Controversy over Medical Marijuana Decision

Depending on who you talk to, the federal government's decision to drop enforcement efforts against people who use medical marijuana is either a good or bad thing.

On Monday, the Obama administration signaled that it won't be prosecuting people who use medical marijuana. That means that people in the 13 states that have legalized medical marijuana won't face federal charges. As Health.com reports, however, the news is not a panacea for all issues. Some states like California have conflicting laws about it.

This Washington Post article discusses the issue, including some organizations like the International Association of Chiefs of Police that wonders whether the Mexican drug cartels that have traditionally supplied much of the nation's marijuana supply will benefit from this loosening of restrictions.

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker wrote in The Washington Post that the drug war has failed and that opinion polls show an increasing number of Americans (44%) think marijuana ought to be legalized.

Yet others, including a former White House anti-drug spokesman, say that while making it easier for legitimate patients to get the relief they need, it could have the unintended effect of letting healthy people get high.

"There is a real danger that if marijuana is made essentially a prescription drug, its abuse and usage explosion could parallel other prescription drugs over the last decade, such as OxyContin, which have tripled nationally and quintupled in many locations because of the easy of availability," said ex-White House Drug Policy spokesman Bob Weiner. "But to announce and implement a policy of broad-brush non-enforcement when there is so much loose about usage of medical marijuana and its distribution is a dangerous policy."