Medical and Recreational Cannabis Users Stand United Against Obama
President Obama was met last Monday in Oakland with a crowd composed of well over 800 furious cannabis activists, patients, and people who are simply fed up with Obama’s continuous war on people who choice to use cannabis for medical or recreational purposes. People don’t often get the chance to see the President in person in Oakland, but they definitely knew how to take advantage of his fundraising pit stop to give him a piece of their mind.
The debate between medical and recreational cannabis users was put to rest on Monday in light of the Federal government’s recent decision to go after Harborside Health Center, which paid $1.1 million in taxes to the state of California last year, and also happens to be the ideal model for a legitimate medical cannabis dispensary operating within the bounds of California law. The important thing to remember is that recreational cannabis users don’t want the government to take away patients’ medicine just as medicinal users don’t want to see recreational users go to jail.
As a young activist who got involved with the drug policy reform movement four years ago, I’ve heard my fair share of bickering back and forth regarding how we should be taking on the government and all of their failed federal policies and laws, but rarely is there a consensus. There has always been tension between the medical and recreational cannabis communities, which to my knowledge has yet to result in anything positive or productive for either side. The rally was the dawning of a new era of activists that have caught sight of a common goal, to tell Obama to keep the federal government out of state implemented laws! The consensus was quite simple: These are our states and our laws, and we refuse to let ANYONE tell us differently.
We are at a historical turning point in cannabis law reform in the United States, and we are sick and tired of arguing amongst ourselves. Instead, all cannabis users are now standing united to send Obama a loud and clear message; that we will not continue be ignored! It is clear that we are at the tipping point of having a major shift in cannabis laws: Washington, Oregon and Colorado all have cannabis legalization on the 2012 ballot.
Whether you are a medical patient fighting for the right to use one of the safest most effective medicines in the world, or you simply prefer to use cannabis at the end of a long work day instead of drinking alcohol, you can agree that Obama MUST be held accountable for his actions against all cannabis users. Too many people are in jail, too much taxpayer money is being wasted, too many patients are suffering, and too many people are fed up with Obama’s lack of action when it comes to the illogical cannabis laws that exist in this country.
Please be sure to sign and share Harborside’s Change.org petition telling Obama to fight crime, not cannabis!
Article from National Cannabis Coalition and republished with special permission
