Sibley vs. Obama and Holder

On May 17, 2011, I filed a federal lawsuit against Barrack Obama and Eric Holder, Jr. because my faith in the change that President Obama promised I now know was misplaced.

As against President Obama, the suit seeks an order from the federal judge that the President has breached his campaign promises to respect the state-authorized use of medical marijuana. Instead, he has authorizing the Department of Justice to prosecute under the Federal Controlled Substances Act anyone -- including the state employees who administer state medical marijuana laws -- who violates the Controlled Substances Act notwithstanding state approval for such medical use of marijuana.

As to Attorney General Eric Holder, the suit first seeks a declaratory decree that the federal government is without delegated authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act raising grounds that have not fully been litigated heretofore: Whether the scope of: (i) the commerce clause, (ii) the limited power delegated to the federal government to punish, (iii) the Ninth Amendment and (iv) the Tenth Amendment, singularly and collectively limit the power of the federal government to enact and enforce any legislation regarding the use of medical marijuana.

Last, and most compelling, the suit seeks a declaratory decree that Congress has repealed in part by implication the Controlled Substances Act by its approval of the “Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Amendment Act of 2010” which authorized the cultivation, dispensing and use of marijuana for medical purposes in the District of Columbia. Simply put, Congress can’t both make marijuana possession illegal – as it is under the Controlled Substances Act – and make it legal – as it is under the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Amendment Act.

To expedite resolution of the last issue, I have filed and today served on Attorney General Holder a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to bar the Department of Justice from enforcing the Controlled Substances Act in the District of Columbia pending resolution of this issue.

Questions, comments and concerns are always welcome. Needless to say, more on this suit from me as it develops.