President Obama has brought neither change nor hope when it comes to federal marijuana prohibition and its constitutional ramifications.
But you’d think the Evolver in Chief would have second thoughts after his own former favorite for US Surgeon General, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, recently changed his mind on the issue.
Following the CNN documentary “Weed,” hosted by Gupta, in which he presents a case to lift marijuana from the Schedule 1 federal classification, White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest stuck to the script.
“The administration’s position on this has been clear and consistent for some time now. While the prosecution of drug traffickers remains an important priority, the president and the administration believe that the targeting of individual marijuana users, especially those with serious illnesses and their caregivers, is not the best allocation of federal law enforcement resources.”
Where is the hope in continuing policies that have doubled marijuana-related incarceration, contributing to the largest imprisoned population in the world? There’s certainly no hope for the young African-American male, who is arrested 3-4 more times more on average than his white counterparts. In Obama’s own home state of Illinois, 58 percent of those arrested for possession are African-Americans, who make up just 15 percent of the population.
Judging by Obama’s record on marijuana prosecutions, his definition of “drug traffickers” is about as clear as his definition of “terrorist” or “transparency.” Federal agents have stepped up aggressive enforcement, targeting medical marijuana dispensaries in several states. But statistics are proving that no matter how much they increase enforcement, the federal government is failing in its effort to stop the state nullification efforts against their national prohibition scheme.
When it comes to marijuana, you will only find Hope and change at the local and state level where federal “laws” are ignored and Obama’s enforcers are hindered.
Even though Illinois has one of the worst records for race-discrepancy in law enforcement, there is optimism in light of the recent passage of a medical marijuana law, making it the 21st state to abandon Washington, D.C.’s unconstitutional absolutist agenda. When Massachusetts decriminalized small amount possession, its total arrests dropped by nearly 90 percent. Clearly, more progress is needed, but based on recent history, any energy spent appealing to Obama and/or the feds is wasted and actually costs in terms of real lives affected.
Rob Kampia of Marijuana Policy Project points out that 53 percent of Americans now live in states refusing the federal status quo. And with Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon looking to follow the path carved by Colorado and Washington, Kampia says it’s foreseeable that 25 percent of all Americans and nearly 1/3 of Congress will live in states treating marijuana like alcohol by 2017.
This is how you win.
Do you think the Department of Justice or Drug Enforcement Administration planned for this? They have no answer to the emerging vision shared by lovers of liberty and their insistence that the feds follow the Constitution.
Nullification is here already and it’s not going away.