Newsclip from KSTP-TV on the Minnestoa Medical Marijuana Hearing before the Senate Committee of Health, Housing and Family Security.

One of the purposes of this blog is to highlight the insanity of our war on marijuana users. So I have to admit I'm a little resentful that in such a short time Sheriff Leon Lott has done such an effective job illustrating that point in his hot pursuit of Michael Phelps.

The Richland County, S.C., sheriff had announced earlier he would investigate and – god willing – arrest the Olympic champion after he was photographed smoking from a bong at a college party.

As if he hadn't already done enough to advance the arguments of marijuana policy reformers, Lott has now arrested eight people in connection with his investigation. I guess he believes Phelps couldn't have pulled off the crime of possessing less than a thimbleful of what may or may not have been marijuana without help.

But then, this is probably just business as usual for a sheriff who thinks he needs an M113A1 armored personnel carrier to maintain order in a town of about 350,000 people, as Reason's Radley Balko has reported. That's him in the necktie below with his ridiculous toy, oblivious to his new role as exhibit A in the argument that the war on marijuana users has gone WAY too far.

Last week the Washington Times reported that the Obama administration had reaffirmed the president's position that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state medical marijuana laws and expected departments to reevaluate their policies in light of that position -- signaling a death knell for Drug Enforcement Administration medical marijuana raids.

A particularly antediluvian group of prohibitionists called "Save Our Society From Drugs" is now sounding the alarm, urging their supporters to write President Obama in support of continued arrests. As usual with such groups, they never let mere facts get in the way of their argument, lacing their appeal which such whoppers as the claim that "no credible and replicable scientific evidence exists as to the medical efficacy" of marijuana.

Interestingly, SOS doesn't trust its people enough to let them modify the prewritten e-mail text they provide. If you want to support President Obama's stand, the White House Web site  provides both a link to send e-mail messages as well as phone numbers.

Breakfast cereal giant Kellogg's has announced it won't renew Michael Phelps' endorsement contract  because he's been photographed apparently smoking marijuana. Some are already arguing for a boycott of Kellogg's in response. Others are urging people to contact the company and politely complain. Given that Kellogg's apparently thought a prior drunk driving arrest was not a problem, endorsement-wise, there certainly seems to be a hypocrisy issue here.

Boycotts are notoriously difficult to pull off, and many more such efforts flop than produce meaningful results. But personally, I think I can live without Rice Krispies for a while. What do you think? 

After a frustrating period of silence and a flurry of Drug Enforcement Administration medical marijuana raids in the Los Angeles area this week, a spokesman for President Obama has finally reaffirmed his intent to end such attacks on state medical marijuana laws. Here's the money quote from the story in Thursday's Washington Times:

“The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind," White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said.

While more ringing language might have been nice, the intent is clear enough: Hey DEA, the president says it's time to stop attacking the sick. Got it?

Last week, MPP's Dan Bernath compared the DEA's continuing to raid state-legal medical marijuana providers and obstructing research to those of a chicken with its head cut off. Yesterday, that damn chicken continued to wreak havoc on California.

While new attorney general Eric Holder was being sworn into office in Washington, D.C., DEA agents armed with semi-automatic weapons were kicking in the doors of medical marijuana collectives in Los Angeles.

These raids looked a lot more like armed robberies than legitimate law enforcement actions. No arrests were made but agents reportedly stormed in, grabbed all the medical marijuana they could, and made off with whatever cash was in the registers.

The string of four operations was carried out with the kind of efficiency one would only expect from experienced criminals. Agents were able to seize the spoils and head off to rob – er… I mean, “raid” – the next facility before the victims even knew what hit them.

The LA Times reports that the DEA didn’t even bother to notify local law enforcement of their actions.

Local officials in Los Angeles, who are currently working on a plan to regulate medical marijuana facilities, have already taken a stand against these federal actions. It's time for President Obama and Attorney General Holder to listen to the Angelenos - and voters across the nation - who support medical marijuana and finally put an end to these attacks.

This is a clip from CNBC of MPP's Aaron Houston debating former DEA administrator Asa Hutchinson.

MPP's Bruce Mirken appeared on CNN Sunday night to discuss the news that a 23-year-old American male had been photographed using marijuana at a college party.

Bruce's interview occurs at about 6:40 on the video below. In it, he shoots down the "gateway" myth, demonstrates prohibition's many failures, and points out how absurd it is that of the 100 million Americans who have used marijuana, anybody should care that one of them is Michael Phelps.

I'm a city boy, so this could be a rural legend, but I've heard that when you cut off a chicken's head, its body continues to run around, wildly and aimlessly.

I hope that's the case with the DEA right now, where holdovers from the previous administration are continuing their war on medical marijuana patients and scientific research as though Bush were still in the White House.

My colleague, Aaron Smith, mentioned last week that the DEA raided a medical marijuana dispensary in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., only two days after President Obama's inauguration. Obama, of course, had repeatedly stated on the campaign trail that he would not waste federal resources interfering with states that have medical marijuana laws.

Meanwhile, DEA is poised to deny a final request from a University of Massachusetts-Amherst professor to establish a secure marijuana research facility as early as Monday if President Obama doesn't intervene.

We're calling on Obama to rein in the ideologues at the DEA who are running roughshod over his stated policies and principles. It's understandable if he would rather focus on other matters in his first weeks in office. But his own subordinates have forced this conflict – not medical marijuana patients or activists.

With luck, the president will heed his own words, when he promised on Dec. 20 that he would ensure "facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology ... [e]ven when it's inconvenient."

Yesterday, DEA agents – still under the direction of Bush appointees – raided Patient-to-Patient Collective, a South Lake Tahoe, California, medical marijuana dispensing collective which operated under voter-supported state laws.

President Obama pledged to end such raids throughout his campaign. However, four top positions at the DEA are still filled by Bush cronies, who are attempting to undercut the that pledge.

If you're like me and desperate for a change, use MPP's online form to contact President Obama and ask him to appoint new leadership to the DEA quickly, so they get the message loud and clear.