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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom