DOJ Announces New Leniency on Medical Marijuana

The Department of Justice today announced new guidelines for federal prosecutions of medical marijuana, indicating a new leniency in states that have legalized the drug to treat certain ailments. In a memo to federal prosecutors, Attorney General Eric Holder said the change represents the agency’s wish to make “efficient and rational use of its limited investigative and prosecutorial resources.”

As a general matter, pursuit of these priorities should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.

For example, 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.

The move was immediately applauded by some lawmakers. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), for example, just shot out a statement saying the change will allow federal prosecutors “to focus their attention on more pressing legal matters.”

Across the country, individual states have enacted laws that allow individuals who are sick and suffering to use medical marijuana with a doctor’s prescription only to have DOJ officials arrest and prosecute them anyway. This was a policy that was misguided and wrong from the start.