General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: San Diego Mayor Urges Jury Nullification for MJ Dispensary Case [View all]RainDog
(28,784 posts)While, since Clinton, Democrats have willingly done the bidding of the wealthy who finance election campaigns. However, Clinton, like Obama, came down on the side of the reactionaries on this issue.
So this is nothing new for a Democrat.
When Clinton was in office, CA passed the first laws to legalize medical use of marijuana. Clinton was against this. Again, the hypocrisy is...creepy. The passage of this law came after years of use of cannabis for people with HIV/AIDS and cancers associated with. The DEA killed a man, Peter McWilliams, who had the nerve to use cannabis to stay alive.
Clinton's actions, however, just as now, did not take people's attention off of other issues, such as welfare reform or trade agreements and other neo-liberal economic policies that were the result of his time in office.
Democrats at the federal level have lagged behind the wishes of the majority of the American people on issue after issue - they just don't lag as far behind as most Republicans.
This is the first time, afaik, that a DEMOCRATIC president has put SS cuts on the table - but I don't think the stance on cannabis is an attempted distraction from this. At this time, Holder has not issued any guidance/clarification to the states that have legalized, tho they have requested the same. It's still "under advisement." Personally, I think the feds are trying to find a way to negotiate a truce because they've lost this war.
But the view in the beltway remains obstructed by drug warriors.
This, however, is not a small issue, nor one that is separate from economic issues, or major civil rights concerns. In fact, the for-profit prison industry is driving legislation in this nation by demanding fill rates for their beds from legislators in return for building prisons.
This is corporate slavery.
This is asking legislators and LEO to enforce law in such a way that humans in the United States are held without rights in order for a corporation to profit from the same.
If that isn't important - I don't know what is.