Law Enforcement and Politicians Beg DOJ and DEA to Respect State Marijuana Legalization Votes

By JG Vibes
theintelhub.com
November 20, 2012

While many lives are still being ruined by drug prohibition, the fate of the drug war has already been sealed, because the general public is no longer buying the scam.  Slowly but surely support for the legalization of drugs, specifically cannabis, has been growing over the past few years, and it is about to come to a head.

Earlier this month Washington state and Colorado voted to legalize recreational cannabis, but not without certain ridiculous arbitrary restrictions, of course.  Despite this vote, the DEA has promised to disregard the wishes of the public and enforce the federal laws anyway, as we have seen with various dispensaries in California.

In response to this direct threat of violence many people are demanding that the feds back down, and recently even politicians and law enforcement officials have come forward to ask that the legalization votes be respected.

This week a politician from Colorado introduced a bill to the legislature that would actually require the feds to respect the new legalization measures taken in the state.

According to a local news source in Denver:

“In an effort to ensure new voter-approved amendments that legalize limited use of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington are not overrun by the federal government, Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette introduced bipartisan legislation Friday that aims to curtail such a scenario.

The legislation comes on the same day a handful of members from the state’s Congressional delegation were part of a coalition of lawmakers who sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder , urging him to respect the new voter-approved marijuana laws in Colorado and Washington.

In the letter — penned by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder — DeGette and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden, said they believed it would be a mistake for the federal government to “focus enforcement action on individuals whose actions are in compliance with state law.”

Lawmakers write in the letter to Holder that they are concerned that the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration will continue to “threaten individuals and businesses” acting within the scope of their states’ laws on medicinal use of marijuana.

The letter charges that the DEA has contradicted assurances from Holder’s office in 2009 that it would not prioritize criminal charges against individuals who act in compliance with state law, and that they hope a similar outcome will not occur with the new laws that saw “overwhelming public support.”

In a statement about the legislation DeGette Said that “My constituents have spoken and I don’t want the federal government denying money to Colorado or taking other punitive steps that would undermine the will of our citizens.”

In addition, many members of law enforcement from all across the country have come forward in a similar way.

Enews Park Forest reported that:

“On Tuesday a group of veteran law enforcement professionals will deliver a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the Department of Justice urging the Obama administration to respect state laws that legalize and regulate marijuana. Voters in Colorado and Washington State opted decisively for marijuana legalization on November 6 and national polls show majority support for replacing marijuana prohibition with legal regulation.

After personally delivering the letter signed by dozens of police, prosecutors, judges and federal agents to the Department of Justice at 9:00 AM ET, 34-year veteran narcotics cop Neill Franklin will join other law enforcers for a 12:00 PM ET teleconference call to answer questions from journalists.”

Prohibitions of any kind should be opposed, for the reasons i have laid out in the past. However marijuana is of a specific immediate importance, because of its ability to heal sick people and create more environmentally friendly industrial products. It is also one of the safest drugs known to our species

*****

Read more articles by this author HERE.

J.G. Vibes is the author of an 87 chapter counter culture textbook called Alchemy of the Modern Renaissance, a staff writer and reporter for The Intel Hub and host of a show called Voluntary Hippie Radio. 

You can keep up with his work, which includes free podcasts, free e-books & free audiobooks at his websitewww.aotmr.com

Join theintelhub.com FORUMS to Talk About Articles Like This One - ENTER NOW