U.S. Attorney Responds to Criticism

The U.S. Attorney's office has recently been busy defending themselves against the medical marijuana community. After weeks of threats against dispensary owners and the medical marijuana community as a whole, they are finally speaking out in an attempt to defend their actions.

The Depart of Justice explicitly stated two years ago that they would respect states that passed laws in support of medicinal marijuana. People are wondering now, why go back on your word?

The answer coming from Andre Birotte Jr., a California U.S. Attorney, is that the Compassionate Use Act is being abused. According to him, among government officials it is more often referred to as the “Commercial Use Act” because of the freeness with which it is regulated.

Despite the act's original intention, which was to get medicine to those who need it, the attorney's office is now finding more dispensaries with the intent of profit, rather than compassionate care. Some dispensaries are even making a living selling crop to other states.

It is not surprising that these developments are annoying the U.S. Attorney's office, but the conclusion they are coming to in response does not make sense. Why return to prohibitory policies when we already know that they don't work?

Marijuana, whether medicinal or not, whether legal or not, is available to those who wish to find it. Instead of taking multiple steps backward, only to find that crime rates rise and marijuana usage rates stay exactly same, shouldn't the U.S. Attorney's office be looking at more responsible ways of producing and distributing the drug?

This is the question that the marijuana community is asking now, as no one seems to be quieted by the statements being offered. Whether or not threats made in the past will actually be enforced remains to be seen.