Federal Government Sued By Medical Marijuana Supporters

A group that backs the full legalization of medical marijuana has filed suit against the US attorney general over their recent crackdown on California’s decriminalized dispensaries and medical marijuana collectives.

The lawsuit comes after California and other states sanctioned medical marijuana while the Federal government is still claiming their right to prosecute under federal laws.

The Chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access told the Los Angeles Times that attorney’s are:

“Not just enforcing marijuana laws, they are doing something extremely unusual in an effort to quash the medical marijuana programs in the various states.”

The Chief counsel goes on to note:

“They’re not allowed to commandeer the lawmaking functions of the state.”

In the lawsuit the group states:

“The federal government has instituted a policy to dismantle the medical marijuana laws of the state of California and to coerce its municipalities to pass bans on medical marijuana dispensaries,” and  ”To this end, the government has pursued an increasingly punitive strategy, which has involved criminal prosecutions of medical marijuana providers with Draconian penalties and letters threatening local officials if they implement state law.”

The lawsuit comes less than a week after federal agents raided a collective in Mendocino County where they cut down 99 plants after the cooperatives members properly followed the counties and states rules for regulated growing.

Do you think the federal government is going to far to stop the growth of a drug that is safer than alcohol and less deadly for users than cigarettes?