IT IS ALL ILLEGAL by federal law. There is no such thing as legal growing, posession or sells of pot in the U.S. as Fedral law still supercedes State law as decided by congess in regard to marijuana, and by federal law it is all still illegal. People can think all the want that medical amrijuana laws protect them or allow them to use, posses or grow pot, but they do not. We sit in the limbo that all states in order to receive their part of federal tax revenue were forced by the Federal Government to fully adopt the federal drug laws. Many states have since tried to ignore the laws and have written directives and regulations differing from the federal laws only to be reminded by the feds that their powers supercede the states and that all though they can not force the states to enforce the laws they can interced and enforce them at their descretion or not practice tax revenue sharing with the states that do not comply.
The feds have readily proven that power and authority as they have repeataedly busted medical marijuana possesors, growers and shops selling medical marijuana. The fact that the president says he does not want federal justice department funds spent on enforcing federal laws that differ from state laws really means nothing as he does not have the power to stop it from happening and as what he says just falls under the don't investiagte crap. He has said that he is not saying don't enforce the law he is only saying that federal justice department funds will not be wasted on investigated federal marijuana laws that are contrary to the enforcement desires of the state desires. State police and city police have always bsuted people for pot laws even in states where the courst (appellatte courts) have determineded that the sates's constitutions in those states granted it's citizens the constitutional right to posses and use marijuana in their own homes.
Unless existing laws are repealed new laws or the wishes of a powerless president mean nothing. The state I live in has actually written in its law books that the people of the state have voted upon and agreed tht they do not wish the current marijuana laws be enforced but that the laws does not allow non enforcement so they have directed the state to not actively spend state resources to investigste marijuana laws that fall under the guidelines: they then set down possesion limits and live plant number limits. However people who are found in possesion of pot or plants while the police are investigating other complints or crimes ares still prosecuted. That is how the Feds are now operating.
The fact that they have not shut down pot shops is only because they are presenlty adhering to what they feel is the direction of the head of the DEA. Most federal law officials don't give a rats ass about the states desires or any citizens desires reagarding drugs. Drug laws are big, really big money for law enforcement departments at both state and federal levels, they mean jobs and new waepons to play with. They mean over time and power. However at any time they can bust every single shop owner, and any possesor or grower of pot that is that does not have a state permit at a state level if they so wish. The feds can do it all as it is the present federal law.
Obahma has stated that he believes new federal laws should be wriiten but that existing laws still govern and will be enforced until such time as new laws are put into place by congress. He then stated medical marijuana laws are not a priority item with him and that he would not waste any of his political clout trying to get new laws written. He then stated he does not support the individual or mom and pop medical amijuana growing of marijuana and ony supported that thmarijuan laws should be changed to allow for dsipensing medical amrijuan as a controlled sustance in the way that other controlled sus bstance are dispensed ie at licensed registered pharmiacies.
Nope growing and possesion is not yet legal. Just as adultry, sodomy, horse theft and cattle rustling is not really legal. They (states with such laws and the feds) still can arrest you for those crimes but they will not hang you for rustling cattle or horse theft anymore even though those laws are still on the state law books in some states.
There are currently eleven states that have effective medical marijuana programs: Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island. There are variables within each program, but there are many similarities as well, which mostly include:
· Patients are allowed to grow, possess and use medical marijuana, if they have a recommendation for their physician to use it for the relief of symptoms of a specified illness,
· A caregiver, who is authorized to help the patient, may also grow and acquire marijuana for the patient,
· The patient is required to have documentation verifying they have been diagnosed with a specific illness,
· State registry programs issue identification cards to registered patients and their caregivers, enabling law enforcement to easily determine the validity of a patient’s claim,
· Cultivation limits are restricted to a concrete number, generally 1-3 ounces of usable marijuana and 6-7 plants, three of which may be mature,
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Patients and caregivers are protected from state arrest if they are following their state law. Patients however are still subject to federal arrest because the federal government believes that marijuana has no medical utility. But because 99% of marijuana arrests are made at the state level, a state medical marijuana law provides a great deal of protection for valid patients.
State medical marijuana laws have absolutely nothing to do with the FDA drug-approval process. The FDA does not arrest people for using unapproved treatments. State medical marijuana laws don’t conflict with the FDA; they simply protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail under state law. The decision to place marijuana into a restricted controlled substance category was not made by the FDA. It was a political decision, made by Congress and therefore it is necessary to use the political processes to correct a political mistake.
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There is no federal law that mandates that states must enforce federal laws against marijuana possession or cultivation. However there are also no laws stating that the federal government must share its tax revenues with the states for anything but federal relief programs. All other revenue sharing must be directed by the congress yearly. States are free to determine their own penalties—or lack thereof—for drug offenses. State governments cannot directly violate federal law by giving marijuana to patients, but states can refuse to arrest patients who grow their own. In turn the congress can not share federal tax revenues that account for huge sums of moneys.[/FONT]
The head of the DEA is an appointment position serving at the descretion of the President. Law enforcement official below the positions of chiefs and directors thar are elected are not appointment positions, there loyalitoes are supposed to be to the courts not elected officials, even the president. The president nor anyone else has the power to tell mon appointed law officials not to uphold the law. The presidents power over the Head of the DEA is that he can siply replace him, if he had the guts as there would n be an congressional investigation if that ever happened.
