Inhale to The Chief! Obama Reneges On States Rights on Medical Marijuana

In 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama offered a bolder and less uptight pose when he candidly admitted to “inhaling” Cannabis. No doubt he was alluding to another presidential candidate, Bill Clinton, who claimed in 1992 to have only drawn Marijuana smoke into his mouth but did not inhale. And, of course after that came the famous and memorable Obama line, which every human being who knew Weed was good greeted with great joy.

Feigning enlightenment, the charming candidate demurred about inhaling: “That WAS the point.”

Inhaling was the point, said Barack Obama. But as we know when it comes to double standards: That was then and this is now.

That cheeky provocation no doubt earned Obama a few million voters, all ecstatic that now; a second US president admitted a ‘close’ association with Cannabis. The first was of course was George Washington.

Obama could NOT have grown-up in Makiki, go to Punahou or body surf at my favorite spot, Sandy Beach, without having loved Pakaloha. It’d be impossible for him as a young fellow to step out of the water after sliding through the shimmering tubes of the shorebreak- without noticing all his surfing Ohana imbibing what Hawaii does best. In those days, you’d have to be cop to NOT have noticed all of us smoking Da Kine. To deny smoking Pakaloha after a ripping session at Sandy’s would be like saying you weren’t born and raised in Hawai’i. But I digress because now, the one-time Pot smoker is the most powerful and most deadly man on Planet Hurt.

CANNABIS SEEMS THE ANTITHESIS OF POWER

I can only conclude that there is some irreconcilable polarity between good Cannabis and great Power. Politicians seeking more power need to deny Cannabis no matter what they said or DID themselves. Still the people know that Cannabis is a helpful and benign plant and such being the case, we can easily see politicians, bureaucrats, hacks and officials practice a convoluted logic denying it. And, we know that in this one instance with Marijuana, despite all the polemics and conspiracy theories we harbor,

WE KNOW THEY ARE LYING TO US WHY CANNABIS NEEDS TO BE  SO SUPPRESSED.

It is possible to sit around and theorize why the government and the most powerful people in the world lie to us, like this. But for what? Once you know someone or institution is lying to you, what’s the point in wondering why?

THE REASONS THE GOVERNMENT LIES ABOUT CANNABIS ARE….

The point being is that whatever the reason that we are being lied to and denied unlimited access to ‘Our Gardens’ is simply unacceptable in a Free Society. If the reason people must suffer is because of government-corporate collusion, then we have FASCISM. Here, we should take deeply to heart that people are suffering and peoples’ lives are being ruined or imprisoned so that somebody else can have a monopoly or government career. If that is the Truth, then we need to acknowledge that we have reached the end of Freedom.

I know you are not shocked for being lied to in regards to the Federal position of Cannabis in general.
What is really shocking to me is our tolerance and weakling submission to such dishonesty, hypocrisy, cruelty and corruption.

A tolerance, I am sure, that only attracts more government lies and oppression.

Obama Administration Steps Up Its Rhetoric In Medical Marijuana States
May 4th, 2011 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

The Obama administration’s position on medical marijuana, circa 2011 (via the May 2, 2011 letter sent from the office of the United States Attorney, District of Arizona, to the Arizona Department of Health Services re: the implementation of the voter-approvedMedical Marijuana Program):

“The United States Attorneys Office … will vigorously prosecute individuals and organizations that participate in the unlawful manufacturing, distribution and marketing activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.”

A lot can change in two years — including the administration’s attitude toward the state-authorized use and distribution of cannabis for medical purposes.

In April, NORML blogged about the U.S. Department of Justice, particularly U.S. Attorneys Jenny Durkan of Seattle and Michael Ormsby of Spokane, threatening “civil and criminal legal remedies” (read: sanctions) against Washington state citizens, including state employees, who assist with or engage in the production or distribution of medical cannabis, “even if such activities are permitted under state law.” The U.S. Attorneys’ threats came in response to an inquiry from Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, who most likely was seeking ‘political cover’ so that she could publicly ‘justify’ her veto of legislation (SB 5073) that sought to license and regulate the dispensing of medical cannabis to qualified persons, and would have enacted additional legal protections for patients who voluntarily participated in a statewide registry. The threats worked; Gov. Gregoire cited them in her veto statement Friday.

In fact, the threats worked so well, that in recent days U.S. Attorneys in other states with active medical marijuana programs have begun issuing similar menacing statements.

Last week in Colorado, where state regulators have licensed over 800 state-licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, U.S. Attorney John Walsh sent a letter to the state’s Attorney General alleging that the federal Justice Department will “vigorously” prosecute individuals or organizations engaged in “unlawful manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.” A spokesman for Walsh’s office adds, “In the eye of the federal government, there’s only one type of marijuana. And marijuana is a Schedule I controlled [federally prohibited] substance.”

Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke fired off a similarly worded letter this week to Will Humble, the director of the state Department of Health Services, which is overseeing the implementation of Proposition 203. Under the law, which was approved by voters last fall and was enacted on April 15, the state must register qualified patients who have a doctor’s recommendation for cannabis and also license dispensaries to provide it to them. However, according to Burke, said dispensaries that are compliant with the state’s law will “not [be] protect[ed] from [federal] criminal prosecution, asset forfeiture, and other civil penalties.”

Finally, in Rhode Island, Gov. Lincoln Chafee announced this week that he is suspending the state’s nascent medical marijuana distribution program, set to begin this June. In March, the representatives from the Rhode Island Department of Health selected three applicants to operate the state’s first-ever, government licensed medical cannabis dispensaries. (The dispensaries program was initially approved by lawmakers in 2009, but the winning applicants were not decided upon until two years later.) Predictably, Chafee’s abrupt change of heart came after receiving a hand-delivered letter from U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha Friday threatening to prosecute civilly and/or criminally those involved in the dispensary program.

So what’s the impetus for the Obama administration’s sudden decision to play rhetorical hard ball? NORML Outreach Coordinator and podcasterRuss Belville speculates:

“Mr. Obama’s … true intention is to stifle the development of any viable legal cannabis distribution industry. By sending threat letters to Rhode Island and Arizona, states that have created clear and unambiguous laws for medical cannabis providers to follow, it is obvious that Mr. Obama isn’t opposed to medical cannabis, per se, but terribly opposed to medical cannabusiness.

Belville adds: “If (medical cannabusiness) establish (themselves), people will become accustomed to safe, secure, well-run businesses that deliver consistent, reliable, tested cannabis products. They’ll appreciate the way these places revitalize sagging economies, provide jobs, and contribute taxes to budget-starved localities. They’ll realize all the scaremongering by the government about what would happen if marijuana was legal, even for sick people, was hysterical propaganda. [And] they’ll begin to wonder why we don’t just legalize cannabis for everyone, create more jobs, raise more revenue, and use these established businesses as the distribution points.”

 

Rhode Island Governor Chafee Reacts to Federal Prosecutor’s Letter Warning to Arrest State Officials For Carrying-out State Medical Marijuana Law

HERE IS OBAMA THE HIP CANDIDATE WITH ALL THE SLICK AND REASONABLE ANSWERS IN 2004