Ex-DEA heads press White House to quickly seek stop to legal recreational marijuana
CHICAGO Eight former Drug Enforcement Administration chiefs say the federal government needs to act now or it might lose the chance to nullify Colorado and Washington's laws legalizing recreational marijuana use.
The onetime DEA heads are issuing joint statements Tuesday saying the Obama administration has reacted too slowly and should immediately sue to force the states to rescind the legislation.
The Associated Press received an advance copy of the statement Monday.
One of the former DEA administrators, Peter Bensinger, told the AP that the more time goes by, the harder it will be to stop the two states. Marijuana is illegal under federal law.
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Bensinger, who lives in the Chicago area, said not acting forthrightly to sue the states might create "a domino effect" in which other states follow suit.
"My fear is that the Justice Department will do what they are doing now: Do nothing and say nothing," said Bensinger. "If they don't act now, these laws will be fully implemented in a matter of months."
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told a meeting of state attorneys general last week that he is still reviewing the laws but that his review is winding down. Asked Monday for a comment on the criticism from the former DEA administrators, Holder spokeswoman Allison Price would only say, "The Department of Justice is in the process of reviewing those initiatives."
The department's review has been under way since shortly after last fall's elections. It could sue to block the states from issuing licenses to marijuana growers, processors and retail stores, on the grounds that doing so conflicts with federal drug law. Alternatively, Holder could decide not to mount a court challenge.
The ex-DEA heads are issuing the statements though the Florida-based Save Our Society from Drugs, a national group lobbying against legalization. One of the group's spokesmen is based in Chicago.
The former DEA administrators are Bensinger, John Bartels, Robert Bonner, Thomas Constantine, Asa Hutchinson, John Lawn, Donnie Marshall and Francis Mullen. They served for both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Holder is scheduled to appear Wednesday before a U.S. Senate judiciary committee hearing. The former DEA chiefs want senators to question Holder on the legalization issue.
Colorado marijuana clubs
Advocates of legalization have welcomed Colorado and Washington's new laws, arguing that criminalizing drugs creates serious though unintended social problems. The ex-DEA heads say they disagree with that view.
After votes last fall, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana's recreational use -- putting federal authorities in a quandary over how, or whether, to respond.
Washington state officials responsible for creating a regulated marijuana system have said they are moving forward with a timetable of issuing producer licenses by August.
Bensinger, who served as DEA administrator under Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, said the supremacy of federal law over state law when it comes to drug laws isn't in doubt.
"This is a no brainer," he said. "It is outrageous that a lawsuit hasn't been filed in federal court yet."
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Obama's refusal to enforce immigration laws is partially responsible for the horrendous situation in Arizona.
Recently, more than half of the States in the Union petitioned to secede from the Union.
You better believe Obama and Congress didn't waste any time shooting that one down.
If we were to legalize marijuana here in the US; it could conceivably save the lives of thousands of Mexicans being slaughtered by the drug cartels.
Drug trafficking is easily one of the biggest "businesses" in the US.
Fewer young people might not turn to Angel Dust, cocaine meth etc. if they could legally smoke marijuana.
The feds will not even agree to legalize "medical" marijuana; even though they know up-front that it can ease the pain and nausea of certain diseases.
Obama and Congress have failed to serve the best interests of the US and the American people so many times; it's pathetic.!!
We currently have a corrupt, dysfunctional President and Congress.
They swore to uphold the Constitution when they were voted into Office.
Show me where it says that the President and Congress can only enforce the federal laws they want to.
Show me where it says the President can invoke "laws" simply through the use of Executive Order or Executive privilege; bypassing Congress any time he feels like it.
BTW; I should point out that the President and Congress are not subject to many of these edicts.
This goes against the Constitution; the very thing they swore to uphold.
Part of this vow contains the words that they will defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign or domestic.
Now, it seems like the domestic enemies we have are Obama and Congress; and they sidestep the Constitution any time it's convenient for them.
The sequestration and all the other BS coming out of Obama and Congress are nothing but partisan political games.
Congress and Osama both need to stop "playing games" with the future of the United States and the lives of Americans.
If John Q. Citizen pulled half the crap Osama and Congress have pulled in the last four years; he would have been in jail three years and ten years and five months ago.
SUPPOSEDLY, Congressmen were elected to serve the will of "We the People" and protect and serve the citizens of the United States.
Somebody please let me know when they actually start doing their jobs and stop tearing down the US and ruining the lives of the American people.
Congress seems to have forgotten that the money they insist on spending; and the money that pays for their salaries, elite health and pension plans and "perks" comes from US TAXPAYERS.!!
If not for "We the People" they wouldn't have any of the above.!
They also would have no power to spend the money on legislating laws, because there wouldn't be any.
Not one of them should be paid their salaries (BTW; they passed legislation that automatically gives them a raise every year) until they start actually "earning" it.
Elsewhere on this site; somebody points out that members of the Un are too drunk to talk; much less vote intelligently.
The decisions of these UN representatives affect the entire world.
I move that everybody who steps into the UN has to pass a breathalyzer test before they can enter.
Marijuana may not be good for you; but drunks in the UN can do a lot more damage.
"RALLY ROUND THE FLAG PEOPLE" and get the US and the rest of the world back on track.!!!!!
Sorry, but this particular chance for your misbegotten organization to bleed government funding while sending out jackbooted thugs to harass and belittle the American people is fast fading. And good riddance.
To make it legal will stop the money from flowing their way.
They are about to lose Washington and Colorado, much in the same way the Mob lost out because of the repeal of prohibition.
Any other arguments they posit are false arguments, or based on false premises.
The DEA is afraid of losing their income, state by state.
A D.A. or the DOJ is not compelled to enforce every law on the books. There have been times when say, interracial marriage or sodomy were "on the books" but not enforced because society moved on.
Obama proved the legality of that concept recently when he asked the DOJ to stop prosecuting the children of immigrants here illegally, even though that is the law. He's correct in doing that and he can do that with this issue.
Further, the president directs the DOJ and also HHS and DEA. The DEA can be directed, at any time, to end the absurd fiction that cannabis fits the definition of a "Schedule One Narcotic." That is the only thing that makes marijuana illegal at the federal level. It is not otherwise illegal at the federal level. Keep in mind that jurors are actually being asked to determine if a fellow citizen is guilty of using or growing a "Schedule One Narcotic." I feel any honest verdict is "Not Guilty."
I am not a pot user.
I live in the middle of pot central, Mendocino County CA.
Do you think that pot only goes to responsible adults? WRONG!
High potency THC pot has made it into every school in the nation despite the laws against it. Marijuana people aren't prone to obey any laws. Our kids can't learn on pot. Schools get their money from graduating students. The only way schools keep the money coming in is by giving away grades, which doesn't become evident until a SAT test or a job app is filled out
Any one here tried to hire a young person recently?
The amount of pot that leaves CA every year going to all point of the compass in the US, is now valued at well over $100 billion and half of that comes from kids all across the country.
Lawlessness is out of control in Mendocino County CA. The costs far out weigh any financial benefits.
We need to look beyond what we think is popular or profitable.
Please?
Your concerns are good. Thank you for thinking of the kids.
But ahem... the bad things--the things you don't like? Those are ALL happening under the CURRENT system of prohibition. And every problem you list is amplified a thousand fold, due to prohibition.
"Marijuana people aren't prone to obey any laws." Single plants--due to prohibition--are worth $1,000!!!! If you don't like these guys, end prohibition and make them get a real real job.
"The amount of pot that leaves CA every year going to all point of the compass in the US, is now valued at well over $100 billion and half of that comes from kids all across the country."
That's happening under YOUR preferred system, not mine my friend.
I know it's counter-intuitive but the product is only worth growing due to the current price. Plus, because the person that kids buy from is a criminal with no regard to anyone's health and well-being, they also carry inventories of drugs our kids can actually die from (there is no physically toxic amount of marijuana.)
Check out the web site for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Get with the folks who really want to help our kids and get rid of the drug dealers.
I am not a pot user.
In other news, water is wet.