cannabisnews.com: DEA Profile Being Raised By New Head





DEA Profile Being Raised By New Head
Posted by FoM on November 26, 2001 at 11:00:39 PT
By Samantha Young, Donrey Washington Bureau
Source: Pine Bluff Commercial 
When he arrived at the Drug Enforcement Administration in August, Asa Hutchinson said he wanted to raise the profile of the agency. Three months into his tenure he appears to be doing just that, in ways that have brought both praise and criticism upon the Arkansan. Hutchinson, a former congressman from Fort Smith, has crafted a role for himself as a self-described "ambassador" on drug-fighting. He trumpets successful busts and extraditions of drug figures, and publicly defends the government's drug policies. 
His willingness to mix it up with DEA critics has won praise at the same time he is being criticized for involvement in controversial decisions to crack down on medical marijuana distribution and assisted suicide.Hutchinson's style is strikingly different than his predecessors, who observers say shielded themselves from public scrutiny. Like Hutchinson, they were presidential appointees, but none of them served in Congress or had much experience handling the media.DEA critics approve of Hutchinson's willingness to debate drug policy, citing two occasions this fall where he faced off in public forums with New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who favors legalizing marijuana. "It's good that he's open to engaging in debate. It allows the public to hear both sides," said Kevin Zeese, president of Common Sense of Drug Policy, a Washington group which favors drug legalization."He's the first DEA administrator I can recall that's willing to debate these issues," Zeese said. "Most have refused to debate."As he did as a congressman, Hutchinson has emphasized outreach to those he considers his constituents -- DEA field agents and local law enforcement officials. He has created a DEA newsletter and travels weekly to regional offices to meet employees."We make some extraordinary cases here and I'm going out and putting an exclamation point on their work," Hutchinson said this week during an interview in his 12th floor office across the Potomac River in Arlington, Va.For his seeming openness, Hutchinson is still subject to criticism by those who say they have seen little evidence the government is winning the drug war. Drawing particular fire was the decision that led DEA agents in October to raid a community-supported medical marijuana lab in Los Angeles. The operation came five months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled marijuana is to be considered an illegal drug even when used for medicinal purposes. The ruling was a setback for states like California whose voters had approved marijuana as a relief for pain and nausea among the ill."The single most controversial thing he has done at the DEA has been the bust of the medical marijuana lab," said Ethan Nadelman, executive director of the New York-based Lindesmith Center Drug Policy Foundation."My guess is what Hutchinson and (Attorney General John) Ashcroft are doing is testing the waters on this issue, possibly to start doing the same thing in Maine and Oregon," Nadelman said.Similarly, groups raised objections to the government's decision this month to arrest doctors in Oregon for prescribing drugs to facilitate death. The Justice Department's ruling essentially reverses a 1997 Oregon law that permits assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.Hutchinson says enforcement of the federal ban on assisted suicide has been a long-held DEA policy, but one that the Clinton administration barred. He called the DEA's drug raids an agency responsibility even though critics have charged resources should be better spent to counter terrorism."Just because we're carrying out our responsibilities does not mean it's a priority," Hutchinson said. As have all federal law enforcement agencies since Sept. 11, the DEA has shifted resources to combat what President Bush called the new war on terrorism.Hutchinson is in contact weekly with Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and other top administration officials ."It's been a real curve ball to me. You get over here knowing what the DEA counter-narcotic mission is and all of a sudden you have to balance all counterterrorism concerns in the country," Hutchinson saidDEA agents are reviewing old case files in search for connections between drug smugglers and terrorists. Agency intelligence personnel are sharing sensitive information with the FBI. Drug investigations now are viewed as possible terrorism cases."As we go out and interview drug informants we have to recognize that they also may have information on counterterrorism that could help us with preventive measures," Hutchinson said. Reaction to the DEA's emerging narco-terrorism role has been mixed. It is supported by groups that favor reducing worldwide drug trafficking but opposed by organizations that favor drug legalization."The shift of DEA resources to what are greater threats to the country and the specific focus on the nexus of terrorism and counter narco-terrorism is the best place for the DEA to be," said Brad Jansen, deputy director of the Center for Technology Policy at the Free Congress Foundation, a conservative think tank.Overseas the DEA is pumping resources into the Afghan region, training national police in Uzbekistan, Turkestan and Pakistan, countries through which smugglers take drugs from Afghanistan, Hutchinson said.To some, the drug war in Afghanistan is doomed to fail based on what some say is the U.S. government's losing battle to end illegal drug trafficking in South America."We've done that for 30 years and the result of every international interdiction of the drug trade has been more drugs, new drug trafficking resources. It just makes the problem worse," Zeese said. "The only way to stop terrorism is to end prohibition, so it's not illegal."Hutchinson defends the government's involvement in both South America and Asia, saying the drug lords and smugglers breed a culture of illegality that can foster terrorists."I think we see the greater international connection than ever before," Hutchinson said. "When the Taliban falls we have the advantage to make a lasting impact in that region."Source: Pine Bluff Commercial (AR)Author: Samantha Young, Donrey Washington BureauPublished: November 26, 2001Copyright: 2001 Donrey Media GroupContact: letters pbcommercial.comWebsite: http://www.pbcommercial.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:CSDPhttp://www.csdp.org/TLC - DPFhttp://www.lindesmith.org/CannabisNews DEA Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/DEA.shtmlDEA Head Debates Pro-Legalization Governor http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11365.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #9 posted by dddd on November 27, 2001 at 05:40:40 PT
Well Said Professor Nemo
,,,and "breeding",is a frighteningly correct term to use....kinda like breeding mice to feed the pet eagle..... ...and I must further agree with your statement concerning the internet being the last remnant of free speech......like I have said,,,,and I know you agree Kap,,,,,,,,Make the most of the internet in any way you can,now,,,while you still can,,because everything can change really quick,,,,quicker than you can spell ashcroft........The internet is rare,and special.....Just think about 10,or 15 years back,,when there where not many people on-line,,,and think about now,,and how many of us have met,and been able to unite behind our noble cause......and then think of the political view of the internet,,it is the last,and only place where freedom of speech still survives,and that is why it is priority one,for the powers that be,.to figure out a way to reign in its' free-ness.......The US gov shut down the internet in Somalia recently,,,,all they had to do,was label it as terror related,and AT&T,and its' British counterpart shut down all internet access to the entire country........Enjoy the internet while you can,,,because I fear that these days may soon be seen as the good ol' days...dddd
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on November 27, 2001 at 05:02:32 PT:
Breeding a "culture of illegality."
I really love these Feds. They make it so easy. Unknowingly, in sublime, narrow-minded Freudian earnestness, they provide us with all the ammunition we need."Hutchinson defends the government's involvement in both South America and Asia, saying the drug lords and smugglers breed a culture of illegality that can foster terrorists.Ever heard of the School of the Americas? (They renamed it recently to try to quell opponents of it, but a rabid dog is a rabid dog is a rabid dog, no matter what euphemism you give it.) A place where the future Latin American puppets of US Korporate imperialism take home such useful skills as torture and political blackmail...not to mention murder. That's where convicted drug kingpin Manuel Noriega got his start. As well as the murderous goons in Guatemala.All paid for by the taxpayers of the good ol' US of A.Which makes every one of us accessories to drug dealing and murder. Now, who, pray tell, is manufacturing a 'culture of illegality'? With US taxpayers dollars?If the antis were challenged on each and every idiotic statement they made, they would soon realize that they could not open their lying dog mouths without ramming their paws in them. I find the idea of such Federally self-imposed silence very pleasent to contemplate. Unfortunately, too much of the media in this country is too cravenly set on not rocking the korporate boat to summon up the needed testicular fortitude and open it's mealy mouth and do what they are supposed to, rather than be Uncle's pet mouthpieces.The only 'free press' in America anymore is on the 'Net. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by freedom fighter on November 26, 2001 at 23:46:47 PT
E_J, I really do not
know how the fed can even look at the mirror.Take careff
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by Tim Stone on November 26, 2001 at 15:35:01 PT
The Big Lie...again
      "The operation came five months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled marijuana is to be
      considered an illegal drug even when used for medicinal purposes."The big lie, told over and over again, will eventually be taken for truth. The narks want you to think that the Supremes dealt a legal death blow to medpot movement in its ruling last spring. In fact, the ruling was fairly narrow, as it often is with the very conservative Rehnquist court. Essentially, my layperson understanding from reading lawyers' explanations of the case is that the Supremes declared emphatically that the Oakland Cannabis CLub, as a petitioner before the court, could not claim a medical necessity defense. The court explicitly left open the possibility that an individual, rather than a club, could successfully claim a medical necessity defense. It's really annoying when the media uncritically buy into nark lies like this. The Supremes did not kill medpot in their decision...at least not yet. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by Dave in Florida on November 26, 2001 at 14:10:11 PT
A war on US
The operation came five months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled marijuana is to be considered an illegal drug even when used for medicinal purposes.That is not what the Supreme Court said... 
 
DEA agents are reviewing old case files in search for connections between drug smugglers and terrorists.
Agency intelligence personnel are sharing sensitive information with the FBI. Drug investigations now are
viewed as possible terrorism cases.That is so they can try medical users as terrorist with military tribunals which can execute people with a 2/3 verdict.. Makes me feel safer..
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by Dan B on November 26, 2001 at 13:37:50 PT:
Here's a big, fat clue about Hutchinson:
Hutchinson has emphasized outreach to those he considers his constituents -- DEA field agents and local law enforcement officials. That's right. Hutchinson does not care about the average American citizen, he does not care about the patient who needs medication to sustain life, he does not care about the pain endured by those who are suffering and near death, and he does not care about anyone in the medical profession. The people he cares about are "DEA field agents and local law enforcement officials" (hereafter "pigs").And what, pray tell, happens when the leader of the DEA cares more about the welfare of pigs than about the welfare of honest-to-goodness human beings? The human beings suffer, and the pigs get fatter. And right about now, the pigs are so fat that they are almost ready to burst. I can't wait to see that happen.Dan B
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Jose Melendez on November 26, 2001 at 13:14:19 PT:
debate transcripts?
Does anyone know where I can read transcripts of the debates? All I can find in the mainstream media is that they debated, no substantial details on who said what...
Just saying "no" ...is lying.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by p4me on November 26, 2001 at 12:49:37 PT:
what debate
Is it a debate between Hutchinson and Johnson when the media do not cover the meeting. It is just slightly more than a conversation when it does not reach the sheltered ears of those that have been conditioned by a trillion dollars of marijuana is evil.The sugar water industries have contributed to making Americans the fattest people in history. Tobacco kills about 450,000 people a year in this country and we have been exporting cancer and death for 400 years. Alcohol is more destructive than all illegal drugs combined. And this article says there is a debate about drugs. It does not reach my standard for a debate.They need to send Walters home for good. They can arrest people and raid compassion clubs without him.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on November 26, 2001 at 11:52:35 PT
Why does he want to hurt ME?
People have been harmed by the DEA raid on the LACRC.Right now all I have is some foul tasting unsanitary dirt weed and the drug dealer it came from subjects people to sexual pressure. My doctor is appalled. How does it feel for a doctor to have the DEA step in and change his patient's medication from a fairly well regulated safe product to a completely unregluated unsafe product? The product coming from the LACRC was clean and reliable and grown by good honest people in a wholesome, nonabusive environment.But that wasn't good enough for our federal government.So now we have to go out and get nasty unsanitary low quality dirt weed from people who are not bound by any rules or ethics at all. Because I need to get it somewhere. Just like I need to get my thyroid medication somewhere. Luckily I can get that in a pharmacy. But if I had to get it from a drug dealer -- what would my choice be? Hutchinson gets up on his high horse about it, the Supreme Court gets up on their high horse about it, and all they're really doing, for all of their political and legal high-mindedness, is hurting good productive citizens of this country.And pissing off their doctors! Well that's not going to last forever. They'd better be planning their retreat carefully. The science is not supporting their assertions about marijuana, the science is supporting the assertions of medical users and their physicians.We live in a technological society and that science can't be shoved aside and ignored forever.And neither can the voters be shoved aside and ignored forever.So they'd better be planning a graceful retreat. They think they won a battle in West Hollywood, but they are never going to win the war. It's a war about truth, and the truth just happens to be on our side.How proud can federal agents be about defending a lie? Don't these people have any pride in their jobs at all? How can they be proud of what they're doing when what they're doing with medical marijuana is defending a lie, and fighting the truth?How proud can federal agents really feel about defending a lie, and fighting the truth?Don't they have any pride at all?If they knew me, they wouldn't feel proud about hurting me.Because I don't deserve to be treated like this. I really don't.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment