As you may have heard, the USDOJ has published a memo which instructs federal prosecutors to essentially deprioritize marijuana enforcement where state laws are being followed.
The actual language is pretty cautious and conservative and not entirely “friendly” in my view, but nevertheless, advocacy groups are praising the move left and right, and we welcome the news as well.
One of the most interesting things about the coverage for me was our very own Allen St Pierre providing commentary on this federal policy on NPR. NORML‘s executive director, not one of the more medical-focused, or more “straight” organizations, such as DPA, MPP, or ASA.
The policy itself is newsworthy, to be sure, but I’m attracted to the fact that NORML was chosen for the comment on NPR. It says to me:
Dear American Public,
This is a story about medical marijuana and the federal government’s absurd but improving position on the topic. Because we all know there’s nothing to fear from medical marijuana and the feds are jerks on this topic, we’re inviting in the executive director of the nation’s original marijuana group, NORML, to tell it like it is. Obviously, some system of legal marijuana for adults needs to be developed, and we promise to bring in this Allen St. Pierre guy again to discuss it in the future.
Wishful thinking? You tell me.
- JM
