[420 Girl]

As you probably know by now, the DEA has continued to raid medical marijuana facilities that are perfectly legal under state law where they are located even after Obama, who opposes such raids, was inaugurated. Last week there were two such raids, both in California.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided at least two Westside marijuana dispensaries Tuesday, and a spokesperson defended their actions, despite President Barack Obama's opposition to such raids.

One of the raids was at the Marina Caregivers at 730 W. Washington Blvd. about noon, said Sarah Pullen of the DEA.

Pullen defended the raids:
Asked about Obama's comments that he did not want to waste Justice Department resources on raiding medical marijuana shops, Pullen said that "marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

"The law is still that it is illegal to possess, distribute or cultivate marijuana in any way," she said.

Which is not particularly relevant. Yes, the Supreme Court wrongly ruled in Raich that the federal government had the constitutional authority to overrule state laws on medical marijuana, but having the power to do something does not mean one must exercise that power. Picking and choosing where to spend limited resources is a normal function of law enforcement.

Obama pledged to end these raids during the campaign, but Reuters quotes Pullen as saying that they have received no directive from the White House to stop them:
Asked about those comments, Pullen said, "There has been no direction as to a change in how we ... enforce federal law." The DEA is a Justice Department agency.

But the White House says this will change as they get new people in place:
White House spokesman Nick Shapiro on Wednesday reiterated Obama's stance that "federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws."

"And as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind," Shapiro said.

He's only three weeks into his term, so of course it's hardly a shock that Obama hasn't done everything that he promised to do already. But I do hope that now that this has become a public problem, he will issue an order to the DEA to suspend such raids until they've got a new person in charge. As chief executive, he has the full authority to do so. And it's quite obvious that the DEA is not going to stop doing this until they're ordered to.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...ana-raids.html