Federal agents raid marijuana dispensaries in Washington

[RainDog]

80. Prosecutorial Discretion

Makes it entirely possible for the Obama administration to decide not to enforce federal law in states that have legalized marijuana completely, or in states that have mmj laws - which, at this time, comes to nearly a third of the population of the nation and includes 19 states and DC.

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881

It seems to me if state after state tells the federal govt. that citizens choose to regard marijuana as a substance with medicinal benefit, the onus is upon federal govt. to justify ANY use of funds (including distribution to state law enforcement to arrest for marijuana) - iow, not just federal tactics like going after dispensaries via the IRS or their landlords, etc. - but the use of any federal funds to enforce a law based upon lies.

States should also compel their local law enforcement agencies to refuse to enforce federal law - and this issue is implicit in some states - i.e. local LEOs may not enforce federal law that contradicts state law.

Since Congress finally, after a 10 year delay, funded the legislation that was passed to legalize medical marijuana, the issue of the equal protection clause should also come under consideration.

Is it a violation of federal civil rights to deny those residing in non-legal states equal protection under the law when Congress has made it possible to implement the DC legal medical marijuana law?

I hope this issue is one that legalization lawyers will pursue.

All this litigation and all this waste, however, could be avoided simply by instructing the DEA to comply with the overwhelming scientific evidence that indicates cannabis is not a schedule I substance. Or the DEA could take the advice of its own counsel, from 1972, and decriminalize marijuana.

When you have federal agencies that function like fundamentalist creationists in their denial of reality - the problem is the federal agency, not any state laws.