Unless you have lived under a rock your whole life, than you are aware that the federal government considers marijuana to be illegal in all forms. You also know that some states have legalized marijuana in medical and recreational form. This of course has led to a lot of issues and tension between the feds and states. The Obama Administration has issued some limited policy changes that has resulted in less intervention in states that have legalized.
Has the Obama Administration gone far enough? Of course not. There is still A LOT that needs to be done. But things could certainly be worse. The Obama Administration seems to at least be open to states legalizing marijuana, provided that a lot of issues are mitigated. A member of Obama’s cabinet, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, echoed that stance this last week when she did an interview for NBC. Per an article that legendary activist Tom Angell posted on Marijuana.Com:
The nation’s top cop thinks states should be allowed to legalize marijuana, but believes the federal government has a role to play in keeping cannabis away from kids and stopping interstate trafficking in the drug.
“I think states have to make those decisions on their own. They listen to their citizens and they take actions,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch, in an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Thursday. “What we have said and what we continue to say is that states have to also have a system designed to, number one, mitigate violence associated with their marijuana industries. And number two, and perhaps most importantly, keep young people, children away from the products.”
This statement is an oversimplification of the Obama Administration’s position on marijuana policy. There is obviously still a lot that the federal government does to support marijuana prohibition in states that meet the criteria the AG mentioned. Oregon for instance fits the criteria, yet the federal government still spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on marijuana eradication. I want to see the Obama Administration push for something that is lasting. Up until this point everything that Obama has done for marijuana reform can be easily undone the second a different President took office if they sought to make such changes.
