cannabisnews.com: DEA Chief: MJ Legalization Makes Us Fight Harder
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DEA Chief: MJ Legalization Makes Us Fight Harder
Posted by CN Staff on April 03, 2014 at 16:45:12 PT
By Ryan J. Reilly, The Huffington Post
Source: Huffington Post
Washington, D.C. -- Far from being discouraged by the shifts in public opinion, state laws and even within the Obama administration on the legalization of marijuana, federal drug agents are now driven to "fight harder," Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart said Wednesday.Leonhart, who reportedly criticized President Barack Obama for comparing marijuana to alcohol during a closed-door meeting with a law enforcement organization, suggested during testimony Wednesday before a House Appropriations subcommittee that voters in Washington state and Colorado were duped into legalizing marijuana.
While several questions from Republican members of the committee referred to Obama's marijuana comments, as well as to Attorney General Eric Holder's decision in August to allow marijuana regulation to proceed largely unchallenged, Leonhart's answers tiptoed around any direct criticism of her bosses. But Leonhart did say that DEA's issues with the legalization of marijuana in Washington and Colorado were "well known" within the Justice Department and the White House before DOJ made its decision. She noted that there was "a lot of confusion in that 296 days while they were reviewing it and deciding how to proceed."Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) said he thought that the attorney general would come to regret his decision to allow legalization in Washington and Colorado to move forward. "This being a legacy for Eric Holder, when he looks back on it and sees the devastation it will have on this country, he will live to regret it," Wolf said. "He will wish he could get these years back." Wolf then asked Leonhart whether DEA agents have been feeling demoralized as a result of the legalization."Actually, it makes us fight harder," Leonhart replied.Without referring specifically to Obama's comments, Leonhart said that pro-marijuana messages are stronger now than they have been in the past 30 years, and that DEA officials are very worried about the consequences for teens who are being "bombarded" by such messages."It's of great concern to us the messages we hear on television, in the radio, in songs -- and now, my fear is that kids are hearing it from their own parents," Leonhart said. "It's important to have the facts about marijuana put out there in ways that kids, teens, young adults, parents can look at it and see that what they've been sold -- that this is no big deal -- is not true."Leonhart also implied that voters in Washington and Colorado had been misled about the benefits of legalizing marijuana."What was explained to the voters was how much money that they'd be raising. What was explained to the voters was that this was good for law enforcement, because then police could go after the real crimes. What was told to the voters is that this would collapse the Mexican drug cartels," she said.Leonhart claimed that Mexican drug cartels are "setting up shop" in Washington and Colorado in anticipation of a black market. "Whatever the price will be set in Washington and Colorado, criminal organizations are ready to come in and sell cheaper," Leonhart said. She claimed that many marijuana shops get their supplies from growing operations controlled by cartels.The DEA administrator also referred to efforts in the Netherlands to prevent foreign tourists from obtaining marijuana, saying that it showed the country was having second thoughts about its marijuana policies. That change, she said, should have served as a warning to the United States."We should've learned from that and never gone forward with what we've seen in this country," Leonhart said.Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, said after the hearing that Leonhart was obstructing the Obama administration's policy and should be forced out."Publicly criticizing and questioning the competence of your supervisor would get anyone fired in the private sector," Riffle said in a statement. "It's frankly astounding to me that Ms. Leonhart is still employed and American taxpayers continue to foot her $165,000 salary to publicly campaign against the president's policies."Leonhart declined to take questions from reporters after her testimony.Source: Huffington Post (NY) Author: Ryan J. Reilly, The Huffington Post Published: April 3, 2014Copyright: 2014 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/SBeBkZivCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by runruff on April 05, 2014 at 07:11:16 PT
The DEA want to "save the children"!
Funny though, how many must they kill and make homeless before they have saved them? How many will they leave orphaned by killing and caging their parents before their policies kick in to "help them"?Kids in south America die by the hundred every year in this dreadful un-holy war!Yesterday their henchman was Jessica Tandy. A classy rich lady whose hands are drenched in blood.John P. Walters, I can not hate this man, he is retarded. Using him is like taking a sweet pit bull puppy and corrupting it into a killing machine. I don't blame the dog but the dog's criminal handlers.
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Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on April 04, 2014 at 14:48:02 PT:
The more they lose, the nuttier they'll get
Dogs. Really Michelle, is that the best you can do? With all our taxpayer dollars at your disposal, you couldn't find one professional BS, uh, er, 'communication specialist', to come up with something a bit more...intelligent, maybe?And given how many innocent dogs have been slaughtered out of hand for no reason by adrenaline-tripping DrugWarriors these past 20 years, her concern seems more than a little late. But not to worry. This is a symptom of our approaching victory...and their subsequent total meltdown. As they lose ground, they will become ever more shrill...and incoherent. For drug prohibition was never based on reason, logic or science but pseudoscience, bigotry, greed and power-lust. Indefensible qualities. And they know that, too. It's all they have left, now.So, what will it be next time? Cannabis gives you hairy palms? Makes men grow boobs? All old and stale, not to mention insulting. Simply because the prohibs have only a few dozen lies to tell, and now those lies are being publicly stripped away, layer by layer, lie by lie, until the true foundation of cannabis prohibition can be seen by the public. A public that knew much of the truth already, and knew who told the lies. And, as WA and CO proved, THEY VOTE.So, friends, get out the popcorn, but dress like they did at Gallegher concerts, because it'll get messy when the prohibs finally explode from within courtesy of all that stored methane from being full of {something brown and smelly}. Like millions of reformers, I'll happily supply the detonator.
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Comment #7 posted by Swazi-X on April 04, 2014 at 14:47:42 PT
Leonhart is the Duper
We are the dupees if we believe a single word she says.We should take a lesson from the Netherlands? Really?How about Portugal - where they've effectively legalized almost all drugs for personal use and they're quite happy with the resulting decrease in crime.Or maybe Uruguay - where they've not only legalized this miracle cannabis plant, but they had the foresight to set a price of about $25/oz. for it - specifically to eradicate the black market. This way it's not valuable enough to bother breaking any laws for. Cartel-B-Gone.Apparently Uruguay's leaders didn't flunk Economics 101 in high school like Michelle Leonhart did. Seems they can also read - stuff like scientific conclusions, etc. that they actually use in their decision-making processes, again unlike little Ms. Leonhart.The D.E.A. and Leonhart are an embarrassment to all U.S. citizens. She and her taxpayer-funded private army need to be defunded completely.
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Comment #6 posted by bullhead on April 04, 2014 at 09:53:56 PT:
Duped
The people were duped into legalizing marijuana. Those stupid people! Is this the line to sign up for the dupe.....
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Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on April 03, 2014 at 20:24:35 PT
voters
A whole bunch more voters are going to be "duped" in the next few years. There could be 10 states legal by the end of 2016!Oh it's going to be fun to watch these people lose badly.
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Comment #4 posted by MikeEEEEE on April 03, 2014 at 19:05:31 PT
Death Breath
If you've ever seen the last dying breath, you would say RIP drug war -- the worse, most destructive, expensive social policy failure in world history. In time, I think they will logically redirect their effort$.
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Comment #3 posted by patrioticdissension on April 03, 2014 at 19:01:42 PT
indiana legalizes hemp
april 1 2014 governor mike pence of indiana signs bill legalizing industrial hemp farming - its no april fools joke!
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Comment #2 posted by John Tyler on April 03, 2014 at 18:56:09 PT
in the news
Today in the newspaper there was an article about a new Pew Research Poll that said that 75% of the American public thought that cannabis legalized was inevitable. Even prohibitionists thought legalization was inevitable. Keep on keeping on.
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on April 03, 2014 at 17:48:57 PT
Michele the murderous troll!
When she had the chance to defend her position to congress she said virtually nothing. When she gest with a group of her piers, she spouts off knowing she will have audience approval. She will not meet reporters and she will not debate with specialist.She is a hired gun who only runs with a gang and only if her enemy is out numbered and out gunned. Even then she sends in her henchmen to do her dirty work! I say this pea-brained idiot is to power drunk and awash in wealth to even see clearly anymore. She is mentally ill.
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