In a departure from the previous administration's stance on state medical marijuana laws, pot-smoking patients and their licensed providers will no longer be targeted by criminal prosecutions, Justice Department officials announced Monday.

Touting its commitment to the "efficient and rational use" of federal resources, the department issued a memorandum to federal prosecutors in the 14 states that permit marijuana for medical purposes, including Montana. The guidelines say patients who are in "clear and unambiguous compliance" with state laws do not meet that standard of efficiency, and should not be prosecuted.

However, the guidelines clearly state that federal agents will continue to investigate people whose marijuana distribution goes beyond the applicable laws, or serves as a cover for other crimes.

"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement accompanying the three-page memo. "This balanced policy formalizes a sensible approach that the department has been following since January: effectively focus our resources on serious drug traffickers while taking into account state and local laws."

In Montana, advocates for the rights of marijuana patients praised the directive as a significant shift from the Bush administration's disregard for state medical marijuana laws.

Tom Daubert, of Patients and Families United, a group formed by medical marijuana patients and their families, said the previous administration made no distinction between states barring marijuana for medical purposes and states allowing it, and maintained a policy of enforcing federal drug laws regardless.

"It's an important dramatic step in the right direction," Daubert said. "It basically puts into writing what the attorney general had said verbally months ago, and directs federal law enforcement to make medical marijuana its lowest priority, or even lower than that. But it doesn't shut the door altogether on federal enforcement actions pertaining to medical marijuana."

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The directive does not distinguish between individual states' laws, which vary significantly, but rather instructs federal prosecutors to "review marijuana cases for prosecution on a case-by-case basis."

Daubert said it will be increasingly important for federal agencies in Montana to develop a uniform understanding of the state Medical Marijuana Act, which voters passed in 2004.

"The Montana law has a lot of gray areas and it is not being interpreted uniformly statewide," Daubert said. "We need to have a better understanding of what is and what is not legal."

Whether or not it is legal for licensed medical marijuana patients who are bedridden to enlist a friend or relative to deliver their marijuana is one scenario that has come up, Daubert said. Whether or not the drug can be legally shipped by mail is another.

In 2007, a package containing marijuana was shipped to Robin Prosser by her registered caregiver, and was en route via UPS when agents with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration intercepted it. That seizure marked the first time federal drug agents had interfered with the rights of Montana's medical marijuana patients, though Prosser was never charged with a crime.

Daubert said he is not aware of any cases involving federal action against medical marijuana patients in Montana, or in any states besides California, where authorities have raided numerous clinics and pot dispensaries.

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Other states that allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Jessica Fehr, a spokeswoman for Montana's U.S. Attorney's Office, would neither confirm nor deny if any current investigations would be derailed by Monday's directive. She said the guidelines will not impact any existing cases.

"No cases presently charged in Montana will be impacted by the new guidelines," Fehr said.

Mark Long, chief of the narcotics bureau in the state justice department's Division of Criminal Investigation, said he isn't aware of any investigations targeting medical marijuana providers or users, or any past cases charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"I can't recall a time when that sort of thing happened, so I don't see how it will affect us at all at our level," Long said. "Even back in the Bush days we weren't going after these people."

Still, the guidelines are more than merely symbolic, Daubert said, and demonstrate a shift from the previous administration's way of doing business.

"It's a big step to go from verbal assurance to a written directive," Daubert said. "I think this mirrors the sentiments and assurances Obama expressed in his campaign, that there are better things for the federal government to be doing than going after sick patients."

Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com.