U.S. CHANGES POSITION ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Federal Authorities Are Told Not to Prosecute Users and Suppliers
Following State Laws, a Reversal of Bush Policy.

The Obama administration on Monday told federal authorities not to
arrest or prosecute medical marijuana users and suppliers who aren't
violating local laws, paving the way for some states to allow
dispensaries to provide the drug as relief for some maladies.

The Justice Department's guidelines ended months of uncertainty over
how far the Obama White House planned to go in reversing the Bush
administration's position, which was that federal drug laws should be
enforced even in states like California, with medical marijuana laws
on the books.

The new guidelines tell prosecutors and federal drug agents they have
more important things to do than to arrest people who are obeying
state laws that allow some use or sale of medical marijuana.

"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute
patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying
with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug
traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to
mask activities that are clearly illegal," Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder
Jr. said in a statement.

Advocates say marijuana helps relieve pain and nausea and stimulates
appetite in patients suffering from cancer and some other diseases.

The guidelines clarify what some critics had said was an ambiguous
position by the Obama administration, especially in California, where
authorities raided numerous clinics and made arrests over the years.
Some of those raids followed Obama's inauguration in January, after,
as a presidential candidate, he had pledged to stop them.

Holder had telegraphed the change in March.

On Monday, he said the guidelines were adopted, in part, because
federal agencies must reserve their limited resources for urgent
needs. One priority is countering the violent Mexican drug cartels,
which use vast profits from their U.S. marijuana sales to support
other criminal activities, the guidelines say.

The Justice Department will continue to prosecute people whose claims
of compliance with state and local law conceal operations that are
"inconsistent" with the terms, conditions or purposes of those laws,
according to Holder and Deputy Atty. Gen. David Ogden.

The guidelines urge authorities to pursue cases involving violence,
illegal use of firearms, selling marijuana to minors, excessive
financial gains and ties to criminal enterprises.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups welcomed the
decision as an important step toward a comprehensive national policy
on medical marijuana that will allow states to implement their laws
without fear of federal interference.

But many law enforcement advocates, some conservative groups and
members of Congress criticized it.

In all, 14 states have medical marijuana laws. But some, such as New
Mexico, Rhode Island and Michigan, have been reluctant to create
programs lest they be struck down by courts or shut down by federal
authorities, said Graham Boyd, director of the ACLU's California-based
Drug Law Reform Project.

Boyd said he hoped the new policy would spur local governments with
well-established medical marijuana programs to weed out fly-by-night
dispensaries that are in it for the huge potential profits.

"The big news outside of California is that this will get the states
off the dime," Boyd said.

In California, he said, it would "clarify the line between what is
legal and illegal and reduce some of the chaos that exists, and that's
a good thing."

But opponents warned of consequences.

"By directing federal law enforcement officers to ignore federal drug
laws, the administration is tacitly condoning the use of marijuana in
the U.S.," said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), ranking member of the
House Judiciary Committee.

He said the decision undermined the administration's plan to attack
the Mexican drug cartels, which he said were growing marijuana in U.S.
national parks and fueling drug-related violence along the U.S.-Mexico
border.

Other states that allow marijuana for medical purposes are Alaska,
Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New
Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

California is unusual in allowing dispensaries to sell marijuana and
advertise their services.

In Los Angeles, however, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said last week that
he would continue to prosecute dispensaries for over-the-counter sales.