Is Now American Policy
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Note: This doesn't mean that there will be no more raids on medical marijuana dispensaries at all. Certainly, the State of California could conduct a raid on a dispensary that it claimed was violating state law (and any resulting cases would likely be tried in state court where you could mention state medical marijuana law).

Also, theoretically, the State of California, believing that a dispensary was violating state law, could ask for help from the DEA, but I would imagine Holder would find that to be politically unpleasant and would ask why the state is incapable of doing it themselves.

What does seem clear from Holder's statement is that there will be no more DEA raids of dispensaries that are operating legally under state law, but not under federal law. This should also mean no more Charlie Lynch trials. I hope the judge sentencing Lynch takes that important point into account.

Brief History: Of course, individual states passed their own laws. But nationally, it was a process starting with the Harrison Act in 1914, then the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic act in 1938, the Narcotics Control Act in 1956, and then the big one - the 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, which included the Controlled Substances Act which classified drugs at the federal level. - Guither



Will Legalizing Pot Save California from its Cash Crunch?
California state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has announced the introduction of legislation to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcoholic beverages. The bill, the first of its kind ever introduced in California, would create a regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine, and liquor, permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession by those under 21.

California Legislator Sees Benefit in Legalizing Pot
The Wall Street Journal: "SAN FRANCISCO
A state legislator proposed legalizing the sale of marijuana in California, saying the plan would generate more than $1 billion annually for the cash-strapped state."

Make Calvina Fay cry
Go to Taxing pot could become a political toking point...

http://willdo.philadelphiaweekly.com...ystonecops.jpg

Marijuana Legalization - no longer a pipe dream?

From Semana.Com: Decriminalize?

A revenue and legalization lesson from FDR
Reuters News Service

"It wonâ??t solve all of the U.S.â??s problems and lord knows will cause some new ones, but the money is undeniably big enough to make a dent.

After all, it certainly helped Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who legalized alcohol in 1933 in the midst of the Depression and after more than a decade of prohibition, thus bringing a half a billion in 1933 dollars into public coffers in the form of tax revenue. By 1936, alcohol taxes were 13 percent of Federal revenue."

I said, my! my! my! like a spider to a fly
Jump right ahead in my web! - Jagger

Oakland Pot Dispensary Raided, Guns Seized
US CA: Lee, Henry K. San Francisco Chronicle 25 Feb 2009

The cafe was selling marijuana to people without the required documentation...

Ve Vant to zee yer papers!