An occasional writer's journal

Supporters of proposed legislation to legalise marijuana in California have welcomed the suspension of controversial raids on suppliers of the drug for medical purposes.

United States Attorney General Eric Holder said the Drug Enforcement Administration would end raids on approved marijuana dispensaries which had continued into Barack Obama’s presidency, with federal agents shutting down at least two in California.

President Obama had indicated during his election campaign that he supported the controlled use of marijuana for medical purposes, saying he saw no difference between medical marijuana and other pain-control drugs.

“My attitude is, if the science and the doctors suggest that the best palliative care and the way to relieve pain and suffering is medical marijuana, then that’s something I’m open to,” Obama said in November 2007 at a campaign stop in Audubon, Iowa. “There’s no difference between that and morphine when it comes to just giving people relief from pain.”

California was the first of 13 states to pass laws permitting the use of marijuana for medical purposes. It could soon be the first state to legalise the drug for general use, while ploughing an estimated $13bn a year in revenue into its empty coffers. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last week signed a $130bn budget that raises sales and income taxes while cutting public spending.

A new bill by San Francisco assemblyman Tom Ammiano aims to boost the state’s bankrupt economy by tapping into its largest cash crop. It seeks to legalise the cultivation, possession and sale of marijuana by people aged 21 and over, with a levy on retailers of US$50 per ounce.

As of 2006, more than 21 million marijuana plants were harvested in California, more than in any other US state. That represents a potentially massive source of tax revenue, while meeting the medical and social demands of those who believe the drug is no more (or even less) dangerous than alcohol, itself a wellspring of tax revenue.

Supporters say decriminalisation would also reduce the environmental threat that illegal crops pose to forests and  endangered species. To avoid detection, illegal growers have invaded national forests and other land that is unsuitable for agriculture, endangering ecosystems in the process.

UPDATE, March 27: President Barack Obama appeared to rule out any prospect of the federal legalization of marijuana in his response to a question during an online public forum at the White House. Whether pot could be a timely cash crop was a favourite among 3.6 million people who voted on more than 100,000 questions. “The answer is, no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy,” said Obama during Virtual Town Hall.