a broken promise and bad politics

I just read in the New Jersey Law Journal that the feds have been cracking down on medical marijuana growers and retailers in California. Of course, medical marijuana's legality under California state law has no bearing on the continuing force of federal prohibition. Thus, the federal authorities are completely within their rights.

However, when Obama ran for president he said he would respect the states on the issue. And at this point, the federal government ought to be embarrassed that nearly half the states are outright defying the federal government on the issue and the feds can't think of a way to reconcile outside of threats, force, and coercion. That's pretty ugly, especially considering the states that have passed medical marijuana laws have largely done so at the behest of clear majority of people that live in those states.

Obama promised better. He promised to use his discretion as executive to respect the states' decision on the issue. The linked article makes it plain he's broken that promise.

To what gain? I can't think of any substantial block of voters that will be enticed to vote for Obama because of these federal crack downs, but there are plenty of people that may stay home. It's a foolish move.

http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202539059031&et=editorial&bu=New%20Jersey%20Law%20Journal&cn=NJLJ%20Daily%20News%20Alert%3A%20January%2023%2C%202012&src=EMC-Email&pt=New%20Jersey%20Law%20Journal%20Daily%20News%20Alert&kw=FEDERAL%20CRACKDOWN%20CONTINUES%20AGAINST%20MARIJUANA%20DISPENSARIES