Fact: The Obama Administration Has Spent $120 Million More Than Bush Fighting Medicinal Marijuana

[matthews]

By Jonathan Wolfe, Fri, August 02, 2013

In December of 2012, President Obama did an interview with the ABC program 20/20. The focus of the interview was his administration’s drug enforcement policies. During the show, President Obama told reporters that cracking down on states that have legalized marijuana – either entirely or for medicinal use – would not be a priority for his administration.

“We’ve got bigger fish to fry … It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it’s legal,” he said.

**
To be specific, the administration has spent $289 million dollars fighting medicinal marijuana policies in the last four-and-a-half years. This breaks down to over $100,000 per-day spent fighting citizen-approved medicinal marijuana policies. For pro-legalization voters that elected President Obama in hopes of seeing federal marijuana policies loosened, this has to be disappointing.

What’s more disappointing is that in just four-and-half-years, the Obama administration has spent $120 million more fighting medicinal marijuana than the Bush administration did over eight years.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/obama-presidency/fact-obama-administration-has-spent-120-million-more-bush-fighting#

******************

Glad we're concentrating on the real important stuff. You know, the stuff Obama did and got away with as a kid. The stuff he wants to criminalize every pot smoker for.

Just think, we could have used that money for things like, oh, HEAD START. Or maybe MEALS ON WHEELS.

[Go Vols]

1. :/

[tridim]

3. Who has Obama sent to prison for smoking marijuana?

[Go Vols]

13. Here is one

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/jerry-duval-medical-marijuana_n_3343139.html

google "med marijuana prisoners" and there are many more.

[Aerows]

19. Typical

[randome]

41. To be fair, he was convicted of distribution, not personal usage.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Go Vols]

51. Yes,the poster I was replying to

did say "smoking".But how is one supposed to get med mj for personal use if the don't buy it from a "distributor"?
Some could grow their own,but not all.

[questionseverything]

75. a better question would be

how many mj users has he LEFT in jail

after all he has the power to pardon all of them

half a million people in prison for simple posession @ 30 grande plus a year...now that would be a real savings

[tridim]

87. None. Obama has left no legal MMJ users in jail, nor has he put any there.

[cali]

34. quite a few people as it happens. do your own due diligence and don't be lazy

[tridim]

46. I'm not going to waste my time because I know it's not true. Post your proof or get lost. nt

[Divernan]

64. Well, now that the proof you demanded has been posted, YOU get lost!

Now,normally, I wouldn't tell another DUer to "get lost", but I'm just sending your words right back at you.

[tridim]

85. What proof? The study numbers are unsourced "estimates".

Look at the graph in the study, it lists no source.

So it might be true, might not.

Edit: Sorry, wrong item. No proof has been posted that "Obama is putting pot smokers in prison". Zero.

[Divernan]

88. See Post 13, and click on the link!

Jerry Duval, Medical Marijuana Patient, Headed To Same Federal Prison Facility As Boston Bomber

In the face of public pressure, the Department of Justice will allow Jerry Duval, a seriously ill medical marijuana patient, to serve his 10-year sentence for marijuana-related offenses in a federal facility capable of meeting his medical needs, Duval told HuffPost Monday. The DOJ originally sentenced Duval to standard federal prison despite a judge's recommendation that his medical condition be taken into account. Duval had been barred from presenting his medical condition, or any discussion of state law, during his trial, according to court documents.

Duval, whose juvenile diabetes led to both a kidney and a pancreas transplant, also lives with glaucoma and neuropathy. He has a strict medical regime, which prior to his arrest had included medical marijuana. That regime will now be the responsibility of taxpayers and the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Mass., where Duval may stay in a cell similar to the one currently occupied by Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: a 10-by-10 foot steel room. The DOJ confirmed its decision to move Duval to the federal medical facility rather than standard federal prison, and Duval has been "ordered to surrender" and report to the facility by June 11.

[tridim]

90. Duval wasn't put in prison by Obama for smoking medical cannabis. nt

[mike_c]

78. that wins the "head in sand" award for today, hands down....

It's right up there with "I did not have sex with that woman."

If a slight technical definition is wrong, invalidate the whole thing. Right.

[Stinky The Clown]

93. Mike . . . . Mike . . . . consistency is a virture.

[Phlem]

71. oops.

missed it by that much.



-p

[tridim]

2. Could you find a cite for the "$100,000 per-day" claim?

I followed all the links and found nothing. The number is mentioned a bunch, but there are no details. Hmmm...

[RainDog]

22. Let's track some numbers

as far as spending, etc. over time. Here are a few links -

the largest db of marijuana arrests released to the public (from 2008) - http://www.drugscience.org/States/US/US_home.htm

http://www.alternet.org/story/64465/the_war_on_pot%3A_america's_$42_billion_annual_boondoggle

From 2007 - "...according to a new study by researcher Jon Gettman, Ph.D. -- $10.7 billion in direct law enforcement costs, and $31.1 billion in lost tax revenues. And that may be an underestimate, at least on the law enforcement side, since Gettman made his calculations before the FBI released its latest arrest statistics in late September. The new FBI stats show an all-time record 829,627 marijuana arrests in 2006, 43,000 more than in 2005."

Specific findings include the following:

http://www.drugscience.org/bcr/

--Nationally, there is little apparent relationship between increasing marijuana arrests and rates of use.

Marijuana arrests have nearly doubled from 1991 to 2009, increasing by 150% during the 1990s and increasing steadily in recent years, producing an annualized change of 6.56% per year during this period.

Overall, levels of marijuana use in the United States have remained fundamentally unchanged during this period. Population estimates of annual marijuana use, for example, have remained relatively constant over the last five years at approximately 25 million individuals.

From 2003 to 2007, the number of annual marijuana arrests increased by 2.93% per year, while the number of annual marijuana users decreased by 0.21% per year.

The overall marijuana arrest rate of between 3% and 6% of users is not enough to represent a meaningful deterrent.

--Young people and African-Americans are disproportionately affected by marijuana arrests.

Males aged 15 to 24 account for 52% of all marijuana arrests. While the national rate of marijuana possession arrests is 248 per 100,000, the arrest rate for males aged 15 to 19 is 1,911 per 100,000.

While the marijuana-use rate for African-Americans is only about 25% greater than for whites, the marijuana possession arrest rate for blacks is three times greater. This is not a regional disparity, but is seen in every state and most counties.

---The costs of arresting marijuana users are substantial, and raise serious questions about the cost effectiveness of marijuana prohibition.

Using the same method of calculation used by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, marijuana arrests cost state and local governments $10.3 billion in 2006.

Marijuana arrests represent 6% of all arrests. In many states, they represent the fifth, sixth, or seventh largest category of arrests.

The clearance rate (i.e. the percentage of crimes solved by arrest) for murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft was 26% in 2007, meaning that no one is arrested for three quarters of these serious crimes. In this environment, time and resources spent on roughly 850,000 marijuana arrests per year represent a significant opportunity cost.

In California, decriminalization of marijuana possession saved taxpayers $857 million in 2006 (details in the California state report (PDF)) -- this pdf is linked at the link.

[tridim]

30. Thanks, but I'm really looking for a cite for the claim in the OP and the article.

Those numbers are more about the Bush term.

[RainDog]

33. I see others have posted info too

And, since the claim is also about spending comparisons by administration, this information is also useful.

[questionseverything]

50. 289,000,000 divided by 1643

equals 175,897 so the 100 grande number is actually generous towards current admin

[RainDog]

62. Here the MPP take on 2013

http://www.mpp.org/media/press-releases/obama-administration.html

"While significant portions of the budget are dedicated to harm reduction and abuse prevention programs, many of the “drug war” methods that have proven ineffective over the last 40 years — particularly those used to enforce marijuana prohibition — will likely see funding increases this year. Domestic law enforcement is slated to receive $9.4 billion, a $61.4 million increase from last year. The Department of Defense Domestic Counterdrug support program will get nearly $150 million this year, a $124 million increase. Over $4.5 billion will be spent on federal incarceration of drug users and distributors. In addition, the Obama administration has requested the revival of the Youth Drug Prevention Media Program with a $20 million budget. Studies have shown that this program had the opposite of the intended effect on teens, and Congress allocated no money for the program last year."

"The budget intentionally undercounts the federal government's expenditures on incarcerating drug offenders, who comprise more than half of the federal prison population. And the budget dangerously proposes a massive escalation in using the military to fight drugs domestically. "

Here's the 2013 National Drug Control Policy Strategy Statement: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/2013-national-drug-control-strategy

So, you can look at the numbers yourself, compared to the Bush term.

[Aerows]

24. Here's one report

http://americansforsafeaccess.org/report-obama-justice-department-has-spent-nearly-300-million-on-aggressive-medical-marijuana-enforcement

[RainDog]

25. NORML's chart showing arrests by administration

[RainDog]

28. The massive increase in arrests under Clinton

coincided with California passing the first medical marijuana laws since prohibition.

[mick063]

45. A truly grass roots movement from the bottom up.

You saw how quickly the LBGT movement gained momentum. It started with individual states first proposing, though initially failing legislation. Then legislation began to pass. More states joined in. Change to federal policy within the military followed. More changes to federal policy within all departments followed after that.

I expect to see a similar type pattern with pot, although it will never be accepted within the military or critical government positions.

[RainDog]

55. Yes. As Ethan Nadelman noted - our politicians are too scared to speak up

who are they scared of? Not the American people, obviously.

Actually, I would be surprised if the military didn't allow "medical marijuana" because that's been unofficial policy in war zones since the 1960s. Israel has done studies concerning PTSD, which is one of, if not THE most damaging aspect of modern warfare. Marijuana is legally approved for PTSD in some nations because of marijuana's capacity to help deal with trauma. People in wartime have always dealt with PTSD - only now we recognize it for what it is.

Vets have also talked about medical marijuana as a way to reduce the use of opiods after injuries, too, but, as the law stands at this time, vets who go this route are denied care because of marijuana use.

Since govt. positions swim in alcohol - it's a joke, to me, to think they'd be so high and mighty about cannabis - but this is the U.S. and people are crazy stupid here about a lot of things.

[sorefeet]

79. It was 2010 when

V.A. Easing Rules for Users of Medical Marijuana the V.A. will formally allow patients in states where medical marijuana is legal to be treated. Front page of The New York Times July 23 2010.
That's me and my marijuana plants

[RainDog]

83. Yes. Only in states with mmj laws

But vets who, by the accident of geography and family ties, live in states where mmj is prohibited are not granted this same leeway in their medications. We have vets here who have talked about drug testing where they are - and their docs said they had to choose.

Nice to see you! (in that picture)

Hope you are doing well.

[sorefeet]

92. Yes and we are fighting like hell

to change that bullshit also. I call my V.A. doc, my probation officer. He could give a rats ass about my health, but I get a drug test every six months and he wants to see my MM card every time too and it only gets renewed once a year. Yes, thank you and I hope you are doing good also.

[liberal_at_heart]

4. this and education are probably the two issues I would say Obama is actually worse than Bush on.

No I take that back. There is another one. Jailing protesters. I guess that makes three issues Obama is worse than Bush on.

[tridim]

5. There are thousands more legally operating dispensaries in MMJ states since Obama took office.

How exactly is Obama worse than Bush on this issue?

[AverageJoe90]

6. Exactly! nt

[Logical]

10. LOL....read this slower.....

"What’s more disappointing is that in just four-and-half-years, the Obama administration has spent $120 million more fighting medicinal marijuana than the Bush administration did over eight years."

Does that sound worse or better? Wow! Really?

[tridim]

31. I need a cite or it's bullshit. nt

[Logical]

39. LOL, lets say you prove it wrong and then you can whine. n-t

[matthews]

49. Obama spent nearly $300 million busting Ganja ℞ ops. - See more at: http://www.thomhartmann.com/foru

In less than five years, Barack Obama has spent nearly $290 million to arrest and prosecute medical marijuana caregivers, patients and dispensary owners. It's a huge number, but interestingly only makes up about four percent of the overall Drug Enforcement Administration Budget.

According to Americans for Safe Access, which compiled the report using DEA and other federal statistics, says federal intervention flies in the face of state-legal cannabis patients, which number more than 1 million people nationally.
- See more at: http://www.thomhartmann.com/forum/2013/06/obama-spent-nearly-300-million-busting-ganja-%E2%84%9E-ops#sthash.dlEMCSp6.dpuf

****

President Obama Has Outspent And Out-Arrested George W. Bush On Marijuana, Reports Say
By Chris Roberts Thu., Jun. 13 2013 at 4:20 PM

Here's another one: Under the administration of President Barack Obama, more money has been spent and nearly as many Americans thrown in prison over medical marijuana than was done under onetime favorite liberal punching bag George W. Bush, according to a pair of studies conducted by Americans for Safe Access and California NORML, both released today.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2013/06/reports_has_obama_outspent_and.php

***

HERE'S THE STUDY BY AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS (won't cut and paste)

http://americansforsafeaccess.org/downloads/WhatIsTheCost.pdf

**

Obama's War on Pot
In a shocking about-face, the administration has launched a government-wide crackdown on medical marijuana

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obamas-war-on-pot-20120216

But over the past year, the Obama administration has quietly unleashed a multi­agency crackdown on medical cannabis that goes far beyond anything undertaken by George W. Bush. The feds are busting growers who operate in full compliance with state laws, vowing to seize the property of anyone who dares to even rent to legal pot dispensaries, and threatening to imprison state employees responsible for regulating medical marijuana. With more than 100 raids on pot dispensaries during his first three years, Obama is now on pace to exceed Bush's record for medical-marijuana busts. "There's no question that Obama's the worst president on medical marijuana," says Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "He's gone from first to worst."

The federal crackdown imperils the medical care of the estimated 730,000 patients nationwide – many of them seriously ill or dying – who rely on state-sanctioned marijuana recommended by their doctors. In addition, drug experts warn, the White House's war on law-abiding providers of medical marijuana will only drum up business for real criminals. "The administration is going after legal dispensaries and state and local authorities in ways that are going to push this stuff back underground again," says Ethan Nadelmann, director of the Drug Policy Alliance. Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, a former Republican senator who has urged the DEA to legalize medical marijuana, pulls no punches in describing the state of affairs produced by Obama's efforts to circumvent state law: "Utter chaos."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obamas-war-on-pot-20120216

[Divernan]

68. OH sweetie! You just called your own citeless post bullshit!

Reminds me of a feeding frenzy when we divers do shark feeding dives. But those sharks only attack other sharks, they don't self-mutilate!

[Isoldeblue]

73. I am as upset about this as you are, if not more so

I am a medical user in a state where it's illegal and will probably be one of the last to make it legal. I can't imagine my life without it. For years I was on RX drugs and they caused some permanent side-affects. Once I was able to get some, it does so much better for pain and other symptoms, than any of the other drugs, ever did.

I had truly expected Obama to do something for medical users. The fact that he's been worse about it, saddens me to no end. He is the first political person I've gotten excited about since JFK.

Now it's time for you to do the "be a big person" thing and admit you were wrong in your posts. No matter how disappointed you are.

[mick063]

12. They operate despite him

This "growth" is happening because of local politics, not federal policy.

Federal policy is viewed as a burden to the states that have implemented such laws.

So what makes him worse?

Try reading the OP again. More money fighting pot over a shorter duration of time.

Don't hide from the fact, that didn't register enough for you to be compelled to ask why.

[bluedigger]

16. Thousands more?

Citation please.

[Divernan]

66. Tridim demands links; fails to provide any him or herself.

That's the way he/she rolls.

[JackRiddler]

70. What does that have to do with federal?

How stupid do you think your readers are? Obviously, very.

[mick063]

8. Be careful

The TOS people will be here soon.

If it is any consolation, I can help you with two of em'.

Here is an unabashed reality. Every time a millennial is busted for pot, the Libertarian movement gains strength.

Truth

[Safetykitten]

7. +1 for the dope smokers

[GlashFordan]

9. Shhhh... You'll upset the defenders. nt

[Logical]

11. Someone will soon be posting 20 links to Obama being pro-pot soon. n-t

[LondonReign2]

26. Actually, they will be links back to the poster's other posts

which contain more links to the poster's other posts, none of which are actually germane to this discussion.

[Logical]

35. LOL.....and you will be so confused that soon you will believe anything. n-t

[randome]

14. I think there are other circumstances behind this.

1. Many local municipalities specifically requested federal help in closing down some dispensaries.

2. It seems like there has been a 'waterfall' of new dispensaries opening up, probably because some people assumed that this Administration would go easy on the issue. So they are spending more money because there are more shops opening up, not all of which are legitimate.

3. There are plenty of dispensaries that are left alone because they toe the line precisely and try their damnedest not to run afoul of federal law.

I don't have statistics on all of this but that's my general take on the issue.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[mick063]

15. I believe you need to "bone up" on this issue

There are mayors and governors complaining about the federal role.

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2013/01/marijuana_advocates_hail_mayors_halt_on_dispensary.php

There are more examples with a few searches.

[randome]

23. I don't need to bone up on it. I believe you.

But there are still many local officials who request federal help. I don't know what became of LA County but didn't they last year close like a hundred dispensaries or something? I think there was a lawsuit in the aftermath but I don't know what happened.

Pot use needs to be decriminalized, I'm only speaking to the expenditure mentioned in the OP. Until there is a groundswell of public opinion that pushes the issue, I think many local officials will remain ambivalent, in favor of decriminalization, or wanting help closing down the dispensaries.

It will continue to be a mixed bag.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[mick063]

29. Sorry, I was a little brash

Take a good look at the state of Washington in the next several years.

Think of it as using scientific method in a laboratory.

Using your own observation skills, determine if the state becomes noticeably different in an adverse way.

Consider the hypocritical acceptance of alcohol, in my opinion, a much more intoxicating, harmful substance.

[randome]

38. Washington state IS a social experiment in progress, I agree.

It will be interesting to see how they cope. It could lead the way to further calls for decriminalization or it could be a mixed bag where politicians don't see a reason to stick their necks out one way or another, to just keep things the way they've always been.

Hopefully someone is keeping track of statistics along the way so we can get a better idea in a year or two.

And no, you needn't worry about coming across as brash to me. No harm, no foul.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[matthews]

56. Lawmakers In 5 States Tell Feds To Back Off Medical Marijuana

From the letter:

Nonetheless, the United States Attorneys in several states with medical marijuana laws have chosen a different course. They have explicitly threatened that federal investigative and prosecutorial resources "will continue to be directed" towards the manufacture and distribution of medical marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law. These threats have generally been timed to influence pending legislation or encourage the abandonment of state and local regulatory programs. They contradict President Obama's campaign promise and policy his first year in office and serve to push medical marijuana activity back into the illicit market.

Most disturbing is that a few United States Attorneys warn that state employees who implement the laws and regulations of our states are not immune from criminal prosecution under the federal Controlled Substances Act. They do so notwithstanding the fact that no provision exists within the Controlled Substances Act that makes it a crime for a state employee to enforce regulations that help a state define conduct that is legal under its own state laws.

And finally, we call on President Obama to recommit to the principles and policy on which he campaigned and asserted his first year in office. Please respect our state laws. And don't use our employees as pawns in your zealous and misguided war on medical marijuana.

Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-CA)

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-WA)

Representative Antonio Maestas (D-NM)

Senator Cisco McSorley (D-NM)

Assemblymember Chris Norby (R-CA)

Representative Deborah Sanderson (R-ME)

Senator Pat Steadman (D-CO)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/lawmakers-in-5-states-tell-feds-medical-marijuana_n_1397811.html

[Go Vols]

17. Damn what the people want.

[Catherina]

18. We always have so much money to throw away for corporate interests.

It's sure not being done for our interests

[think]

60. Thanks for the charts & info

[indepat]

20. I'm shocked, I tell you: absolutely shocked! Who woulda' ever thunk it?

Score one for big bidness.

[ProSense]

21. Buy

"Fact: The Obama Administration Has Spent $120 Million More Than Bush Fighting Medicinal Marijuana"

...a t-shirt: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023385643

[Go Vols]

32. Doing this

will stop the Feds from arresting med mj providers and users?

[mick063]

36. When someones life is adversely altered by the federal government in a state where pot is legal

I believe they just might buy such a shirt. Only it will have Rand Paul on it instead.

Don't get me wrong, Paul is rotten fish, but if I am behind bars for pot, his message is very appealing.

[Scurrilous]

27. President Obama isn't going to be the President...

...who gets up and says "hey everybody, lets get high!"

It's going to have to be some old white dude President, not this one.

Think about it...

[burnodo]

37. So it's ok if he lies about going after marijuana

Even though he never would have been president had he ever been arrested for it

[Go Vols]

40. I have thought about it.

He has little to lose by standing with the majority of the US citizens on this issue, as he won't be running for re-election.

[RainDog]

42. No President is going to be that President

No one expects or asks any President to be that President.

I think it's sad to allow racists to frame the political debate (not to mention you doing the stereotyped stoner crap.)

Leadership means... leading.

This issue is about the science that shows current drug law is based upon lies. WHY wouldn't a Democrat address this? Rational acceptance of cause/effect, peer-reviewed research by experts - that's how Democrats appeal to their constituency and the rest of the world.

Other western nations are stepping up to look at this issue dispassionately. The U.S., it seems, is never a leader in positive social policy. Ever.

Because racists are given too much power in this nation.

[tridim]

43. That said, I still predict Cannabis will be removed from Schedule I after the 2014 elections.

At which point an avalanche of blue and purple states will legalize.

[liberal_at_heart]

47. Nope. The other way round. More states will legalize and at some point the federal government

will have so much pressure put on them they will have no choice but to re-schedule and either decriminalize or legalize. As it stands now we have at least 20 states with legal medical marijuana status and more pending. The pressure is building.

[tridim]

48. I don't care how it happens, but it's going to happen. :)

[burnodo]

91. in spite of the Democratic president

[Logical]

44. Well, maybe he should have the backbone to stand up and say....

I am not going to throw people in jail for a drug that is safer than alcohol or cigarettes.

[Divernan]

67. That would be a real shock yet a refreshing change!

[NoOneMan]

53. Medical MJ. You know, for cancer patients.

I care fuck all if they get high. Obama shouldn't either

[Scurrilous]

54. True.

But any relaxation of the drugs laws on his part will be falsely characterized that way.

[RainDog]

61. since nearly 3/4s of all voters want this shit to stop

those who would characterize such an action don't have any standing among voters!

I am so tired of hearing people claim something can't be done because someone might say something bad about it.

Of course the jackasses will say something bad - because they're jackasses.

But when you have 72% of all voters saying... STOP WASTING MONEY ON THIS... suddenly, so many "fiscal conservatives" are no where to be found.

Which is how you know this issue isn't about anything other than sucking up to certain bureaucracies that want their money train - and, of course, it's the defense contractors who receive the overwhelming bulk of money for current policies.

A recent Senate sub-committee report, from DEMOCRAT Claire Mccaskill, of Missouri - not exactly progressive central - said the War on Drugs is a failure and noted that trillions of dollars have been given to defense contractors that are never accounted for.

No, the problem is that govt. agencies don't want to admit they have LIED to the American people with impunity for decades, have imprisoned people and ruined lives over NOTHING - but, really, they don't even have to do the mea culpa. Just get on with it and stop this stupid shit.

[NoOneMan]

65. Who gives a fuck? Sick people need access to effective medication

I don't give a damn if Obama goes down with a pot tarnished legacy. Take a stand so people can get what they need. I don't give a damn how its characterized and you and him shouldn't either. He isn't up for reelection, but these people being hurt are up facing death.

Politics is a meager, ridiculous topic when it clashes with people dying from cancer. Good god.

[JackRiddler]

72. Atrocious defense.

[RainDog]

52. 72% of Americans say marijuana enforcement isn't worth the cost

http://www.people-press.org/2013/04/04/marijuana-changing-attitudes/pp_13-04-03_ss_marijuana_09_enforcement/

From the Pew Research Center's report in April 2013.

7 in 10 Americans say marijuana enforcement isn't worth the cost

The breakdown, politically, indicates EVERY political demographic thinks the money spent on marijuana prohibition enforcement is a waste.

Every. single. group.

[think]

58. Shameful. Absolutely shameful...

[Bluenorthwest]

59. Willamette Week, May 14th, 2008

WW: Would you stop the DEA's raids on Oregon medical marijuana growers?

Candidate Obama:
I would because I think our federal agents have better things to do, like catching criminals and preventing terrorism.
http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-9003-six_minutes_with_barack.html

Now we raid State legal people while our diplomats cower from unspecified threats. Better things to do indeed.

[Logical]

69. So basically a flat out lie. n-t

[Bluenorthwest]

84. Yes an absolute lie and display of disrespect to the voters of Oregon who supported

him.

[DeSwiss]

63. Understatement much?

''For pro-legalization voters that elected President Obama in hopes of seeing federal marijuana policies loosened, this has to be disappointing.''

- Disappointing is when your team didn't make the playoffs. Not when your grammie dies in absolute pain and agony and couldn't eat worth shit because of some tight-ass, corrupt POS, Washington bureaucrat is feathering his retirement nest with Big Pharma dollars.....

K&R

[jtuck004]

74. Exactly. Maybe it's not so great to have allies who, like the Republicans, think that

pain and misery are character-building. Certainly worth considering when choosing...

[Life Long Dem]

76. U.S. Attorney Said Montana Medical Pot Growers Wouldn't Be Prosecuted --

Now They're Facing Life in Prison

Obama appointee now says pot is a dangerous drug and growing it is a federal crime that must be punished, despite state law.

In March of 2011, federal agents in hazmat suits — guns brandished and sirens blaring — raided dozens of marijuana greenhouses and dispensaries in Montana, and arrested citizens who were growing pot in accordance with the state’s medical marijuana law. It all happened without warning — unlike in California and other states where fair notice, and lead time, was given to folks so they could close up shop. The timing of the raids was highly suspicious. They took place on the very day — the very hour, in fact — that the Montana Legislature was holding a much-anticipated hearing on how to tweak the medical marijuana statute, so as to cut down on recreational use and sham prescriptions, and also to clarify several parts of the law that were ambiguous.

The top federal prosecutor in Montana — Mike Cotter, the U.S. attorney appointed by President Obama in 2009 — then charged the growers, their greenhouse workers, their bookkeepers, some of their spouses, and even their landlords who had simply provided buildings to the growers with decades in prison and in some cases virtual life sentences, all under federal drug trafficking statutes.

Now Cotter is breaking his silence and speaking publicly, for the first time, about his two-year crusade to shutter the medical marijuana industry and put its practitioners behind bars, in many cases for life sentences. And he is mincing no words. He says that pot has no medical value at all, for anyone, and that if you think otherwise, you are a sucker who has been duped “by slick Madison Avenue marketing” employed by pot dealers. He says pot is a dangerous drug and growing it is a federal crime that must be punished.

The opposite of what doctors have long believed about the benefits of marijuana for many patients, these comments go a long way in explaining much of what happened in Montana over the last two years.

When Cotter charged these citizens in 2011, he gave no credence to a very basic protest that they all made: they’d been assured in writing, by Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general, that they could grow medical marijuana and the feds wouldn’t prosecute them.

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/us-attorney-said-montana-medical-pot-growers-wouldnt-be-prosecuted-now-theyre-facing-life?paging=off

[liberal_at_heart]

77. thank you for posting this. Obama gets to say whatever he wants. It's his appointees that do the

dirty work for him.

[Go Vols]

81. That post merits

its own thread.

ty for posting it.

[mike_c]

80. cannabis users are racists!

Oh, wait.

[liberal_at_heart]

82. and don't forget Paulbots. We're not allowed to have the same position on any issue

as the libertarians.

[gulliver]

89. That's actually good, of course. If Obama had spent zero...

...fighting Marijuana (medical or otherwise), we would not have made the tremendous progress we have made. Obama has hit exactly the right note. The end of prohibition is near.

[LondonReign2]

94. .

[otherone]

95. kick

to the head