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Top federal prosecutor: we are not interested in users or compassionate providers

Posted April 9, 2009

Medical marijuana users across the country can take a cautious sigh of relieve after U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello’s comments in an hourlong forum discussion with Joe Elford, chief counsel of Americans for Safe Access. While Attorney Russoniello was reluctant to concede much, if anything, in the way of federal policy (and the reason it came to be), the federal prosecutor, appointed by George W. Bush, did assure the forum that the federal government was not interested in users of marijuana or even compassionate caregivers.

“We are not interested in users. “… We’re not even interested in people who have a legitimate claim to being compassionate providers,” Russoniello said during the hourlong forum at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. “But we differentiate between those people who are claiming such conduct and those who are cultivating, who are distributing, who are trafficking marijuana for profit.”

Attorney Russoniello also criticized the federal government for ignoring past research and blocking new research, which he believes would help provide and regulate marijuana like traditional prescriptions.

President Obama’s Attorney General, Eric Holder, has stated that Obama’s campaign policies are now public policy, indicating that the federal government would end raids on marijuana dispensaries abiding by state laws. Though there has been some debate recently, as the Drug Enforcement Agency last month again targeted a dispensary in San Francisco. The feds claim the dispensary was violating both state and federal laws, but local authorities have disputed this.

Source: San Jose Mercury News


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GarykPatton said,

I have been looking looking around for this kind of information. Will you post some more in future? I’ll be grateful if you will.

on 16/06/09 at 3:51 pm

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