Obama Accused Of Lying About Medical Marijuana Laws

President Obama is accused of lying about federal laws regarding marijuana.

The charge, from Fire Dog Lake's Jon Walker, comes after the president's interview with Rolling Stone, published this month.

In the interview, Obama was asked to reconcile his statement, as a presidential candidate, that he would not use "Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws [on medical marijuana]," with his administration's recent severe crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries.

From Rolling Stone:

What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana," Obama told Rolling Stone

The president continued, "I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, 'Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books.'"

But Walker isn't buying it. He notes that the Controlled Substance Act, which governs marijuana use, allows the president to, without Congressional approval, change the classifications of drugs covered under the act.

Though marijuana is currently not classified as having any medical uses, Walker writes that "Obama can instruct the relevant agencies under him to take an honest look at the research and reschedule marijuana so it qualifies as having legitimate medical uses."

Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald writes that Obama's picked an odd time to espouse the virtues of the rule of law:

The same person who directed the DOJ to shield torturers and illegal government eavesdroppers from criminal investigation, and who voted to retroactively immunize the nation’s largest telecom giants when they got caught enabling criminal spying on Americans, and whose DOJ has failed to indict a single Wall Street executive in connection with the 2008 financial crisis or mortgage fraud scandal, suddenly discovers the imperatives of The Rule of Law when it comes to those, in accordance with state law, providing medical marijuana to sick people with a prescription.

The Rolling Stone interview comes shortly after Democratic and Republican politicians from five states wrote a letter to Obama demanding that the feds back off of medical marijuana.

"We call on the federal government not to interfere with our ability to control and regulate how medical marijuana is grown and distributed," the letter states. "Let us seek clarity rather than chaos. Don’t force patients underground, to fuel the illegal drug market."

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Pebbles Trippet]

05:08 PM on 04/30/2013

Obama could also call Congressional hearings for the purpose of a full public airing of the classification issue. This would allow him to sidestep responsibility and instead put it on Congress. Either way, he has to take action to raise the issue of reconsidering prohibition, in light of new scientific breakthroughs in understanding, as well as changing popular opinion. That marijuana is classified in Schedule One, having "no currently accepted medical use", is a farce in the eyes of the world. Obama is pretending not to notice because he's very short on guts and this is a war after all. But he is authorized to act through a clause in the Controlled Substances Act itself. It states that Schedule I can be reconsidered if new relevant medical information arises.

[thraxz13]

04:38 PM on 06/18/2012

Obama is a Liar and Hypocrite and he Proved it Friday by giving illegal immigrants more rights then America' sick, hurting and dying legal Medical Marijuana patients and Providers and Caregivers.. He Over rode Congressional Laws fro illegal Aliens but would not do it and said he couldn't for our Sick, Hurting and Dying.. How is it that an illegal Alien has more rights then our own Veterans? Medical Marijuana has been proven to help with PTSD, Pain and is a appetite stimulant as well as thousand of other Beneficial Medicines!!

[thraxz13]

04:54 PM on 06/16/2012

If he cant over ride Congressional Law for his own American Citizens our Sick and hurting our Legal Medical Marijuana Patients and caregivers, But yet does it for illegal immigrants, What does that say to you? He is doing this for the vote.. Proof is in your actions, He is doing this to try and win the Vote he is going to loose by allowing this War to continue on Patients and Caregivers... We Cannabis users are a Voice that is Going to be Heard....

[AlfredE69]

09:22 AM on 06/03/2012

Face it, Obama is a drug warrior as bad or worse than Reagan. He will be defeated!

[Mike Parent]

05:06 PM on 04/29/2012

A politician lied, I'm shocked. The fact that it was so easily found to be false is another chink in the Presidents exterior. It makes him look like a liar or person woefully lacking in knowledge of the law. It's a pure no win for him.

[Richard Owl Mirror]

02:34 AM on 04/29/2012

BTW, have you seen this recent news? http://www.thedailychronic.net/2011/7350/supreme-court-state-medical-marijuana-laws-not-preempted-by-federal-law/

[Richard Owl Mirror]

02:16 AM on 04/29/2012

I suggest ALL supporters of Cannabis Publicly Boycott giving President Obama OUR vote unless HE reschedules the natural THC on an equal schedule as the currently available synthetic form (Marinol) which is classified as a Schedule Three drug. This schedule states that THC has medicinal benefits. How can it scientifically be that a synthetic form of THC is deemed to have medicinal benefits and classified as a schedule three drug while the naturally grown plant is FORBIDDEN? Tell the President en-mass that HE shall not receive OUR vote unless PRIOR to the election he reschedules ALL THC to the same drug classification as the synthetic form currently allowed. All the laws, rules and enforcement measures pertaining to a schedule three drug shall remain in place for ALL forms of THC.

[James L Walker]

03:18 PM on 04/27/2012

Legalize, control, tax and dispense marijuana for the good of mankind.

God is perfect,
Man is not.
Man made beer,
God made pot.

[James L Walker]

03:14 PM on 04/27/2012

The BIGGEST lie is that marijuana has no medicinal uses. I know a very fine, upstanding lady whose only relief from nausea caused by chemo was marijuana, which her son provided. He broke several laws to bring relief to his mother and I ask you, who would not do anything they could to relieve the pain and suffering of their loved one? Mother, father, son, daughter, spouse or significant other, if you love them you will do whatever it takes to help them find relief. Legalize, control, tax and despense marijuana for the good of mankind.

God is perfect, man is not.
Man made beer, God made pot.

[Mulebone]

02:01 PM on 04/27/2012

Obama lying ...?

Pot is a crutch and it fries your brain. And "medical marijuana is the because fraud since Arnold Rothstein fixed the World Series in 1919.

Stop pissing down our backs and calling it rain.You people are THC addicts pure and simple and are rotting your brains, hearts and souls.

[IAMPhilip777]

03:26 PM on 04/27/2012

@Mulebone I stopped smoking marijuana 8 or 9 years ago because I could see it's seduction and lies... I personally would never allow that spirit into my body again. However, this plant has MANY medicinal uses and the Agricultural plant has many thousands of practical uses. Just like prohibition created the Mafia (or greatly helped them flourish) the war on drugs, and the ridiculous status that marijuana has been given has created a huge underworld of criminality. I do not agree with telling people what they can and can't do... LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! This is a world of Free Will, and of course as long as we don't harm another, we should insist on greater freedom, not more and more self-righteous legislation that puts ALL of society into a strait-jacket...

[servicepap]

08:04 PM on 04/27/2012

Mulebone, come sit in my wheelchair for a while and tell me cannabis does not help with intractable vascular pain. Then, while you take handfuls of your legal pharmaceuticals to be able to live with the pain, continue to condemn those who use cannabis successfully and have been able to get off pharmaceuticals because of it. My brain is not fried, and I have not taken prescribed opiates for 4 years. I am a responsible person, I volunteer in my community, and I have carried the Olympic Torch. I am sorry that your mind is poisoned. Cannabis is non-addictive, I am no addict, my brain is not rotting, nor is my heart and soul. But I do worry about yours.

[bcainw]

01:49 PM on 04/27/2012

New Candidate for 2012 Presidency wants a "Green Economy" Based on Marijuana

http://www.newagecitizen.com/MERP/RelegalizeNowObama57.htm

[dking]

01:08 PM on 04/27/2012

He made his promise not realizing he was going to need a lot of money for his reelection campaign. If he were to keep his promise and leave cannabis alone who will replace the contributions he gets from Big Rx, police unions, private prisons, liquor lobby, prison guard unions, etc... It is much easier in this day and age to buy votes rather than earn them. Gary Johnson 2012!

[MarkVA71]

12:17 PM on 04/27/2012

As the Beast directs, Obama does.

[Joshua Colburn]

12:00 PM on 04/27/2012

Just legalize it already. Put it to a national vote. I can guarantee you....it will pass. You wanna stimulate the economy? Legalize it and tax it.

[Lita VillaCoult]

11:51 AM on 04/27/2012

We need to come together as an organized effort to bring about the changes we need to reverse this perverse persecution of people that should have a right to use This Medication Grown under the sun that has Scientific Evidence to it's benifits! The incredibly Disgusting behavior that is Directly Tied to the MONEY behind the Forces keeping Sick and Desperate People into to Forsaking A God Given Medication to instead Gulp Down Billions upon Billions of Dollars worth of Pharmaceutical Poisons INSTEAD!!! Yes, FORCING US!! "Your in pain? Well, no you can't get Cannabis, a Natural Drug that relieves Many, Many symptoms without negative side effects. But, I can instead prescribe for you Several Very Expensive drugs that really have little to no effect on your illnesses! Even though the side effects are worse than the malady, it is however providing untold fortunes to me and many others as well! We must Not let the Peons treat themselves with something they can grow out in the backyard, how can we get our Millions?"