A new policy by the administration of US President Barack Obama of loosening guidelines on federal prosecution of medical marijuana on Monday signaled to users that they had less to fear from federal agents — but still left their suppliers to contend with a tangled mesh of state laws and regulations.
The Justice Department told federal prosecutors that targeting people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws was not a good use of their time.
Marijuana advocates and patients called the memo an encouraging step forward from the strict anti-pot policies of the administration of former US president George W. Bush. But many worried that the web of laws in the 14 states that allow medical marijuana use could still leave medical marijuana providers vulnerable to prosecution.
“Now we’ve got to figure out what these words actually mean,” said Wayne Justmann, a longtime pro-pot activist in San Francisco who campaigned for the 1996 ballot measure that made California the first US state to legalize medical marijuana.
The state stands out for the inconsistent enforcement of medical marijuana laws. There are as many as 800 storefront pot shops in Los Angeles just as some dispensary owners are starting decades-long sentences in federal prison. Some cities are trying to clamp down on medical marijuana, while others offer permits and collect taxes on dispensaries.
The confusion makes some medical marijuana backers skeptical that anyone can feel secure they are clearly in compliance with state law and safe from federal prosecution.
“There’s just too much disagreement about what the law is,” said Dale Gieringer, director of the California chapter of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “The legality of almost anything is in doubt in California when it comes to dispensaries.”
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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