Holder To California: "Fuck Prop 19, We're Going To Enforce Weed Laws And Do It Hard Now"
155 replies, posted
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/16/us/16pot.html?ref=us[/url]
[quote]LOS ANGELES — The Department of Justice says it intends to prosecute marijuana laws in California aggressively even if state voters approve an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot to legalize the drug.
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Times Topic: Marijuana and Medical Marijuana
The announcement by Eric H. Holder Jr., the attorney general, was the latest reminder of how much of the establishment has lined up against the popular initiative: dozens of editorial boards, candidates for office, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other public officials.
Still, despite this opposition — or perhaps, to some extent, because of it — the measure, Proposition 19, appears to have at least a decent chance of winning, so far drawing considerable support in polls from a coalition of Democrats, independents, younger voters and men as Election Day nears. Should that happen, it could cement a cultural shift in California, where medical marijuana has been legal since 1996 and where the drug has been celebrated in popular culture at least since the 1960s.
But it could also plunge the nation’s most populous state into a murky and unsettling conflict with the federal government that opponents of the proposition said should make California voters wary of supporting it.
Washington has generally looked the other way as a growing medical marijuana industry has prospered here and in 14 other states and the District of Columbia, but Mr. Holder’s position — revealed in a letter this week to nine former chiefs of the Drug Enforcement Administration that was made public on Friday — made explicit that legalizing marijuana for recreational use would bring a whole new level of scrutiny from Washington.
Mr. Holder did not fully spell out the reasons for the decision, but he did allude to the reluctance of the federal government to enforce drug laws differently in different states. “If passed, this legislation will greatly complicate federal drug enforcement efforts to the detriment of our citizens,” he wrote.
The Los Angeles County sheriff, Lee Baca, who has been one of the leading opponents of the measure, quickly embraced the Justice Department’s stance. He said that the initiative was unconstitutional and vowed to continue enforcing marijuana laws, no matter what voters do in November.
Supporters of the initiative have portrayed support for it as another example in an anti-incumbent year of voters rejecting authority.
“Bring on the establishment,” said Chris Lehane, a senior consultant to the campaign pushing for passage of the initiative. “This campaign, and the energy driving it, is predicated on the common understanding that the establishment’s prohibition approach has been a complete and utter failure, as proven by the point that today it is easier for a kid to get access to pot than it is to buy a beer or a cigarette.”
But Roger Salazar, a political consultant who has been directing the effort to defeat the proposal, said that Mr. Holder’s statement should reinforce deep concerns about the initiative, including the way it was drafted and what he called inflated claims by its backers of what legalization might do.
“This is sort of a shot across the bow from the federal government: They’re saying that, ‘If this thing moves the way we think it is, we’re going to come after you guys,’ ” he said. “That gives California voters one more reason to take a deep breath.”
California’s becoming the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use would provide a real-life test of theories that proponents of legalization have long pressed: That it would provide a new stream of revenues for government, cut down on drug-related violence and end a modern-day prohibition that effectively turns many citizens into lawbreakers.
As it is, no matter what voters or Mr. Holder do, marijuana use in California these days appears, for all practical purposes, all but legal.
Mr. Schwarzenegger signed legislation last month that made possession of an ounce of marijuana an infraction — it had previously been a misdemeanor — punishable by a $100 fine. Medical marijuana dispensaries are common in many parts of the state, and getting a prescription is hardly challenging. Baby boomers who had not smoked marijuana since college now speak openly at dinner parties of their “medical” experimentation with the drug. The smell of marijuana is hardly unusual at outdoor concerts at places like the Hollywood Bowl. [/quote]
Please go to the US Supreme Court, please please to prove the 10th amendment still exists
What the hell. This guy must be paid big time to keep the drug laws enforced
Well fuck you too holder
"To the detriment of our citizens."
What, are they gonna have freakouts?
I hate fascists. So what if I want to smoke a blunt, what right does the government have to call it detrimental to society?
Not too long now, like a month and a bit 'till it's most likely passed anyway.
Now that they see the majority of the public's opinion swaying towards legalization they panic.
Because if it passes in California and the state doesn't immediately burn to the fucking ground they said it would (which we all know by now that it won't) it [B][U]will[/U][/B] pave the way to National legalization.
And if that happens, their jobs and funding are irrelevant.
What a cock.
I bet he's paid off by those fucking drug cartels...
I sure hope California taxes the shit out of legalized marijuana, just like cigarettes and alcohol.
Well they're gonna have to send a shit load of feds to Cali because the police won't be handling it.
What the fuck. This is retarded.
We can't fucking win, can we? It's impossible now. They have been trying so hard to legalize it in the past few years, and when they do, the government just steps in with some bullshit excuse and says "nope.avi".
Fucking pigs.
So what's going to happen here. The prop passes and the federal government is going to make a lot of money through taxes (they are already profiting from the medical marijuana dispensaries). Then they are going to get more money by catching people with weed and fine them. So their stance seems like a great way to get some extra cash.
This just won't happen. Obama already pledged not to prosecute medical marijuana users in states that have legalized it and this will call into doubt America's claim of being a democracy if it happens. If state laws mean nothing then they should be abolished. Obviously they do mean something and they should be respected as such.
[editline]17th October 2010[/editline]
[QUOTE=Pepin;25455170]So what's going to happen here. The prop passes and the federal government is going to make a lot of money (they are already profiting from the medical marijuana dispensaries). Then they are going to get more money by catching people with weed and fining them.[/QUOTE]
I'm pretty sure the money spent on policing and perhaps court cases will not be less than the money gathered from fining. It's a gigantic waste of money.
what's the point of keeping this expensive "war" going
department of "justice" looking to stay relevant
Wont happen. It'll end up passing and the feds wont be able to do shit.
[editline]17th October 2010[/editline]
Then it'll spread like wildfire and eventually it'll be legal in Maryland then I get to watch my friend act like an idiot all day and prance around the house which would be pretty amusing as long as he stops taking a screenshot of my desktop and setting it as my wallpaper when he's high because he still thinks it's funny.
Obama needs walk on over to the DoJ and start firing people
I'm going to laugh if they decide to actually do something.
Holder's always been a massive douche
this is fucking bullshit
wtf
[quote]The Los Angeles County sheriff, Lee Baca, who has been one of the leading opponents of the measure, quickly embraced the Justice Department’s stance. He said that the initiative was [B]unconstitutional[/B] and vowed to continue enforcing marijuana laws, no matter what voters do in November.
[/quote]
what
Heheheh, these replies are funny.
There is nothing wrong with Marijuana, it's far less dangerous than most drugs in pharmacies.
So, since the state funded police officers will not be able to punish you for possession, does that mean that the justice department is going to jump into patrol cars and bust you? I think not!
[QUOTE=PepperJack;25456079]So, since the state funded police officers will not be able to punish you for possession, does that mean that the justice department is going to jump into patrol cars and bust you? I think not![/QUOTE]
DEA officers on bicycles
Stick in the spokes.
The DOJ is going to create genetically enhanced supersoldiers with a marijuana detecting radar armed with transporter beams that send marijuana smokers to a DOJ torture pit on the moon, where there are no laws against murder.
They can't actually do shit if it passes that makes no sense.
They'll look for whatever loophole possible, I guarantee it.
[QUOTE=BANNED USER;25456047]There is nothing wrong with Marijuana, it's far less dangerous than most drugs in pharmacies.[/QUOTE]
Then why don't they legalize it? I mean they must have a good cause right?
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