Pot Users Lose High After Obama Administration Continues Medical Pot Raids

Pot users were enthusiastic when Obama signaled during the Democratic primaries that he disfavored criminalization of medical marijuana and that he would not use federal drug laws to go after users and suppliers of pot for medicinal purposes. But now that the Drug Enforcement Agency has raided several medical pot centers in California, pro-pot activists are smoking. Several protestors gathered in Los Angeles earlier this week and urged Obama to follow through with his campaign promises.

White House spokesperson Nick Shapiro signaled a potentially new direction in federal drug enforcement policy, once Obama finishes appointing new personnel to the DEA:

The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent
state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the
ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with
that in mind. . . .

Critics, however, argue that Holder, whom the Senate has already confirmed, could stop the raids. But I think that medical pot advocates should also read the fine print. Shapiro stated that Obama would appoint people whom he "expects" to "review" existing policy. Furthermore, even if he does not want to "circumvent state laws" on the subject, federal law prohibits the possession and distribution of marijuana, and the Supreme Court has ruled that the government could apply those restrictions against medical pot usage as well (and liberals dominated the majority decision). Furthermore, during the Democratic primaries, Obama told the Mail Tribune that:

As for medical marijuana . . . I think the basic concept of using medical
marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs
prescribed by doctors, I think that's entirely appropriate. I'm not going to be
using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this
issue.

But marijuana does not have the "same controls as other drugs" because the FDA has not approved it, and the U.S. government has argued that medical marijuana is often used for recreational purpose (what a shocker) and not for treating actual medical conditions. I suspect that Obama will, at most, quietly deemphasize the enforcement of drug policy against medical pot distributors and users. He probably will not seek changes to federal drug legislation or issue an executive order on the subject, however, which would leave persons in possession of pot vulnerable to federal criminal charges.

Related Readings on Dissenting Justice:

Doctor, Pass the Bong! States Continue to Consider Medical Pot Laws Despite Federal Ban

Michigan, Massachusetts and Marijuana