This publication provides the guidelines from the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's)position on medical marijuana.
These DEA guidelines state that the Federal Government has not relaxed its policy on medical marijuana. Investigations and prosecutions of violations of State and Federal law will continue. On October 19, 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder announced formal guidelines for Federal prosecutors in States that have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The guidelines state that the focus of Federal resources should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with existing State laws, and underscores that the Department will continue to prosecute people whose claims of compliance with State and local law conceal operations inconsistent with the terms, conditions, or purposes of the law. The DEA's campaign to legitimize what is called medical marijuana is based on two propositions: first, that science views marijuana as medicine; and second, that the DEA targets sick and dying people using the drug. The DEA's position is that smoked marijuana has not withstood the rigors of science and is believed to be neither a medicine nor safe for public consumption. The DEA continues to target only criminals engaged in the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana even in the 14 States that have approved the use of medical marijuana. 1 appendix and 245 endnotes