cannabisnews.com: Drug Czar: Calif. Pot Law Could Spark Court Action function share_this(num) { tit=encodeURIComponent('Drug Czar: Calif. Pot Law Could Spark Court Action'); url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/26/thread26053.shtml'); site = new Array(5); site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit; site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit; window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500'); return false; } Drug Czar: Calif. Pot Law Could Spark Court Action Posted by CN Staff on October 20, 2010 at 09:44:47 PT By Lisa Leff, The Associated Press Source: Associated Press San Francisco -- Federal officials haven't ruled out taking legal action if California voters approve a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational medical use in the state, President Barack Obama's drug czar said Wednesday.In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske said Justice Department officials are "looking at all their options" for responding to the measure, which would conflict with federal laws classifying marijuana as an illegal drug. Among them, he said, is following the recommendation nine of the nation's former Drug Enforcement Agency chiefs made last month in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder: having Obama sue to overturn Proposition 19 as an affront to federal authority. "The letter from the former DEA administrators, a number of whom are not only practicing attorneys but former state attorney generals, made it very clear that they felt that pre-emption was certainly applicable in this case," said Kerlikowske, the former police chief of Seattle.Holder told the former DEA heads last week that that the U.S. government plans to "vigorously enforce" federal laws outlawing marijuana possession and distribution even if the activities are allowed under state law. But the attorney general did not respond directly to their suggestion that the administration should go to court if California passes the first-of-its-kind measure aimed at treating marijuana the same as alcohol.Proposition 19, a state constitutional amendment on the November ballot, would allow adults at least 21 years old to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow 25-square-foot pot gardens for personal pleasure. It would also authorize county and city governments to regulate and tax commercial cultivation and sales.Kerlikowske was in Southern California on Wednesday for a visit to a Pasadena drug treatment center where he planned to discuss new government data on marijuana abuse in California.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Lisa Leff, The Associated Press Published: October 20, 2010Copyright: 2010 The Associated PressCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by MikeEEEEE on October 20, 2010 at 18:11:20 PT whose still afraid of the big bad wolf? The govt is using scare tactics, probably out of the propaganda book they wrote. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 20, 2010 at 13:54:13 PT The GCW I agree with you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by The GCW on October 20, 2010 at 13:49:51 PT Bring it on. We've been trying to the the cannabis issue into court. Now We may get the chance, finally. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Totalrod2 on October 20, 2010 at 11:03:33 PT Here's to hoping... ...that all this talk about arresting everybody is simply a last ditch effort on their part to persuade people to vote "No" on prop 19. Hopefully when this thing DOES pass (I have no doubt that it will), they'll seriously start to reconsider their approach, and reclassify cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on October 20, 2010 at 10:27:04 PT lost empire So Kerlikowske flies around on public money campaigning against a ballot iniatitive. And the AP faithfully broadcasts every word of his decree, I mean, press release, without any dissenting opinion.Yep, the "war on drugs" sure is a great way to become a fascist, authoritarian country. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment