In Short
Sen. Obama has publicly promised to end the federal raids on state medical marijuana patients and their caregivers. Sen. Obama also voted against an amendment in the U.S. Senate that was intended to undermine state medical marijuana laws.
What Sen. Obama Has Done:
On April 19, 2007, Sen. Obama voted against the Coburn amendment, which, if enacted, could put medical marijuana patients and caregivers at even greater risk than they already face and could be used by opponents to attempt to shut down state medical marijuana programs across the country.
What Sen. Obama Has Said:
During a town hall meeting in Laconia, New Hampshire, on June 2, 2007, Sen. Obama was asked if he would continue the federal raids on medical marijuana patients and their caregivers. Sen. Obama responded: “I don’t think that should be a top priority of us, raiding people who are using … medical marijuana. With all the things we’ve got to worry about, and our Justice Department should be doing, that probably shouldn’t be a high priority.”
On July 21, 2007 at a town hall meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire, a GSMM staffer asked Sen. Obama if he would end the raids. Sen. Obama replied: “The Justice Department going after sick individuals using this as a palliative instead of going after serious criminals makes no sense.”
Less then a month later, on August 13, while at a town hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire, he was asked by GSMM staffers if he agreed with the 81% of New Hampshire Democrats who believe that the federal government should end the raids on medical marijuana patients and caregivers. Sen. Obama responded: “You know, it’s really not a good use of Justice Department resources.”
On August 21, during a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire, Sen. Obama was asked by GSMM volunteer and seriously ill Nashua resident Scott Turner if he would end the federal raids on medical marijuana patients like him. Sen. Obama replied: “I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It’s not a good use of our resources.”