cannabisnews.com: DEA Chief Michele Leonhart Should Resign
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DEA Chief Michele Leonhart Should Resign
Posted by CN Staff on May 16, 2014 at 16:10:16 PT
By Bill Piper, Drug Policy Alliance
Source: Huffington Post
Washington, D.C. -- For months Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michele Leonhart has openly rebuked the drug policy reform policies of Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama with one embarrassing statement after another. Now she is picking a fight with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Y) and other members of Congress over hemp. Meanwhile the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General has launched an investigation into multiple scandals plaguing the agency. It is clear that Leonhart lacks the ability to lead and should resign. Activists are using the Twitter hashtag #FireLeonhart.
The DEA created a political firestorm this week when it seized seeds bound for a Kentucky hemp research program that was approved by Congress. Even Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has weighed in, telling Politico last night, "It is an outrage that DEA is using finite taxpayer dollars to impound legal industrial hemp seeds." The Kentucky Agriculture Department is suing the agency. The seizure is the latest misstep by the agency, which is being investigated by the Department of Justice for numerous scandals.Earlier this month the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General launched investigations into numerous DEA scandals, including the massacre of civilians in Honduras, the use of NSA data to both spy on virtually all Americans and to systematically fabricate evidence, controversial uses of confidential informants, airline passenger searches, and sexual misconduct. DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart herself has been at the center of several scandals, including the House of Death scandal in which the DEA may have turned a blind eye to torture and murder, and the Andrew Chambers scandal, in which the DEA rehired a confidential informant with a history of lying.Moreover, Leonhart is increasingly publicly opposing drug policy reforms being pursued by her bosses, Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama, and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. She publicly rebuked President Obama for admitting that marijuana is as safe as alcohol, told members of Congress that the DEA will continue to go after marijuana even in states where it is legal despite DOJ guidance stating otherwise, and has spoken out against bipartisan drug sentencing reform in Congress that the Obama Administration is supporting.Leonhart has also actively obstructed scientific research, most notably blocking the FDA drug development process for marijuana by refusing to license potential producers of federally-approved research-grade marijuana -- such as Dr. Lyle Craker of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, who first applied to the DEA in 2001 to produce marijuana for FDA-approved research. The DEA's Administrative Law Judge held extensive hearings on the issue and ruled that the DEA should end the federal government's monopoly on research-grade marijuana by granting Dr. Craker a Schedule One license, but Leonhart unilaterally blocked it. She has also blocked efforts to move marijuana from Schedule I, the same classification as heroin, to a lower schedule that would allow for medical use.Rep. Steve Cohen and other members have Congress have called on Leonhart to resign. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., says in his dealings with Leonhart he has "found her to be completely incompetent and unknowledgeable." In a bizarre debate with members of Congress Leonhart refused repeatedly to acknowledge that marijuana is safer than cocaine and heroin.Just last September, more than 120 groups from across the political spectrum and around the globe, including the ACLU, Witness for Peace, Drug Policy Alliance, and the International Drug Policy Consortium sent a letter to Congress and the DOJ calling for an investigation into the DEA for its role a long list of deeply disturbing incidents.DEA Administrator Leonhart is virtually the only person left who still zealously supports the failed war on drugs. The U.S. and the rest of the world are moving toward an approach that prioritizes public health and legal regulation -- but she remains hopelessly committed to the failed war-on-drugs approach. She is plagued with scandals, out of touch with reality, and increasingly an embarrassment to both Attorney General Holder and President Obama. It is time for her to go. #FireLeonhartBill Piper is the director of Drug Policy Alliance's office of national affairs.Source: Huffington Post (NY)Author: Bill Piper, Drug Policy AlliancePublished: May 15, 2014Copyright: 2014 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/NHqJY1YLCannabisNews DEA Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/DEA.shtml 
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on May 18, 2014 at 23:29:30 PT
OT: Project SAM Invades Canada, Canadians React
Cannabis Culture News LIVE: Smart Approaches to Marijuana Propaganda.
Friday, May 16 2014 
http://www.pot.tv/video/2014/05/16/Cannabis-Culture-News-LIVE-Smart-Approaches-Marijuana-Propaganda 
02:23:01
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Comment #7 posted by swazi-x on May 17, 2014 at 16:03:48 PT
One More Thing
Don't forget the young man in San Diego that was arrested by the D.E.A. then left for 3 days alone with no water, food, or ability to communicate - just left to die in the cell. I'm pretty sure he's suing the D.E.A. or has done so and has or likely will get millions for their incompetence.
 
Leonhart is obviously a moron desperate to save her big-bucks position by stonewalling - a tactic often used by those in her position with some success - but thanks to our MMJ laws, it won't work anymore. MMJ laws across the country have allowed law-abiding adults to use and investigate for themselves the power of cannabis, and one by one they realize the depth of the deception our government has foisted on them.She's a douche, but so was every other head of this oppressive, abusive absolute waste of taxpayer dollars. Instead of singling her out for being the good little drone doing her job she is, we need to defund the whole mess. We need to eliminate the D.E.A. from our taxpayer payroll - imagine the billions we'd have for infrastructure and everything else we NEED.Meth is terrible, so are many pharmaceuticals, and there are other things people take that hurt them, but we don't need to spend billions every year to control it. Prosecution and jailing costs are enormous, not to mention the military hardware and training and tactics these D.E.A. monkeys use against us all.Instead we need to legalize it all and regulate it. Take away the mystery surrounding these drugs, bring them into the light and along with access we include education, a safe supply and alternative help - therapy, use of less-harmful substances (cannabis!) as substitutes or ways off the more harmful chemicals. We can do all of this and likely still have a few billion dollars to spare from the budget of the ex-D.E.A. 
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Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on May 17, 2014 at 09:08:02 PT
Leonhart
realistically, she's doing exactly what they're paying her to do - be the leader of political opposition to Prohibition repeal.  It doesn't make sense to pillory her any more than an actor in a commerical or a PR rep.This all doesn't pass the smell test - if Congress or the Prez wanted her to go, she'd be gone in 2 seconds. Her job is to play rearguard and throw rocks into the path of the reform movement.So she successfully delayed hemp growing in Kentucky by one year. That is tangible progress that Big Oil & Pharma appreciate. The politicans can rail against her and make a nice show of things, but they're all working on the same project: delay Repeal as long as possible!It's really absurd for Congress and the Executive branch to be criticizing her again and again - they are her boss! They control every last dollar of the DEA budget and all the employees' salary.  If they wanted her gone, she'd be gone tomorrow. She's doing exactly what they want her to do. 
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Comment #5 posted by Canis420 on May 17, 2014 at 06:12:52 PT:
c'mon now
we have to be nice to our enemies...I know its hard but its our way
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Comment #4 posted by runruff on May 17, 2014 at 02:17:49 PT
Ed Zackery disease?
Gives you a vertical smile with fat cheeks and bad breath...yeah, I can see that!
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Comment #3 posted by The GCW on May 16, 2014 at 19:13:03 PT
runruff,
At what point... Could Leonhart be committing treason?-0-And runruff,She has, "Ed Zachary Disease"http://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/1qu2a7/ed_zachary_disease/
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Comment #2 posted by runruff on May 16, 2014 at 17:04:59 PT
Jail time for the troll?
My wildest dreams my yet come true? Just cram her into a shoe box and shove it under the bed for next 20 years or so.
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on May 16, 2014 at 17:01:36 PT
Harump! Ahem!
And beside being incompetent and unknowledgeable she is termally ugly.Three strikes and she is out!
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