Obama Racketeering For Big Pharm

Dana Beal 2009 Protest at AG Holder's Covington & Burling at 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW- from ANTIGONE

U.S. President Obama, and his U.S. 'Justice' Department headed by AG Eric Holder continuing to work against herbal Cannabis to protect potential markets in the Pharmaceutical alternative of Sativex.

They are bringing prosecutorial pressure upon businesses in States that have legalized some medicinal uses of Cannabis.

As Dr. Lester Grinspoon noted, maintaining the ban on herbal Cannabis (Marijuana) is critical for protecting markets in Sativex.

From Drug War Rant:

Some coverage of the recent federal crackdown

Federal crackdown on medical pot sales reflects a shift in policy (LA Times)

“They’re wasting money they don’t have,” [Sen. Mark] Leno said. “This is not the issue of the day. This doesn’t create jobs. This does not keep the security of the nation intact. It doesn’t clean the environment.”

U.S. targets pot suppliers who profit in state (SFGate)

Prosecutors target California’s marijuana trade

Kevin Sabet, former senior adviser at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said that marijuana legalization advocates had “misread the tea leaves” when they predicted that Obama would be friendly to their policies.

US: California pot crackdown targets large dispensaries (MSNBC)

As for using marijuana as medicine, Sabet said the proper path should be one where components of marijuana are studied and possibly approved by the Food & Drug Administration for use in pharmaceuticals.

Judge rules for pot dispensaries as feds threaten major crackdown

“This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. The administration is simply making good on multiple threats issued since President Obama took office,” said Kevin Sabet, a former adviser to the president’s drug czar.

What about the possible elephant in the living room that may be found with an inquiry within the powerhouse Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. law firm where Holder served as a pharmaceutical industry legal representative, Covington & Burling?


Holder - Breuer Law Firm Long Involved With Drug Policy
http://freedomofmedicineanddiet.blogspot.com/2009/01/holder-breuer.html

Covington & Burling's Continuing Involvement With Drug Policy Organizations
Longtime Tobacco-Pharmaceutical Legal Powerhouse
http://freedomofmedicineanddiet.blogspot.com/2011/09/covington-burlings-continuing.html

On The Pharmaceuticalization of Marijuana- Lester Grinspoon

http://www.rxmarijuana.com/Pharmaceuticalization.htm

excerpt

There is little doubt that pharmaceutical companies will develop some cannabinoid products which will be at least as useful as marijuana, and some will be uniquely so. Also, some may be expected to be free or nearly so of psychoactivity; this will allow them to be placed outside of the constraints of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Act classification, or at most assignment to Categories IV or V. They will require prescription and they will be expensive, but there will be a market. What is uncertain, and of course critical to a decision to develop new cannabinoid products, is the anticipated size of the market. The "pharmaceuticalization" of marijuana will only succeed if the pharmaceutical products displace marijuana as a medicine. This seems unlikely in view of the latter's limited toxicity, easy availability, low cost relative to pharmaceuticals, ease with which it can be self-titrated, growing access to vaporization devices, and its remarkable medical versatility. And if the legal costs of using marijuana are presently not so high that most people choose marijuana over dronabinol, it is difficult to imagine a level of enforcement which would eliminate use of the plant material.

Dr. Grinspoon's Warning About The Pharmaceutical Industry

Excerpt of presentation the final day of the 40th anniversary NORML conference held April 21-23, 2011 in Denver, Colorado