Only two weeks after sneaking through a measure in Congress' spending bill which more or less legalized medical marijuana on a federal level, the United States government has slapped the pot community in the face yet again with the latest contradiction by Obama's crack team over at the Department of Justice.
In an unflinching defense of the Schedule I classification of marijuana to a federal judge in Sacramento, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Broderick ignorantly asserted that while there is “some dispute among doctors as to whether marijuana is medicine,” there is plenty of evidence to support the government's claims that “this psychoactive, addictive drug is not accepted as safe for medical use at this time, even with medical supervision,” according to the SFGate.
The move came as a response from the U.S. Attorney's office to a filing in California challenging the Schedule I classification of marijuana as a drug with "no currently accepted medical use in treatment" under the Controlled Substances Act.
So the short answer to the question about why cannabis is still considered by the United States to be as dangerous as heroin in the eyes of the law? Our government is two-faced, confused, and utterly conflicted amongst its politicians and policymakers.
As James Poulos aptly explained in his piece for the Daily Beast: "Obama could announce his intention to reclassify pot. He could deliver a quick, effective speech, or hold a proper press conference. He could order the Justice Department to begin the necessary regulatory work. Or (horrors) he could reach out to congressional leaders in both parties to pursue bipartisan legislation. But he hasn’t. And it doesn't seem he will."
Subsequently, it seems clear that until we see a president who has the cojones to take reclassification into his or her own hands, we will not see true justice for cannabis, and that is the sad fact of the "justice" our Department of Justice dishes out.
Do you think Obama will make a last-minute move to reschedule marijuana? Tell us in the comments.
(Photo c/o rstreet.com)