cannabisnews.com: American Mayors: Let Them Smoke Pot
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American Mayors: Let Them Smoke Pot
Posted by CN Staff on June 29, 2013 at 07:05:05 PT
By NYT Editorial Board
Source: New York Times
USA -- It has been more than seven months since voters in Colorado and Washington State chose to legalize marijuana for recreational use, in contravention of federal drug laws. It has been more than three months since Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he would announce his department’s response to the new statutes “relatively soon.” So far: nothing. Mr. Holder has yet to indicate whether he will side with all nine former heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who published an open letter urging federal pre-emption.
On Monday, the United States Conference of Mayors passed a resolution suggesting the opposite: that the Obama administration should let the states decide this issue for themselves. “Despite the prohibition of marijuana,” the resolution reads, “and the 22 million marijuana arrests that have occurred in the United States since 1965,” some “42 percent of Americans” have used the drug. Organized crime, the mayors continue, dominates the illegal marketplace; enforcement is not only costly, but also racially biased, with African-Americans far more likely than Caucasians to be arrested for possession despite similar rates of use across ethnic groups. In light of these facts, they say, states should be able to “set whatever marijuana policies work best to improve the public safety and health of their communities.” A guy named Barack Obama might have agreed with that when he was running for president. Asked about medical marijuana in 2008, he said, “I’m not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue.” But the Barack Obama who actually became president seems to have no problem with interference. In the past four years, the D.E.A. has conducted at least 270 SWAT-style raids on medical marijuana providers at a cost of roughly $8 million. What the Conference of Mayors resolved seems appropriate — and sensitive to the reality that public attitudes toward marijuana are liberalizing rapidly. In 1969, the Pew Research Center found that only 12 percent of Americans favored legalizing the drug. By 2010, that figure was 41 percent. In 2013, it was 52 percent, a majority. At any rate, Mr. Holder’s dithering helps no one. The status quo is chaotic and untenable. If you live in Denver or Seattle and you are thinking of applying for a license to sell marijuana, you have a right to know whether federal prosecutors will move to seize your property and jail you. A version of this editorial appeared in print on June 29, 2013, on page A18 of the New York edition with the headline: American Mayors: Let Them Smoke Pot.Source: New York Times (NY)Published: June 29, 2013Copyright: 2013 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/hevEms2ICannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by museman on June 29, 2013 at 11:00:21 PT
fill in the blanks
"_______might have agreed with that when he was running for president." - Any politician is going to 'agree' to whatever gets them elected - that's the way of it. Any divergence from that path has resulted in dead politicians and candidates.When you sell your soul to the devil, you are under contract to perform. If the american people continue to believe the lies of the lawyer spawned clique of 'elected representatives' (LOL) its gonna be painful!Painful for those who have invested their lives, time, and belief in such falsehoods that have no redeemable parts.Painful for the lawyers, judges, politicians, and their low-brow dogs-of-law, but for the rest of us; well "How do you spell relief?"Stop voting for patsies and ass-kissers-of-the-wealthy! Find someone in your town that is willing to be a representative, and vote for them. It would be a good idea to not vote for lawyers.LEGALIZE FREEDOM!
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on June 29, 2013 at 08:50:08 PT
wondeful NY Times
>>>If you live in Denver or Seattle and you are thinking of applying for a license to sell marijuana, you have a right to know whether federal prosecutors will move to seize your property and jail you. Actually, all people in the USA should have the right to conduct ALL consensual business transactions with each other, free of meddling & interference from the govt. Unless they are hurting someone or polluting.The country was founded in large part because an English king tried to put a 1% tax on tea. Most people immediately switched to coffee in response.
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on June 29, 2013 at 07:19:39 PT
The usual bait and switch...
"you are thinking of applying for a license to sell marijuana, you have a right to know whether federal prosecutors will move to seize your property and jail you."The prison industrial complex is ready to take you in. Obama and Holder are stabbing African Americans and other minorities (all the non-whites) in the back.
Pot Law
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