In case anyone needs proof of the mass media’s tendency to repeat government pronouncements without bothering to check their accuracy, here’s a small but telling example:

Inexplicably, when the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memo last month explaining that it would generally refrain from prosecuting medical marijuana activities that are clearly legal under state law, it mistakenly indicated that there are 14 medical marijuana states. DOJ’s goof was to include Maryland, where medical marijuana is not actually legal, but where state law provides for reduced penalties to patients who successfully present a medical-necessity defense.

DOJ’s goof has now traveled though most of the known universe, repeated by credulous news media. The Associated Press, after talking to MPP, at least included an explanatory note about the discrepancy, but others just repeated the mistake with no explanation, including Katie Couric of CBS, the  Washington Post, Voice of America, the Guardian of London, and even the editorial page of the New York Times.

C’mon, guys, tell me that fact-checking isn’t entirely dead. Kudos to those media outlets that got it right, including CNN.

The House committee that oversees the Department of Justice (DOJ) passed an amendment today that adds language to the committee’s report urging the DOJ to clarify its position on state-legal medical marijuana. The provision is a non-binding recommendation, but carries weight given the committee’s role in funding the department. [Read more →]

Yesterday, San Francisco supervisors formally condemned the March DEA raid conducted against a local medical marijuana facility, Emmalyn’s California Cannabis Clinic. In a 9-to-2 vote, the board approved a resolution authored by Supervisor David Campos that calls for the immediate cessation of such attacks on medical marijuana in California.

The resolution calls on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to provide clear direction to the DEA and federal judges and prosecutors on President Obama’s new policy on medical marijuana. It also calls for the return of “improperly seized” property from the raids and the dismissal of all federal cases involving medical marijuana collective operators who acted in compliance with state law.

It’s not surprising that San Francisco opposes the federal war on medical marijuana, but this casts even more doubt on the dubious DEA claim that agents raided the clinic in response to an apparent violation of state law. To date, there have been no arrests linked to the raid and no specific allegations about state law violations have been made.

In a severely disappointing move, the Department of Justice (DOJ)  issued a memo last week stating that the federal arrest and prosecution of California medical marijuana provider Charles C. Lynch was “entirely consistent” with its new policy on medical marijuana.

Charlie’s sentencing had been delayed so that the DOJ could weigh in after Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement that prosecutorial discretion will be used to focus solely on marijuana cases with alleged violations of both state and federal law. The short letter from U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien and the accompanying DOJ memo didn’t explain how they came to this conclusion. 

By all credible accounts, Charlie and his collective – Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers (CCCC) – did everything in compliance with state law, and Charlie was only tried and convicted under federal law. 

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Yesterday, armed federal DEA agents raided Emmalyn’s California Cannabis Clinic, a licensed medical marijuana facility in San Francisco. This action – seemingly at odds with the recent policy change announced by the U.S. Justice Department – drew the ire of San Franciscans, who overwhelmingly support medical marijuana access.

DEA raids S.F. medical marijuana collective, photo by MPP's Troy Dayton - March 25, 2009

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