The federal government will no longer prosecute users of medical marijuana -- in effect legalizing it for medical use.

Federal drug agents won't pursue pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in states that allow medical marijuana, under new legal guidelines to be issued Monday by the Obama administration.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.

HT Jeffrey Miron, who explains why this policy amounts to full legalization.