Amy Goodman
@DemocracyNow·3.2M subscribers·19.4K videos
Feds Say They Won't Try to Reverse State Laws That Legalize Medical and Recreational Marijuana Use
Posted
August 30, 2013
Views
3,447
Likes
80
Comments
32
Engagement
August 30, 2013
3,447
80
32
3.25%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
7:55Now PlayingAfter 75 years of federal laws prohibiting marijuana use, the Justice Department has announced it will not prevent states from legalizing the use, production, distribution and sale of recreational marijuana. The changes were prompted by marijuana legalization votes last year in Colorado and Washington state, and were announced in a memo from U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole, who also cited "limited prosecutorial resources" as the reason for the decision. He stressed that marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and made clear the Justice Department still expects states to regulate marijuana sales to minors, interstate trafficking, and accidents involving drivers under the influence of the drug. "There is so much cultural momentum with respect to marijuana, there is a significant shift in place that the politicians are now starting to catch up to it," says Martin Lee, longtime investigative reporter and author of several books, including "Smoke SignalsA Social History of Marijuana Medical, Recreational and Scientific." He also notes that "the guidance issue made by the Department of Justice yesterday is kind of littered with caveats and red flags."
Democracy Now!, is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on 1,200+ TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch it live 89am ET at
FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE:
Twitter: @democracynow
Subscribe on YouTube
Listen on SoundCloud
Daily Email News Digest
Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today, visit
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
