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Wow, it's almost hard to keep up. Here's yet another potentially major breakthrough on the medical marijuana front:

Days before President Bush left office in January, his administration fired a parting shot at Professor Lyle Craker's eight-year quest to cultivate marijuana for medical research by abruptly denying him a federal license despite a nearly two-year old Drug Enforcement Administration law judge's recommendation that he receive one.

But the new administration led by President Obama, who has publicly backed the use of marijuana for medical purposes to stave off pain, might reverse the decision and keep Craker's license application from going up in smoke.

A source familiar with the case said the White House will likely demand that the decision be reviewed.

"Basically they want to do an autopsy of what occurred and have it go through a proper review," the source said. [National Journal]

Anonymous sources can be misleading, so I called Aaron Houston at MPP, who told me the story is true and graciously did not request anonymity.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the administration's review ultimately results in reversal of the research blockade, but the fact that they're looking into it is a very positive indication. It should prove difficult to examine this issue without seeing it for what it is: a prolonged and transparently dishonest effort to obstruct medical marijuana research by preventing researchers from producing marijuana and denying them access to existing sources.

Given yesterday's reaffirmation of Obama's pledge to respect state medical marijuana laws, it seems that a positive pattern has emerged here. The new administration is re-evaluating the issue from multiple angles and finding that medical marijuana has been mishandled at the federal level in more than one way. It's tremendously encouraging to see the executive branch taking interest in corrupt political obstructionism at the DEA. I'd encourage them to expand the inquiry beyond just medical marijuana.

At a press conference yesterday:

U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said Wednesday that the Justice Department has no plans to prosecute pot dispensaries that are operating legally under state laws in California and a dozen other states -- a development that medical marijuana advocates and civil libertarians hailed as a sweeping change in federal drug policy. [Los Angeles Times]

This should remove doubt once and for all about the direction the new administration is heading with regards to medical marijuana. There's been some confusion about this, but Holder himself has been consistent in maintaining that medical marijuana providers operating legally under state law will be left alone.

The biggest remaining question is what will become of unresolved criminal cases initiated during the Bush administration. Charlie Lynch, whose recent federal conviction has become a national controversy, will be sentenced next week. Lynch and others like him are lingering casualties in a war that's been called off at the highest levels of government. The president and attorney general are on the right track, but the job isn’t done until the innocent victims of the war on medical marijuana are set free.