California House of Representative Hopeful Promises to Smoke it Up on the Steps of Congress if Elected

Politicians come and politicians go, but one thing's a constant: campaign promises.

While most promises fade into the background din of cutting the debt, better education and how much more one guy loves America more than the other guy, Andy Caffrey, a candidate for the House of Representatives in California’s 2nd Congressional District promises to light up a joint on the steps of Congress, if he's elected the Independent Voter Network reports.

Caffrey, a Democrat, intends his toking to be an act of civil disobedience. He expects to be arrested by Capitol Police and intends to use the attention to put the spotlight on the larger attention of federal marijuana policy.

While Caffrey would be a fringe candidate anywhere else — including much of California — his district encompasses a very liberal swath of real estate from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to Humboldt County to the Oregon boarder.

In his own words: "We have to redirect trillions of dollars away from war, away from the war on drugs, and we have to get it back from the rich to rebuild our infrastructure all over the country. We have to become locally sustainable. We have to look at food security, water security, and we have to have a safety net that’s going to take care of everybody."

Despite Sympathy for Medical Pot Users, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Anti-Dispensary Laws

The bans on medical marijuana in the California cities of Irvine and Lake Forest, both located in Orange County, have been upheld by The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Opponents of the law challenged it on the grounds of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA classifies users of an illegal drug for an ailment as disabled and protected against discrimination. However, that protection only applies if the drug is taken under supervision by a licensed health care professional, or obtained by other uses authorized by law.

The court agreed that the law could be interpreted to cover medical marijuana users who use the drug with their doctor's approval — but it would undermine existing federal anti-drug laws.

The judges were sympathetic for the case of medical pot, but Judge Raymond Fisher in the majority opinion wrote, "for now, Congress has determined that, for purposes of federal law, marijuana is unacceptable for medical use."

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Marsha Berzon stated the ADA does show an intent to allow doctor-approved use of marijuana, but the anti-dispensary laws probably are not discriminatory.