 | Shock: Department of Justice come out against legalizing PotScotty Starnes | October 17, 2010 at 10:57 AM | Tags: Attorney General Eric Holder, California, DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, Eric Holder, Federal law, legalize pot, marijuana, pot, Prop 19 | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pvnFC-36S |
Finally, the Obama Department of Justice is against something illegal. No, not illegal immigration. The Eric Holder-led DOJ is coming out against California trying to legalize pot.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration "strongly opposes" a California ballot measure to legalize marijuana, warning that federal drug-enforcement efforts would be "greatly complicated" if the measure passes.
Will the Obama administration sue California as it did Arizona? Remember, we can't have a patchwork of laws.
Recent polls indicate voters narrowly favor passing the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act, also known as Proposition 19, in next month's election. If passed, the measure would only affect state law, leaving intact the federal law that classifies marijuana as a controlled substance alongside cocaine and other drugs.
Mr. Holder said in a letter Wednesday to nine former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs that the administration would continue to enforce federal law if California legalizes marijuana. The DEA chiefs had urged him to speak out on the matter.
The ballot measure would block state police officers from seizing marijuana that complies with state law. That would be a "significant impediment" for federal agents, Mr. Holder wrote, because the federal government typically works with local law enforcement when carrying out marijuana and other drug busts.
Already, California has decriminalized possession of smaller quantities of marijuana deemed to be for personal use. The measure would go further than existing law in California and other states that allow use of the drug for medicinal purposes.
The Obama administration has largely hewed to the marijuana-enforcement policy of previous administrations. Mr. Holder has said the government won't target medicinal-marijuana operations that comply with state law, but will continue to pursue prosecutions of traffickers.
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