The state lawmakers representing California, Colorado, Maine, New Mexico and Washington sent a bipartisan letter to the White House urging President Obama to respect state laws.
"States with medical marijuana laws have chosen to embrace an approach that is based on science, reason, and compassion," say the state officials in their letter. "Our state medical marijuana laws differ from one another in their details... Each of our laws, however, is motivated by a desire to protect seriously ill patients from criminal penalties under state law."
The letter states the Department of Justice’s new aggressive policy "makes no sense" and is "not a good use of our resources," echoing what President Obama said as a candidate, Eric Holder has said as Attorney General, and the DOJ 2009 memo on medical cannabis enforcement.
The five-state letter was signed by Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano (D-Calif.) and Chris Norby (R-Calif.), Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Wash.), Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-N.M.), Sen. Cisco McSorley (D-N.M.), Rep. Deborah Sanderson (R-Maine) and Sen. Pat Steadman (D-Colo.).
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued a statement May 2 condemning federal interference with the state-sanctioned medical cannabis distribution she says she strongly supports. Speaker Pelosi says she will continue to "advocate federal policies that recognize the scientific evidence and clinical research demonstrating the medical benefits of medicinal marijuana, that respects the wishes of the states in providing relief to ill individuals, and that prevents the federal government from acting to harm the safe access of medicinal marijuana provided under state law."
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee issued a statement in early April denouncing "recent federal actions targeting duly permitted Medicinal Cannabis Dispensaries...that aim to limit our citizens’ ability to have safe access to the medicine they need." That statement followed a rally of more than 500 patient advocates and a press conference in which several San Francisco supervisors and California state officials denounced the Obama Administration's aggressive tactics.
The Democratic Party Committees of both San Francisco and Alameda counties have also adopted resolutions asking federal agencies to cease interference.
Since the beginning of the year, five San Francisco dispensaries have been forced to shut down due to threats from federal prosecutors, and in early April federal agents raided city-compliant medical cannabis businesses in Oakland, including one of the state's oldest distribution facilities and Oaksterdam University.
Source: Americans for Safe Access
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