February 25, 2009 – Speaking at a press conference with DEA administrator Michelle Leonhart, Attorney General Eric Holder declared that ending medical marijuana raids “is now American policy.”
A reporter asked, “shortly after the inauguration there were raids on California medical marijuana dispensaries…do you expect these to continue?”, noting that the President had promised to end the raids in the campaign.
Holder responded, “What the President said during the campaign…is consistent with what we
will be doing here in law enforcement. He was my boss in the campaign….He is my boss now. What he said in the campaign is now American policy.”
Obama repeatedly said during his campaign that he would end the DEA raids, and that he supported medical marijuana “with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors.” A NORML-sponsored Zogby poll said 72% of voters think President Obama should honor his campaign pledge to end the raids.
UPDATES
3/19/09:
Holder told the Los Angeles Times:
“The policy is to go after those people who violate both federal and state law, to the extent that people do that and try to use medical marijuana laws as a shield for activity that is not designed to comport with what the intention was of the state law. Those are the organizations, the people, that we will target. And that is consistent with what the president said during the campaign.”
3/26/09:
SF DEA RAID RAISES DOUBTS ABOUT OBAMA POLICY ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
4/11/2009:
Holder’s pot policy unclear on old state cases by Bob Egelko, SF Chronicle
6/5/2009:
Medical marijuana producers not a target
