cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Is Back Medical Marijuana Is Back Posted by CN Staff on March 01, 2009 at 05:07:59 PT By Ethan Stewart Source: Santa Barbara Independent Calif. -- Medical marijuana advocates throughout California are celebrating this week after a serious dose of good news from Washington, D.C.In a press conference on Wednesday, February 26, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Michele Leonhart by his side, told a throng of reporters that President Barack Obama will hold true to his campaign promises and that fed-led raids of cannabis clubs operating legally under state laws will come to a close. Specifically asked about a series of DEA raids at clubs in Lake Tahoe and Los Angeles in the days immediately after Obama’s inauguration, Holder replied, “What the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing here in law enforcement … What he said during the campaign is now American policy.” Despite being recognized by the State of California since 1996 as a legal form of medicine for a wide range of illnesses and conditions such as anxiety, cancer, chronic pain, and HIV, both medical marijuana users, who need a doctor’s recommendation for such status, and the dispensaries where they purchase their medicine have been targeted by dozens of DEA raids, especially during the Bush administration. While on the campaign trail, Obama frequently opined in favor of medical marijuana just as long as it was regulated with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors. In fact, on one particular occasion, speaking about his experience with his mother and her fight against terminal cancer, the president said he saw no legal difference between using morphine or doctor-prescribed medical marijuana for pain management. More recently, after coming under attack in the early days of his administration for the aforementioned raids, White House spokesperson Nick Shapiro explained that Obama hadn’t even put his drug policy team in place yet and said, "The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws."Here in Santa Barbara, the shift in federal policy comes on the heels of a rather aggressive — if somewhat sneaky — effort by the DEA during the past 10 months to shut down cannabis clubs in the 805. By writing letters to property owners who rented their buildings to dispensaries and threatening to seize said properties if those tenants were not immediately evicted, the DEA — with follow-up face-to-face meetings and the support of the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office — shut down what had been a rather healthy medical marijuana scene practically overnight. With more than 10,000 legal pot patients in Santa Barbara County and scores more in surrounding communities, Santa Barbara — thanks to rules preventing dispensaries in just about every town from San Luis Obispo to Ventura — had become a safe haven of sorts. However, after the feds stepped in, the town’s club population shrank from around a dozen to nearly zero because no landlords were willing to take the risk. During this time, the City of Santa Barbara beefed up its oversight and regulation of the clubs, developing specific ordinances that, among other things, established legal do's and don’ts for the clubs, where they can be located, and how they should be operated.For the medical marijuana community, the hope is now that some of the shut-down clubs will reopen and that patients and providers throughout the state can live and medicate without fear of a DEA agent kicking down their door.Calling the news a “welcome and big change in emphasis,” Congressmember Lois Capps, who actually lobbied Obama to hold true to his campaign positions on medical marijuana prior to Holder’s statements, explained on Friday that the Attorney General’s office has much bigger fish to fry than doctors, patients, and providers who are following their state laws. “We need to be hands-off as long as it is being handled responsibly,” said the former nurse. She then went on to add that she hopes the feds will begin to explore the role of cannabis, among other things, as a potent tool in the war against chronic pain management.As for the club owners themselves, Josh Braun, who ran Santa Barbara’s second longest running and most popular dispensary, Hortipharm, up until his landlord was reluctantly forced to evict him last August, seemed pleased. In an email in the wake of Holder’s press conference, Braun explained, “It's taking some time to sink in, but I believe this is truly a turning point for our movement, probably the most significant in 13 years.” He went on to add that though he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the on-the-ground implications of the “shift,” he has already received word that landlords are interested in leasing to clubs once again.Note: Santa Barbara Reacts to U.S. Attorney General’s Promise to Stop Cannabis Club Raids.Source: Santa Barbara Independent, The (CA)Author: Ethan StewartPublished: Sunday, March 1, 2009Copyright: 2009 The Santa Barbara Independent, Inc.Contact: letters independent.comWebsite: http://www.independent.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/AJnOKI6kRelated Articles: No More Raids on Pot Dispensaries, Says AGhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24528.shtmlUnder Obama, Drug War Tactics Poised To Shifthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24527.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #16 posted by FoM on March 02, 2009 at 07:42:45 PT John Tyler Have fun in the snow. When we had a big snow storm we took lots of pictures and I put them on a dvd to music. I have fun doing things like that. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by John Tyler on March 02, 2009 at 07:34:54 PT snow day We got a snow day. It is really pretty. Now I have to clear off my drive way. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by afterburner on March 02, 2009 at 07:18:50 PT Don Cobb "Americans are becoming fatter, lazier, more self-reliant and apathetic every day." Self-reliant is a desirable American virtue. People dependent on government welfare are *not* self-reliant. He probably means selfish -- big difference.As for his prediction that medical cannabis is about to be legalized. Good. One thing he says with which I agree. As for the rest: "fraudulent: supposedly 'medical' marijuana." Typical Republican propaganda.All that elitist hatred of the poor and over-generalizing about their motives. Shame on you. Where is your compassion, conservative? "There, but for the grace of God go I.""Upon reflection, George and Co. did not appear to operate with complete integrity, or Godliness, or in a moral or ethical way. It appears to have been politics, as usual." It took you long enough to figure that out! However, George & company's looting of the US Treasury through privitization contracts to big business cronies and his disrepect for the US Constitution through the "Patriot" Act went far beyond politics as usual.Ron Paul co-sponsored a House bill to reschedule cannabis (to allow medical cannabis federally) and one to end federal penalties for personal use of cannabis, and yet this guy, Don Cobb, is in favor of the man but opposed to his message.Federal Legislation HR 5842 & 5843 http://www.illinoisnorml.org/content/view/812/29/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on March 01, 2009 at 18:46:28 PT John Tyler I understand why it would be hard. I believe people sometimes are born into poverty. They never see a way out. If they are really smart and have a strong drive they can make it but many give up before they even begin and some are mentally ill. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by John Tyler on March 01, 2009 at 18:18:07 PT on social work There were a few just scamming the system, but the vast majority were really pathetic individuals with messed up lives that really needed help. For the ones that were scamming the system they weren’t very well off either. Even at best they still lived in poverty. They were only getting a few hundred dollars a month. You could work with them and try to show them that they could make a better living if they would let you get them job training and find them a job.Overall it was very sad and distressing and I became dissatisfied with it and left it for another career. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on March 01, 2009 at 13:21:39 PT herbdoc215 I don't see articles like that either very often. I do my la la la la la la I can't hear you quick escape! LOL! The more they scream and yell and hate the more I tune them out. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 01, 2009 at 13:17:21 PT John Tyler I hope you get a snow day off too. No matter how old we are it's fun. You worked in the Ghetto as a Social Worker? God Bless You. What an important job you did. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by herbdoc215 on March 01, 2009 at 13:07:26 PT FoM, that link shocked me? I didn't know there really were people that nuts left, all they needed was a clan symbol or a swastika and it would have made better sense...I can't believe how shocked that kind of hatred leaves me. Scary place full of really scary people. I don't know how I've managed to avoid that whole side of the net...but whenever I peek at them it's always struck me how ignorant these people are about the world, don't they ever get out? Peace, steve [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by John Tyler on March 01, 2009 at 13:03:48 PT snow tonight! I read the link from comment #1. I lived through the same stuff. I was even a Social Worker in the ghetto for seven long years, and I don’t see it his way at all. He seems bitter and weird and is putting out a lot of bad vibrations.We are supposed to get some snow tonight. I hope we get a snow day off of work tomorrow. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on March 01, 2009 at 10:29:42 PT Dankhank Enjoy! It's cold around here but the snow storm this time will miss us but they are going to get hammered back east. Peace, Love and Understanding to you and your family. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by dankhank on March 01, 2009 at 10:26:07 PT me too ... thought we were supposed to be firm and polite ...it's a lovely day round here ...gonna get outside and enjoy ... [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 01, 2009 at 10:19:26 PT Dankhank I read the article. I don't get people hating people like they do. Are people afraid things are going to change and with change will come growing pains? We are moving forward but this talking down and grumbling about a new direction is really sad. I thought Americans were suppose to be nice. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by dankhank on March 01, 2009 at 10:09:56 PT light at the end of the tunnel ... I think I see it ...FoM, interesting link ... did you read it? :-)same tired crabola I have seen for months on the Fauxnews blogs.Man that's a crazy place. I was drawn there much as a moth is drawn to flame. Haven't been burned yet, though scorchers fly 'round there like gnats.all the CPAC blogs are closed to comments there. I'm sure it's because it may reach critical mass in there, soon.seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if the Secret Service is watching. as a staunch defender of sanity I may have angered Fauxnews and been "filtered." No matter, with the news of this article, I too, feel that my blood pressure is better and I feel less need to strike out against the madness. It's been fun, though.peace to all who have waited [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on March 01, 2009 at 07:13:47 PT MarijuanaSavesLives I feel the same way. So far President Obama is doing what he said he would do during the campaign. I am calm now. I think my blood pressure has come down too. If it had continued on like it was I don't know how anything positive would have ever gotten done. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by MarijuanaSavesLives on March 01, 2009 at 07:07:30 PT me too! I feel the weight has been lifted! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 01, 2009 at 05:12:15 PT OT: The End of a Long & Wonderful Ride I am so glad we are finally winning.http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/cobb/090301 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment