A few days ago, President Obama released a memo regarding the federal enforcement of marijuana laws. Eight states, such as California, have legalized medicinal marijuana (such as for its use in dealing with the symptoms of chemotherapy for cancer patients). Medicinal marijuana is given out at dispensaries, which are legal according to state law.

However, the federal government still outlaws marijuana through the Controlled Substances Act. Therefore, federal agents have the legal authority to pursue marijuana as a controlled substance. However, they also have the discretion of applying their limited resources towards better objectives, which is what this shift seems to be based on.

As a campaign promise, Obama said he would end federal raids on state-legal marijuana dispensaries. This is an example of Obama’s actions finally coming in line with his rhetoric. If nothing else, a baby step in the right direction is better than a big step backwards. We can also soon expect an end to the sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine penalties.

As an interesting note on the issue of states’ rights in the War on Drugs, the 2005 Supreme Court case Gonzalez v. Raich ruled that the federal government had the authority to regulate a person privately growing and consuming his own marijuana based on… wait for it… the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution! Clearly, private creation and consumption is basis for regulating trade between states.

Also to be noted that “liberal” justices Souter and Ginsberg ruled in favor of this ruling, and “arch-conservatives” Clarence Thomas and William Rehnquist dissented based on the obvious Constitutional meaning of the commerce clause.