Is Hemp Now Legal?

The following stories have been posted over the past week.

Medical marijuana: Is this now an American policy?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29430723/

"During his campaign, President Obama said he would stop the raids on legal medical marijuana dispensaries. Yesterday, the attorney general hinted that Obama's stance on the issue is now American policy.
Some say it is a step in the right direction for people who depend on medical marijuana, but the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department said the statement doesn't mean anything. They say growing and selling marijuana is illegal and it's going to stay that way.
"Do you expect those sorts of raids to continue?" a reporter asked the attorney general in a press conference. "No," Holder stated. That simple response ignited the medical marijuana issue once again. "

U.S. to yield marijuana jurisdiction to states
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, February 27, 2009

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/26/MN2016651R.DTL

Asked at a Washington news conference Wednesday about Drug Enforcement Administration raids in California since Obama took office last month, Holder said the administration has changed its policy.
"What the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing here in law enforcement," he said. "What he said during the campaign is now American policy."
Bill Piper, national affairs director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a marijuana advocacy group, said the statement is encouraging.
"I think it definitely signals that Obama is moving in a new direction, that it means what he said on the campaign trail that marijuana should be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue," he said."

Arizona AG: Marijuana legalization could curb Mexican drug cartel warfare
David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster Published: Friday February 27, 2009

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Arizona_AG_Marijuana_legalization_possible_way_0227.html
"The entire trade, of course, is fueled by the selling and buying of drugs," said Chetry. "There are some who make the case, including a former deputy foreign minister of Mexico who now works for the Brookings Institution -- somebody by the name of Andres Rosenthal -- who says maybe we need to rethink our drug laws."Rosenthal is one of a growing chorus of former Latin American leaders who have voiced support for the legalization of marijuana. "He says, 'As with the repeal of prohibition, the US must follow a common-sense approach by thinking the unthinkable: The gradual legalization of some drugs. The US must realize that all drugs are not created equal,'" said Chetry. "They go on to say that marijuana, maybe some methamphetamines, do not have the same harmful effects and legalization might make a difference. Do you agree?"