UP IN SMOKE: OBAMA'S PROMISE TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

Remember how President Obama assured us he would work with the states
who enacted medical marijuana laws when he campaigned for the presidency?

He sure was blowing smoke on that one, wasn't he?

" The Obama administration really is more aggressive than the
administration of his predecessor," said Americans for Safe Access
(ASA) spokesman Kris Hermes in a recent interview.

The vast difference between Obama's promises and what his
administration is doing against medical marijuana has shocked many
who voted for him. The "oebringer of change" dangled some hope to
states that approved medical marijuana, thereby snagging many votes.
Obama clearly forgot what he had promised the states and the people
living there after he got elected.

Obama's war on medical marijuana is escalating, and he's blatantly
trashing his promises. Incredible as it may seem, his administration
has stated, "oeThere are no medicinal properties in marijuana." Not
only is that a ridiculous thing to say, it's a lie.

In the last 20 years, numerous independent studies and research done
at universities across the country have revealed an ever-increasing
number of medical applications for marijuana. Yet the Obama
administration refuses to conduct any research on its own that might
prove marijuana has medicinal properties.

Instead, they've chosen to conduct a search-and-destroy mission in
California to eliminate state-approved pot dispensaries.

A reign of terror intended to send a message. It doesn't matter that
they take away people's medicine and their way to get it safely.

" We're not at war with people in this country," Obama's drug czar
Gil Kerlikowske told The Wall Street Journal in May. I beg to differ.
The raids on medical marijuana dispensaries have actually increased
under Obama's watch.

The DEA propaganda machine tells the public marijuana has no medical
qualities and is as dangerous as heroin. These outright lies are
easily disproved by current and past research.

Over the past eight months, Obama has become arguably the worst
president in U.S. history regarding medical marijuana. The most
recent example is what happened to Northstone Organics, a Mendocino
collective. They are the perfect example of cooperating with state
law enforcement. The nonprofit has been featured on Frontline (The
Pot Republic) and was a pioneer for Mendocino County's "zip-tie" program.

The feds raided them anyway. California NORML Coordinator Dale
Gieringer denounced the raid as a "oeshameful and despicable" attack
on California's most successful legally regulated marijuana cultivation program

Escalating the war, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy says she'll go after
any marijuana advertising in the media. On Sept. 21, Obama's ATF
issued an open letter saying gun shops cannot sell guns to medical
marijuana patients -- or people who are known to be addicted to drugs
other than alcohol or tobacco, ironically enough.

Despite a previous Department Of Justice memo that targeting medical
marijuana is an inefficient use of time and resources, four
California-based U.S. Attorneys and their staffs have vowed an
aggressive new crackdown on medical marijuana operations throughout the state.

After Obama's inauguration, Attorney General Eric Holder said federal
prosecutors would not enforce action against patients or providers
who adhered to state law. Six months later, the new policy was
officially articulated in the landmark Ogden memo: "Prosecution of
individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana
as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable
state law, or those caregivers in clear and unambiguous compliance
with existing state law who provide such individuals with marijuana,
is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources."

What happened? Why the rabid all-out assault now? Either Obama has a
short memory, or he's been lying all along and waiting for an
opportunity to step up the senseless war on marijuana. Also, look at
the ties between Big Pharma (opposed to marijuana legislation for
competition reasons) and the Obama administration.

As Obama campaigns for his second term, one thing stands out to me:
He's an expert flip-flopper when it comes to political expediency.

What you can do about this senseless war is to urge your
representative to co-sponsor HR1983, a bill forcing the feds to stop
their raids on state-approved medical marijuana programs.

As It Stands, I suspect Obama (a former pot smoker) is going to have
to answer to a large block of medical marijuana users who vote in 2012.

Dave Stancliff is a retired newspaper editor and publisher who writes
this column for the Times-Standard. Comments can be sent to
richstan1@suddenlink.net or to www.davesblogcentral.com.