Pubdate: Mon, 02 Jun 2014
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Page: A9

A STRONG MESSAGE TO WHITE HOUSE

An unexpected bipartisan vote in the U.S. House of Representatives 
shows the shift in the country's thinking about medical marijuana. 
Last Friday morning, the Republican-controlled House voted yes on a 
measure that will end federal interference with state laws on medical 
marijuana.

The 219-189 vote came as the chamber finished work on an 
appropriations bill for the U.S. Department of Justice.

The marijuana amendment was authored by a Republican from Orange 
County, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, and specifically restricts the Justice 
Department from preventing a list of states "from implementing their 
own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or 
cultivation of medical marijuana."

The vote is all the more surprising because similar House amendments 
had failed six previous times.

The different parties might have had different reasons for voting 
yes. Many Democrats are uncomfortable with the Justice Department's 
prosecutions of medical cannabis providers in states where medical 
marijuana laws received strong voter approval.

Meanwhile, Republicans may have been swayed by the arguments that 
this is a states' rights issue, an anti-Justice Department vote, or 
simply a pro-business matter.

Still, there's one common thread here: Public opinion has moved 
strongly in favor of medical marijuana.

Even 61 percent of Republicans support medical marijuana - and the 
numbers are higher for independents and Democrats, according to 
recent data from the Pew Research Center.

We'll see what happens when the measure goes before the U.S. Senate, 
where it's scheduled to land in June. In the meantime, the Justice 
Department should be on notice that it's time to leave medical 
marijuana providers alone.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom