US Government Says It Will Stop Interfering with Medical Marijuana

According to this article, US Attorney General Eric Holder has said that states will be allowed to make their own rules about medical marijuana, and that the US federal government will stop raiding medical marijuana dispensaries in California. (See article “Can Marijuana Help Rescue California’s Economy?”at this link)

In the 1990s, several US states passed referendums which allowed marijuana to be used legally for medical purposes. In a referendum, the registered voters vote directly on the proposed law, as opposed to the law being passed by the state legislature. Thus, when these states passed these referendums, it meant that the citizens of these states really wanted medical marijuana to be made legal.

However, in a blatant disregard for democracy and the people’s will, under the Bush administration, the national government refused to accept this law, and carried out raids of the medical marijuana dispensaries.

Its nice to hear that the US government will finally start respecting the will of the California citizenry. While I don’t feel that marijuana is harmless, it is probably no more harmful than alcohol, which is available legally, and even glorified in US culture. Continuing to send people to prison for possessing marijuana is a waste of government/ taxpayer money, and probably has a rather harmful effect on the person arrested, since US prisons are not good places to live (!) Taking a person who was previously a pretty normal person, and then putting them in a US prison, is almost guaranteed to have a negative effect on them.

Let’s hope the US government and Attorney General adheres to its promises!