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Some medical marijuana users can now be a little less paranoid, at least about breaking the law. MSNBC’s Willie Geist explains in this clip.
“The Justice Department, did you hear about this, announced yesterday that federal prosecutors will not go after people who use or distribute medical marijuana as long as they’re following state laws. There are 14 states that allow medical marijuana.”
For more on the new pot policy we have perspectives from MSNBC, CNN, CBS, NBC and KVVU.
On the "Way Too Early" show on MSNBC, the Marijuana Policy Project's Director of Government Relations, Aaron Houston Justice, says the memo was an important step toward legalization of marijuana as a whole.
“What this represents is really less of a slippery slope but more of a Berlin Wall falling. We are starting to see the cascading effect of this Berlin Wall of prohibition falling, and it’s happening very, very quickly.”
CBS Legal Analyst Lisa Bloom disagrees with Houston. Bloom says this change in federal policy has more to do with power of the states than a progressive agenda.
“I don’t see this as a move towards legalization. I see this as the federal government choosing to respect those states that already have medical marijuana laws.”
On CNN, Drug Free America Foundation Executive Director Calvina Fay predicted the Obama administration's move will make it easier to prosecute marijuana-related crimes.
“We see these guidelines as giving clarity, allowing law enforcement to move forward, and enforce our federal laws to shut down these storefront operations that are nothing more than a free ticket for drug trafficking.”
Not everyone views the change as positive. On NBC, a representative of the Family Research Council questioned the motives of those who pushed for the policy change.
“Many of the people who are the strongest advocates for medical marijuana are, themselves, recreational marijuana users. We shouldn’t kid ourselves that this is all about compassion for the sick.”
And the sick aren’t entirely satisfied either. In Nevada, medical marijuana is legal, but legal dispensaries are not. So, those with licenses to purchase the drug must seek out illegal means to fill their prescription. One man told KVVU, a FOX affiliate in Las Vegas, that he’s not much better off under the new policy.
"So as far as from when I woke up yesterday to when I woke up today, has anything changed? No. I still have to live in fear every day that the federal government is going to pull the chain that they have to pull to make the lives of people like me harder. And when I say people like me, I mean a licensed medical marijuana patient following state of Nevada law.”
So what do you think of the change in policy? Will it help medical patients? Do you think it will have any impact on the general public?
Share your thoughts with us. And be sure to check out transcripts of this and all other Newsy reports.
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