Medical marijuana policy of the presidential administration of Barack Obama

Despite campaign promises to stop federal raids against medical marijuana in states where it's legal, the presidential administration of Barack Obama has been criticized for waging the biggest war against medical marijuana of any president in U.S. history. However, in December 2014, Obama signed a bill that ended federal raids on medical marijuana in states where it's legal.

Campaign promises

In May 2008, Obama campaign spokesperson Ben LaBolt said that Obama would end DEA raids on medical marijuana in states where it’s legal.[1] Also in 2008, Obama said that he supported the “basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs” and that he was “not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws.”[2]

Federal raids against medical marijuana in states where it's legal

In February 2010, DEA agents raided a medical marijuana grower in Highlands Ranch in Colorado, a state where medical marijuana is legal.[3] Also in February 2010, DEA agents raided a medical marijuana dispensary in Culver City in California, a state where medical marijuana is legal.[4] In July 2010, the DEA raided at least four medical marijuana growers in San Diego, California, and one in Covelo, California.[5] Then in September 2010, the DEA conducted raids on at least five medical marijuana dispensaries in Las Vegas, Nevada, where medical marijuana is legal.[6] In 2011, the DEA conducted raids on medical marijuana in Seattle, Washington, West Hollywood, California, and Helena, Montana, all places where it is legal.[7] In April 2012, the DEA carried out several raids on medical marijuana in Oakland, California.[8]

In July 2012, federal prosecutors filed civil forfeiture actions against Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland, CA, which claims to be the world’s largest, and which claims to serve more than 100,000 medical marijuana patients.[9] In April 2012, federal agents raided Oaksterdam University, an educational institution in Oakland, CA, which teaches people about medical marijuana.[10] In April 2012, federal agents raided a medical marijuana facility which had been serving 1,500 patients near Lake Elsinore, CA.[11] During the first seven months of 2012, the DEA shut down 40 medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, all of which had been operating in compliance with state and local law.[12]

In April 2013, the DEA raided four medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, California.[13] Also in April 2013, the DEA raided a medical marijuana dispensary in San Diego, California.[14] In July 2013, the DEA conducted multiple medical marijuana raids in Washington state, including the cities of Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle.[15] In August 2013, the DEA raided People’s Choice Alternative Medicine, a medical marijuana facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[16] In October 2013, the DEA raided 28 medical marijuana facilities in Michigan.[17] In November 2013, the DEA raided 12 medical marijuana facilities in Denver, Colorado.[18]

In April 2014, the DEA raided four medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver, Colorado.[19] In October 2014, the DEA raided two medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, California.[20]

Threats against landlords

In June 2012, the Obama administration filed asset forfeiture lawsuits against two landlords who rented their buildings to medical marijuana stores in Santa Fe Springs, CA. The Obama administration also sent warning letters which threatened similar legal action to dozens of other, nearby landlords.[21]

Threats against doctors

In June 2014, DEA agents visited the homes and offices of doctors in Massachusetts who had written prescriptions for medical marijuana, and threatened to confiscate their federal licenses to prescribe certain medications if they did not stop writing prescriptions for medical marijuana.[22]

Criticism from the political left

In February 2012, Rolling Stone magazine wrote that Obama’s war against medical marijuana went “far beyond anything undertaken by George W. Bush.”[23]

In April 2012, Mother Jones magazine wrote: “The president campaigned on the promise that he’d stop federal raids on medical marijuana operations that were in compliance with state laws, a vow that Attorney General Eric Holder repeated after the election. But then the Obama administration raided more than 100 dispensaries in its first three years and is now poised to outpace the Bush administration’s crackdown record.”[24]

In a May 2012 opinion column in the Washington Post, Rob Kampia, the executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, wrote, “Obama has become more hostile to medical marijuana patients than any president in U.S. history.”[25]

In May 2012, U.S. Congressperson Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said she had “strong concerns” about Obama’s forced closure of five medical marijuana facilities in Pelosi’s congressional district.[26]

In April 2012, commenting on Obama’s crackdown on medical marijuana, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) said, “I’m very disappointed… They look more like the Bush administration than the Clinton administration.”[27]

2014 law ends federal raids in states where it's legal

In December 2014, Congress passed a bill that ended federal raids on medical marijuana in states where it was legal.[28] Obama then signed the bill.[29]

References

  1. ↑ Next president might be gentler on pot clubs, San Francisco Chronicle, May 12, 2018
  2. ↑ Obama's pot promise a pipe dream, thcfarmer.com, April 26, 2012
  3. ↑ Medical marijuana in basement lands man in jail, 9news.com, February 13, 2010
  4. ↑ Federal agents raid Culver City marijuana dispensary, Los Angeles Times, February 18, 2010
  5. ↑ In the Obama Age of No More Federal Medical Marijuana Raids... More Federal Medical Marijuana Raids, Reason, July 9, 2010
  6. ↑ Federal Agents Raid At Least Five Las Vegas Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, safeaccessnow.org, September 8, 2010
  7. ↑ Obama Cracks Down On Medical Marijuana, NPR, July 12, 2011
  8. ↑ Medical Marijuana Journalist Arrested During Oakland DEA Raid to be Sentenced Friday in Federal Court, safeaccessnow.org, January 9, 2014
  9. ↑ U.S. cracks down on "world's largest" medical marijuana dispensary, Reuters, July 11, 2012
  10. ↑ Feds Raid Oakland's Oaksterdam,NBC Bay Area, April 2, 2012
  11. ↑ Lake Elsinore: Medical marijuana dispensary raided, pe.com, April 4, 2012
  12. ↑ Obama’s pot problem, Salon July 9, 2012
  13. ↑ DEA Raids Four L.A. Area Dispensaries, Arrests 3, San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2013
  14. ↑ Feds raid medical marijuana facilities, Fox 5 San Diego, April 23, 2013
  15. ↑ Feds raid medical marijuana shops in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, mynorthwest.com, July 25, 2013
  16. ↑ Ann Arbor medical marijuana dispensary raided by DEA, annarbor.com, August 29, 2013
  17. ↑ Michigan Medical Marijuana Raids Involve 160 Cops from 16 Law Enforcement Agencies at 28 Locations, 27 People Indicted, Charges Dropped “Temporarily” a Few Days Later, Reason, October 30, 2013
  18. ↑ Feds raid Denver-area marijuana dispensaries, grow operations, 2 homes, Denver Post, November 21, 2013
  19. ↑ DEA raids four Denver marijuana sites related to VIP Cannabis, Denver Post, April 30, 2014
  20. ↑ DEA Raids 2 Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, Huffington Post, October 28, 2014
  21. ↑ U.S. targets landlords in fight against medical pot, Reuters, June 12, 2012
  22. ↑ DEA targets doctors linked to medical marijuana, Boston Globe, June 6, 2014
  23. ↑ Obama's War on Pot, Rolling Stone, February 16, 2012
  24. ↑ Feds Raid Oaksterdam University, Mother Jones, April 2, 2012
  25. ↑ Medical marijuana meets hostility from Obama administration, Washington Post, May 4, 2012
  26. ↑ Pelosi Questions Obama Marijuana Policy, NBC News Bay Area, May 5, 2012
  27. ↑ Obama's pot promise a pipe dream, thcfarmer.com, April 21, 2012
  28. ↑ Congress quietly ends federal government's ban on medical marijuana, Los Angeles Times, December 16, 2014
  29. ↑ President Obama Signs 'Ceasefire' in War on Medical Marijuana, East Bay Express, December 17, 2014
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