Marijuana Policy Project

When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him - even though the medicine was marijuana.

That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and New Hampshire are among about ten states that have been debating similar measures.

So Charlie applied for a business license, and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Unfortunately for Charlie, none of this prevented him from being arrested in March 2007 when federal authorities raided his home and small business.

That's because the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Gonzalez v. Raich in 2005 that in the issue of medical marijuana federal law trumps the states.

"Today's decision," crowed Bush's drug czar, John Walters, at the time, "marks the end of medical marijuana as a political issue."

Well, not quite. Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder has announced the Justice Department will stop raiding marijuana dispensaries in California and other states that allow medical marijuana.

Putting the brakes on medical marijuana raids is only one small step of the many that still need to be taken toward a sensible drug policy.

Days before Obama's inauguration, the DEA denied an application by Professor Lyle Craker, who has been fighting in and out of court for eight years to obtain a license to conduct further DEA-approved research. Yet his study is the sort that must be done to provide the sort of data that the Bush administration said was lacking.