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By JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Medical marijuana advocates have amessage for Democratic leaders and federal prosecutors with an eyeon political office: Don't mess with pot. Pushing back against a federal effort to stem the proliferation ofmedical marijuana operations, one of the nation's largest drugpolicy groups claimed credit Wednesday for the defeat of a formerfederal prosecutor who was the early favorite to win the Democraticprimary for Oregon attorney general. As interim U.S. attorney, Dwight Holton called Oregon's medicalmarijuana law a "train wreck" and oversaw efforts tocrack down on medical marijuana clubs and grow operations that hesaid were fronts for illegal marijuana sales. Federal prosecutorshave led similar crackdowns in other states that have legalizedmarijuana for medicinal use. [ Read: Your Friendly Neighborhood Pot-Growing Store. ] "Drug war rhetoric and tactics will not be tolerated,"said Jill Harris, managing director for the campaign arm of DrugPolicy Alliance. Retired state appeals court judge Ellen Rosenblum said she'd makemarijuana enforcement a low priority. She easily defeated Holtonwith the help of Harris' group and its allies, which chipped in atleast a quarter of Rosenblum's total campaign cash. "What we're hoping, and what we assume, is that any U.S.attorney who's thinking of running for statewide office in aDemocratic Primary anywhere in the country is going to think twicenow before adopting a highly aggressive posture toward the medicalmarijuana law," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director DrugPolicy Alliance and its campaign branch, Drug Policy Action. Rosenblum downplayed the role of the marijuana vote in her victoryin a brief interview following her victory Tuesday night. With mostvotes counted, she defeated Holton 64 percent to 36 percent. "There's lots of issues that played into my victory, and thatmay well be one of them," Rosenblum said of the surprisingemergence of medical marijuana as a defining issue. About 55,000 people are registered marijuana users in Oregon. [ Read: Medical Marijuana Supporter Win Oregon. ] Sixteen states allow people with a doctor's recommendation to usemarijuana, an issue that has long been a source of tension with thefederal government. Federal officials have said some state medicalmarijuana laws are being used as cover to grow and sell pot for theblack market. Law enforcement agencies have cracked down on somepot growers, dispensaries and clubs in several states, includingCalifornia, Colorado and Oregon. Campaign finance records show Rosenblum raised $600,000 through May9, including $80,000 from Drug Policy Action and $70,000 from JohnSperling, Chairman of Apollo Group Inc., who has financed medicalmarijuana campaigns nationally. Oregon has no caps on campaigncontributions. Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement, a local organization workingon a ballot measure to legalize marijuana, spent another $40,000 toboost Rosenblum, much of it on radio ads attacking Holton overmarijuana. "We're glad to have played a role in her victory," saidBob Wolfe, one of the organization's directors. "But I dothink Dwight's defeat is directly related to his stance onmarijuana." Holton declined to comment. The Department of Justice did notimmediately respond to a request for comment. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Thismaterial may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed. I am an expert from energysiliconebracelet.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Negative Ions Watch , Energy Balance Necklace Manufacturer, Energy Balance Necklace,and more.
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