous, but it also explains our national paranoia of pot.
If you haven' read the Eric Schlosser Atlantic article reefer madness in the atlantic, it's good read about the lives and money wasted trying to enforce these stupid laws.