SF Mayor Ed Lee Sounds off on Medical Marijuana

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/SF-Mayor-Ed-Lee-Sounds-off-on-Medical-Marijuana-147052315.html

The mayor has spoken. And though not as bold a statement as they may have liked, medical marijuana supporters may breathe a sigh of relief.

As San Francisco's chief executive, Mayor Ed Lee oversees city-sanctioned medical marijuana dealings and doings permitted by the city's Department of Public Health. But as pressure from the federal Justice Department shut down -- to date -- five city-licensed and city tax-paying medical marijuana dispensaries, Lee has remained silent, despite cries for help from pot advocates.

Until now. The mayor on Friday released a statement in which he expressed "concern" over San Francisco's "legitimate" medical marijuana users, according to SF Weekly.

"I am concerned about recent federal actions targeting duly permitted Medicinal Cannabis Dispensaries, actions that aim to limit our citizens' ability to have safe access to the medicine they need," the statement reads in part. "As long as San Francisco's dispensaries and patients are operating within the guidelines set by then-Attorney General Jerry Brown in 2008, I agree with our current Attorney General Kamala Harris that raids should not occur. She has said that 'an overly broad federal enforcement campaign will make it more difficult for legitimate patients to access physician-recommended medicine in California.'"