Obama DOJ Goes Easy on Medical Marijuana

The Department of Justice will not go after medical marijuana users and suppliers who are following state laws which allow them to operate, according to new DOJ guidelines examined by the Washington Post. This would seem to reverse the policy of the previous Administration, which continued to send DEA agents to bust patients and suppliers in states that were among the 13 with medical marijuana allowances -- a practice that had persisted into the current Administration.

Attorney General Eric Holder had signaled the change in an announcement in March, but this is believed to be the first procedural evidence of policy reform.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is pleased with the move, as are Americans for Safe Access and Glenn Greenwald, a persistent civil rights critic of the Administration from the left.

New York State is still working on medical marijuana legislation, and New York City remains the marijuana arrest capital of the world. Photo (cc) warrantedarrest.