L.A. District Attorney to Snub Obama's Pot Policy?

In an effort to clear the haze around the murky medical marijuana situation in the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday issued what many are hailing as a huge loosening of the ropes on the 14 states with medical marijuana clinics.

Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden issued a memo with the guidelines in it the same day, and that memo can be found here . The gist of it is that if people are following the guidelines set out by the state then they, and their coops or dispensaries, won't be prosecuted under any federal drug laws. Both Ogden and Holder made it clear that anyone using these laws as a front will still be punished.

While this is meant to change the tone towards users of medicinal cannabis and stop prosecutions that were regular under the Bush administration, the fact is, that this is does little to clarify or even ease the plight of those in the medical marijuana system.

Los Angeles is a fine case in point. As Holder and Ogden issue this memo, the District Attorney of Los Angeles is gearing up for a multi-million dollar offensive (in a broke city and state) against the very clinics he promised looser enforcement and more cooperation with during the campaign. Thursday, October 15, 2009 Steve Cooley intimated that he plans on policing or closing down some or all of the now 800 dispensaries operating in Los Angeles County.

"All those who are operating illegally, our advice to them is to shut down voluntarily and they won't be subject to prosecution," Cooley told The Associated Press on Wednesday, October 14, 2009.

Cooley's contention is that selling pot for profit, and over the counter, is a violation of Prop. 215, the law that legalized in California. He contends that dispensaries are supposed to grow the pot for their members, members pay the cost of the growing and such and then they medicate. It would be a realistic system if California were living in the communal phase of the late 1960s, but it doesn't work in the real world. Asking cancer patients to garden, or anyone to cultivate their own drugs, is absurd.

Richard Lee, founder of Oaksterdam University in Oakland (the first University set up to teach the proper way to use, grow, and sell cannabis) and long time legalization advocate thinks Cooley is misguided at best.

"I think Cooley is out of touch with reality," Lee commented on my syndicated radio show Thursday, October 15th. "The voters made it clear they wanted patients to have access and in his view all sales of marijuana are illegal. It appears he wants the co-op members to participate in the growing of their medicine and then just all share it. It's like asking you to go make your antibiotics or opiates at the pharmacy," he added.

Lee is hopeful about Obama's administration, but not sold yet.

"They keep saying one thing, and yet they are still prosecuting and busting people today, right now," he continued. "People that were busted under the Bush administration are still being prosecuted as we speak. We need to put more pressure to rectify that."

Lee has been a huge advocate for medicinal marijuana and many times those advocates don't enter the full legalization arena, as not to confuse the two issues. Not Lee.

"We need to legalize now, for the very reasons we're discussing," he continued. "Some law enforcement will just never accept medical marijuana. They play doctor. You're not sick enough, they then pick and choose who they think should and should not be allowed. Plus, cities are in the red, and we are wasting money trying to support these old laws, but we should be taking in money instead of wasting it on useless enforcement. Also, the biggest crime is we make a crime out of something that shouldn't be, and then people lose respect for the law and law enforcement, and that is a terrible side effect of all of this," he concluded.

The economics of legalization aren't escaping anyone these days, even conservatives. Lee is confident now is the time in California.

"Our initiative is on the way," Lee stated. "We've collected over 250,000 signatures, have already raised over one million dollars for the campaign. On the web at Tax Cannabus 2010 we explain how we want to do two things. First, you can possess one ounce and grow 25 square foot of plants for personal use, not sale. The, cities and counties can tax and grow commercially under their own guidelines, just like alcohol. There's dry counties and cities, and there would be here, too. It's a revenue generating situation that helps all concerned," he added.

But until full legalization is voted on in California, or any of the other 13 states where the medical marijuana industry is flourishing, there's more grey areas than clarity and Holder's proclamation doesn't do much to clear that air.

If Cooley begins busting clinics in Los Angeles, the results could be devastating to the patients and the economy. 800 dispensaries mean 800 tenants for 800 landlords of commercial space. It means at least two employees, many four to six, or 3500 plus employees. Dispensaries have taken to advertising in weekly magazines like OC Weekly in Orange County, District Magazine in Long Beach, LA Weekly and countless others in the various states and are the life's blood now in a down advertising market. Get rid of the dispensaries, and it's feasible that some weekly newspapers will fold.

In other words, millions of dollars and jobs would be lost because of an over zealous District Attorney who neither has the mandate of the people of the city of Los Angeles, nor the people of the State of California in this matter but feels compelled nonetheless to press on with prosecuting dispensaries instead of working with them. Each of them, as he, are swimming through the murky waters of the grey area known as medicinal marijuana and until clearer guidelines or full legalization happens, busting the clinics serves no purpose whatsoever on the surface. Crime is not soaring around these dispensaries, there's been no survey or credible evidence that pot usage has soared in Los Angeles county or any other state or county where it's legal for medicinal purposes. So where's the public good?

Obama, and the democrats, are being spineless, yet again. It's time the President and his cabinet bring America around to the notion of a repeal of the pot prohibition and we, as a nation, start reaping the benefits of the crop and take away the financial support for drug cartels. Massachusetts is looking at legalization, full, many states are looking at decriminalization (Aspen has it on the ballot to legalize an ounce and Colorado has over 100 dispensaries), Oregon has a bill to legalize next year and an initiative as well. Pot is, and should, go the way of alcohol when it comes to prohibition.

Yet, Cooley gears up new narcotics officers for costly raids no one wants while Obama sends yet another message to leave dispensaries alone in one breath but that drugs are still bad in the other.

"The only way now is full legalization, to clear the disputes," Lee concluded. "Because what happens in four years or eight years, if conservatives take over again on the Federal Level? Or state? Should access to medications and the enforcement around it be left to political leanings? And even if it's just looked on as recreational, as alcohol is. Prohibition isn't challenged by every administration that disagrees with drinking. Bush had no alcohol in the White House, but didn't make the U.S. become a dry country or force it back underground. It makes the most sense for America," he finished.

To hear more of this interview with Richard Lee go to Radio KRL.com for the podcast.

 

Follow Charles Karel Bouley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/talkradiolive

Comments

[anabelle]

I just saw a very interesting utube video about this DA...
seems like he picks and choses his battles according to
campaign contributions - no wonder he won 3 times,
he keeps getting major funding from special interest
groups. http://tinyurl.com/ylgftgm
He's in the dark ages and was raised believing that
Gov propaganda films like reefer madness were realistic.
I mean, how does this guy interpret the law for a progressive city??
He obviously is not progressive - at all - and cannot fathom the
use of Marijuana. Cooley, a clue, our LAST 3 PRESIDENTS SMOKED IT!

[RevRayGreen]

9th Circuit: Police Can't Use Pot Club as an ATM

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202434814346&th_Circuit_Police_Cant_Use_Pot_Club_as_an_ATM

If police departments want to line their budgets with drug money, they'd better do it right, according to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a ruling Tuesday, Judge Richard Clifton ordered the feds to return nearly $200,000 to a Los Angeles medical cannabis collective. Local police raided the place in 2005, and the seized funds became subject to asset forfeiture proceedings. Clifton found that under the Fourth Amendment, a faulty warrant means the police can't keep the money.

[KindOne]

It seems the police are motivated by racism and bigotry, is there any way we can sue them for harassment?

Rev Lauren Unruh
THC Ministry,
Pleasant Hill, Ca

[countfloyd]

Which other laws don't you want Cooley to uphold? He can't pick and choose.

[lletaa]

How about stepping up DUI enforcement. Stop raiding dispensaries and put the personnel on drunk driving enforcement. Maybe do something that matters for once.

[stevebest]

dui's are covered colorado is trying to make up over a 100million dollars from dui's we have checkpoints every night, they are begging people to drink and drive.

[Neuromaster]

Putting some of those resources toward testing the more than 12500 untested rape kits in the LA area alone might be a good place to start...

[Malkin72]

Actually, that is ALL he does. In fact, it's his job to pick and choose which crimes receive the attention.

To put the focus on pot in a city with so much violent crime is beyond absurd. It's obscence.

[anabelle]

He picks and chooses according to campaign contribution evidently.
By the way, he is supposed to UPHOLD THE LAW, NOT MISINTERPRET
IT TO SUIT HIS OWN OUTDATED IDEALS.

[winningticket]

Wow I must move to L.A. They obviously have zero crime since they have a DA with too much time on his hands going after medical MJ.

[antaeus]

Crime in L.A. is at a 40+ year low.

[winningticket]

Yeah and I guess raiding dispenseries is just dandy with you.

[GreatNews27]

Get used to that no guts say one thing do another Obama thing. It's going to be ANOTHER long 8 years of insanity in governance.

[Neuromaster]

What?
The White House administration issues a memo with clear guidelines. A Republican _city_ (not federal, not even state) district attorney decides to disregard it.
And this is a "no guts say one thing do another Obama thing"? Seriously?

[lletaa]

In the first year of the Bush administration his drug czar declared pot to be the most dangerous drug facing this country!! Compared to that the Obama administration is a flower power, free love encounter group.

[GayIthacan]

Obama could stop this foolishness in one short, simple sentence directed at ALL District Attorneys nationwide:

"I will pardon anyone convicted in defiance of federal guidelines over the use of medical marijuana or which violates state statutes regarding proper enforcemen­t."

End of story.

[KindOne]

That would be sweet. Why doesn't he do it?

[PlaceboStudman]

Playing Devil's Advocate here, is it possible that Cooley's rhetoric, combined with the new policy from Holder/Obama might actually be the tipping point to pass the legalization motions that are up for vote in Ca?

Seems to me that Cooley can't arrest or prosecute someone who isn't breaking the law, and if The Feds are true to their word not to pursue prosecution of people who don't violate state laws, then that does seem to leave things wide open as an almost implicit endorsement for legalization in Ca

[OldHenry]

This is precisely why I have always been against "medical marijuana.­"

We should grow a pair, and say what we mean. There is no good reason for marijuana to be illegal and therefore congress should repeal all laws against its possession and use.

[RobinLandseadel]

There is no lethal dose of smoked marijuana.

There are medical uses for marijuana.

There is no excuse for marijuana to continue to be a schedule 1 drug.

(1) Schedule I. -

(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.

Define "Abuse."

(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.

The drug has currently accepted medical uses in treatment in the United States.

(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.

Marijuana has no LD50—no lethal dose. The level of safety for marijuana is greater than that of any other analgesic—they all have a LD50, many of them have long-term toxic effects marijuana does not. And marijuana has many other well-documented medical uses.

It's time to stop this farce.

[dnifdoog]

The prison industry complex spends a lot of money keeping their employees happy and their clients persecuted. It is time to take back the power of the people.

[fredamae]

Apparently, LA is the Last vestige of HOPE that the Prohibitionists have; for WE ALL Know that What Ever Happens in LA, CA, so goes the Rest of the Country...­. :)

At least I keep hearing that as an Excuse for this DA to Spend all of these resources to Fight Safe Access to Medicine.

Who is Funding his efforts right now?

Aren't DA's Elected? Have an Emergency RECALL ELECTION and boot his Power-seeking Butt OUT!

[LeftRight]

So wait a minute.... The US DoJ has finally admitted the idiocy of continuing the drug war in states where it's legal to smoke medicinal marijuana, and the DA for L.A. is now going after the same legal substance?­?????????? What a maroon!!

[jadamind]

Who does Cooley think he is??? Where is Attorney General Jerry Brown (his boss),
Arnold and the rest of them? Cooley is going to start so much trouble, he is not progressive
like a city like Los Angeles needs. I say, he resigns, before he wastes too much money and causes too many problems. He and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich are the most arrogant law enforcement I have ever seen. I have COMPLETELY LOST RESPECT for LA law enforcement. Arresting innocent people
who were told selling Medical Marijuana is legal - is entrapment - it's insane. Obama, Brown, Schwartzenegger - do something! Quick! They broke into one dispensary in RIOT GEAR, and shot the guys dog! They are completely out of touch with reality, these guys need to go work for the army or something.­..where they can do their shock and awe tactics against the taliban, not LA citizens. Jeez,
what next.

[KindOne]

Attorney General Jerry Brown has no compassion, he is a drug war warrior and if you think other wise you are deluded.

[antaeus]

I agree with the wisdom of control through regulation. But I think the dispensaries have mushroomed (no pun intended) in a way that suggests a lack of self-regulation on the part of the legal distributors. This whole endeavor remains an avant-garde movement, and as such needs to go the extra mile in policing itself and being mindful of neighbors. I'm not sure every dispensary has done that.

[lletaa]

What wisdom makes it possible to buy alcohol on almost any corner after so many deaths on our highways? I hope dispensaries and actual pot bars become so numerous as to replace the billions of liquor stores and alcohol bars that directly kill thousands from traffic accidents to cirrhocis of the liver. Pot doesnt need regulation since it doesnt kill anyone.

[antaeus]

Are you seriously suggesting that no auto accidents can be blamed on marijuana? Seriously? I'm persuaded by the decriminalization arguments on the rationale of prison overcrowding and reduced influence for criminal gangs, but please don't suggest there is zero downside. The balance might indeed be in favor of legalization, but the public also might be more wary of grandiose arguments from proponents in light of the glitches that have occurred in L.A. As a political matter, proponents might want ot consider that.

[perrylove]

Keep it legal for patients. The recreational smokers will smoke ganja regardless of whether it's legal or not. So keeping it legal for patients protects sick people who need medicine..­.

[winningticket]

I disagree. It should be legal outright. Why should non medical user buy from sleazy dealers. I like the Amsetrdam model where if you are over 18 you can buy it in coffee shops. To say that I have to buy MJ from a gangster and a dealer is vile on your part.

[WorkingClass]

So who does the DA answer to? The Mayor? Does LA have a Mayor? If the DA is wasting money to no good purpose, as this article suggests, what do his superiors have to say?