The drug war is now raging inside Washington, as Bush administration holdovers in the DEA are carrying out raids on state-sanctioned medical marijuana facilities in California -- raids that President Obama has pledged to halt. The Washington Times quotes an administration official saying “The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind.” In other words, when states legalize it, the Feds leave it alone. That’s the new law of the land, or is supposed to be.
But DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen (yes, that’s her name, Sarah Pullen) told the Times that four medical marijuana shops were raided last weekend.
Advocacy groups like the Marijuana Policy Project were chirping about the raids throughout the week, and then the administration finally affirmed what Obama had said during the campaign, specifically that state law prevails. The President's position on medical marijuana itself is a bit murkier. Before he announced his candidacy Obama had said he supported legalization for medical use, but then his campaign staff tried to back him off that position when the primaries were heating up.