What does the recent DOJ marijuana policy memo mean for the budding marijuana industry and marijuana prohibition?

Colorado and Washington have been waiting for a policy statement on their recreational marijuana laws for quite some time.

Now it is here, no federal interference. It was recently followed up by a congressional hearing addressing the subject and promising to open up banking to the marijuana industry.

But what does it really mean? The Obama Administration policy has been anything but consistent as far as medical marijuana goes. Will things be different now?

You can read the official DOJ marijuana memo here and also there is a DOJ summary of the new updated marijuana enforcement policy.

The feds marijuana policy has been and still is concerned with eight factors:

“Department in recent years has focused its efforts on certain enforcement priorities that are particularly important to the federal government:

 Preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors;

 Preventing revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels;

 Preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;

 Preventing state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;

 Preventing violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana;

 Preventing drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;

 Preventing the growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands; and

 Preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property.”

The document states that marijuana continues to be an illegal Class 1 controlled substance. Typically most drug enforcement is provided by local authorities and the DEA simply does not have the manpower to enforce its laws without their support.

This is all very similar to how alcohol prohibition ended, with states withdrawing their enforcement the feds were powerless to stop alcohol consumption on a state or national level. We are headed down a similar path today with marijuana prohibition.

The document says that states that address these federal priorities with their laws and also enforce them will be relatively free from federal interference. Both Colorado and Washington have laws that address these priorities.

Because they are national test cases for the new federal marijuana policy they will likely see little interference with implementing their recreational marijuana programs. The DOJ admits they don’t have a valid case they can bring against them and hints that they may even be better able to enforce the law.

In effect the DOJ is virtually powerless to stop states from legalizing marijuana. Given that human nature is to want what others have, there will be more states to follow. There are states that are looking at the potential revenue legalized marijuana could bring in. They have waited to see how the DOJ would deal with Colorado and Washington and now they have their answer. The genie is out of the bottle and there’s no way to stop it. Marijuana prohibition will come to an end.

These states now have two laws to use as guidelines for drawing up their own laws and a promise of no federal interference. But, and it’s a big but, the DEA can step in at any time to enforce federal law. What really needs to happen next is a change in the Controlled Substance Act and that will take an act of congress. It is absolutely ridiculous to classify marijuana with heroin and everyone knows it.

For states like California, with loose medical marijuana laws, federal harassment will continue. A last ditch effort to reform and tighten its medical marijuana laws failed so it will be business as usual for the DEA. A spokesperson for Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California has said the new memo wont change anything and it’s business as usual. Bad news for Harborside Health and at least 8 other Bay Area  dispensaries. Below is a delightful video detailing the situation in California that would be quite humorous were it not so true.

 The Haag By Harborside Health

 So now we will have to wait for the effects of this new memo. Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Nevada and Oregon  are prime candidates to legalize recreational marijuana. The 2016 presidential election will bring more state initiatives for marijuana legalization  to the ballot , including California. Some states like Hawaii, that don’t allow voter initiatives will have to make it legal legislatively.

The change will begin on a state level, just as with alcohol. We are in a time of great change and the 2016 election could be the tipping point to changing federal marijuana law.

Marijuana law reform is important enough to become a presidential debate issue but it remains to be seen if that will happen. Republicans who claim to favor states rights could adopt legalization as a party platform and steal away Democratic  votes and bring badly needed fresh blood to the party.

Regardless of the politicians,polls show the American voter favors legalization and letting individual states decide how to regulate marijuana. It looks like marijuana prohibition is ending and its days are numbered.

Feds Have No Viable Legal Challenge To Marijuana Legalization, Deputy A.G. Concedes

Forbes

Local marijuana advocates optimistic after White House … Daily Californian

(c) Medical Cannabis News – Read entire story here.