In a policy shift, the Obama administration told federal prosecutors not to go after patients who use medical marijuana or dispensaries in states where it has been legalized, as long as they comply with state and federal laws.

A Justice Department official said the formal guidelines were sent on Monday in a policy change reflecting President Barack Obama’s views. The Bush administration had said it could enforce the federal law against marijuana and that it trumped state laws.

As a candidate during his presidential bid last year, Obama said that he intended to halt raids of medical marijuana facilities operating legally under state laws.

After Obama took office in January, a Drug Enforcement Administration raid on a medical marijuana dispensary in Lake Tahoe, California, raised questions about whether he would follow that pledge.

A White House spokesman repeated Obama’s view that “federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws.” And Attorney General Eric Holder said he would follow Obama’s position.

California became the first state to allow medical marijuana in 1996. About a dozen states have adopted similar laws.

In a statement, Holder said the Justice Department will continue to prosecute people who claim to comply with state or local law, but really are concealing illegal operations.

“It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana,” Holder said.

“But we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal,” he said.

A Justice Department official said federal prosecutors will not hesitate to prosecute medical marijuana cases that involve unlawful use of firearms, violence, illegal sales to minors, money laundering or other violations of the law.

The guidelines announced on Monday make clear the policy the Justice Department has been following since January. The official said federal resources would be better spent by focusing on major drug traffickers.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the federal government may continue to enforce U.S. law barring the cultivation, possession and use of cannabis for any purpose, even when states seek to legalize it for medical reasons.

By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters)