One step at a time.

Jim Downey's picture
Submitted by Jim Downey on October 19, 2009 - 8:19am.

So, the end of March I posted the poll about pot. In comments there, I said this:

But I listen to what people are saying, and how they are saying it, in different contexts. I look at the costs associated with our War on (Some) Drugs. And I just think that we're approaching something of a phase-change in thinking in this country. Yeah, it might be a form of 'decriminalization' which is so weak as to be de facto legalization (and I would interpret it as such), but I think we'll see something fairly radical happen within a couple of years.

This morning, the news:

WASHINGTON – Pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that allow medical marijuana, prosecutors were told Monday in a new policy memo issued by the Justice Department.

Under the policy spelled out in a three-page legal memo, federal prosecutors are being told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.

OK, this is not decriminalization, let alone legalization. But it is a damned big change from the behavior of the previous administrations, which insisted on going after cancer patients and people with AIDs and their state-sanctioned suppliers for using pot for medical purposes. Some 14 states have 'medical marijuana' laws in effect, and I'd bet that within a year or so even more will be adopting such. And within a year or two, I bet we see some local/state efforts to just simply decriminalize/legalize small amounts of pot for general personal use. The phase change has started.

Jim Downey

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ML's picture

And yet.....

Submitted by ML (not verified) on October 23, 2009 - 12:48pm.

Then we get decisions like this one, from the Minnesota Supreme Court:

In a 4-3 decision Thursday, the state's highest court said a person can be prosecuted for a first-degree drug crime for 25 grams or more of bong water that tests positive for a controlled substance. The decision, which reverses two lower court rulings, ...

The dissent is fun to read. I did wonder if the MSC was holding to a blackletter interpretation to press a change in the law, or if the majority is just rigid.

Nemo's picture

This was the sort of thing we expected when Obama took office

Submitted by Nemo (not verified) on October 19, 2009 - 11:25am.

but it's been almost nine months. What took so long?

Oh well, right direction and all that.

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