The letter also reminds Obama of his campaign promises to end the raids. Last week the White House submitted this inadequate response to petitions submitted requesting marijuana be taxed and regulated like alcohol.

"Like many, we are interested in the potential marijuana may have in providing relief to individuals diagnosed with certain serious illnesses....That is why we ardently support ongoing research into determining what components of the marijuana plant can be used as medicine.

To date, however, neither the FDA nor the Institute of Medicine have found smoked marijuana to meet the modern standard for safe or effective medicine for any condition."

The Congresspersons who signed on:

Colorado Rep. Jared Polis; California Democrats Rep. Barbara Lee, Pete Stark, Lynn Woolsey, Mike Thompson, Sam Farr and Bob Filner; California Republican, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher; and Tennessee Democrat, Rep. Steve Cohen;