Obama Says Don't Smoke 'Em if You Got Them

In a move that has to be considered shocking the Obama administration has declared war on pot. To be specific the Obama administration had declared war on the state authorized vendors of medical marijuana.

When Senator Obama was running for President he made clear that as President he would instruct his Department of Justice to observe all state sanctioned marijuna facilities.

Not only does this restrict access to those folks who have legitimate reasons to be using marijuana medicine but also restricts the growth of the industry. Now one can argue about if medical marijuana should be legal but it should be beyond discussion that now eighteen states have some sort of legal means for medical patients to obtain and use marijuana.

In California in one extreme case a state licensed marijuana distributor who had set up a process where he worked with his local sheriff to insure his distribution process was legal and safe. Federal Drug Enforcement Agents appeared in the night and chopped down all ninety nine of his plants in the ground.

A recent Rolling Stone article went into this issue in detail. It appears that original Obama administration edicts made clear that the administration would not pursue state sanctioned pot growers. What happened is a former Bush administration official in the Justice Department has rewritten some rules without rescinding current ones leading to a state of confusion.

Most anaylsts now say that the Obama administration has been more destructive to the legitmate use of marijuana for medical purposes than was the Bush team. This is something no would have expected. Of course with the President up for reelection and needing to protect his right flank there is no way this issue is going to be clarified for the beter before the election.

The best we can hope for is that after relection Obama will clarify or restate his original position. And this time, perhaps, not take his eye off the ball and allow his position to be rewritten. Is it the most important thing he could do, with all the problems this country faces of course it is not. It is however, a promise he has made, a commitment he should keep, and the correct course for this country going forward.