Head of DEA slams Obama for saying marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol

[phenethylo J]

^You got to remember that the US is filled with weed, it can grow almost anywhere; which makes busting it so easy. When they bust a handful of fields/grow houses that are only a small fraction of the weed it that particular area let alone the entire county. That never ending battle it creates the illusion they are making a difference. Thankfully more and more Americans are starting to see through that.

 

[Hammilton]

They should start taking a technocratic approach to these agencies. Don't hire a career law enforcement officer to be the head of the DEA. That's what agents are for. Leonhart isn't a doctor, a sociologist, a psychologist, a toxicologist, or an expert of any kind. She's a cop. Her opinion on the matter is worth about the same as her opinion on climate change.

Yeah, look at China's success. They dropped dogma and extremism and took a technocratic approach and their economy ballooned. If we were to take a similar approach to drug policy we'd be better off, by far.

I've moderated my views a bit, though. I no longer support full legislation. I much prefer the Kiwi approach: allow the sale of drugs after they've been proven safer than some benchmark in the category. For instance, I don't think dextropropoxyphene should be sold, and probably not meperidine either, they have too great of toxicity for recreational use, however, heroin and ketobemidone should be fine.

 

[theWhiteLarryBird]

Funny you should say that. The other day I was telling my brother about the DEA/Sinaloa Cartel scandal, and he was like, "that doesn't surprise me. They're the Drug Enforcement Agency, they enforce the drugs."

your mom sounds hot

 

[neversickanymore]

DEA 2012 budget and progress submission to congress

Every day, DEA wages a battle that involves disrupting and dismantling significant drug
trafficking and money laundering organizations, attacking the economic basis of the drug trade,

I would love to see the reality of this.. should read promoting the economic basis

Despite these challenges, DEA has made great strides against the scourge of drug trafficking and
is proud of its many recent accomplishments. Project Deliverance, a DEA-led operation that
targeted the transportation infrastructure of Mexican drug trafficking organizations in the United
States, is just one example of successful enforcement operations concluded within the past year.
Project Deliverance culminated on June 9, 2010 with the arrest of 429 individuals in 16 states.
This 22-month operation resulted in a total of 2,266 arrests, including a Consolidated Priority
Organization Target (CPOT), and the seizures of $154 million and 74.1 tons of drugs. More than
300 federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies contributed investigative and
prosecutorial resources to this operation

With that many people involved the price must have been ridiculous. We can choose to look at the overall result.. well the drugs are still here and easy to get. this is a demand side problem.

While this enforcement success and the many others from the past year are encouraging, drug
abuse remains a very serious problem in the U.S. Results from the 2009 National Survey on
Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicate that an estimated 3.1 million persons aged 12 or older
used an illicit drug for the first time within the past 12 months. This averages to about 8,500
initiates per day.2
The grip of drug addiction is powerful and with it can come tragic
consequences, including increased crime and violence, lower productivity in the workforce, child
abuse and neglect, and environmental impacts. The Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP) paints a bleak picture: “More than 7.6 million Americans have a diagnosable drug
abuse disorder; drug overdoses approach car crashes as a leading cause of accidental death; drug
abuse contributes to more than one in eight new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infections; and substance abuse results in significant healthcare costs every year.3

Couldn't have said you failed and are failing in a clearer way.. Your goal doesn't justify your results unless the results reflect the goal.

" “Strengthen Efforts to Prevent Drug Use in Our Communities”- 2010 National Drug
Control Strategy, Chapter 1."

I dont know about you but I have never seen anything at all out of the dea that has even attempted to do this.. utter bullshit. infact all i see from this list is failure

Strategic Goals
DEA operates under a combination of national strategies to reduce the availability of illicit drugs
in America. Specifically, DEA’s FY 2012 request supports the following strategic goals:
 “Prevent Terrorism and Promote the Nation’s Security; Strengthen Partnerships to
Prevent, Deter, and Respond to Terrorist Incidents”- DOJ FY 2007-2012 Strategic
Plan, Stewards of the American Dream, Strategic Goal 1; Strategic Objective 1.2.
 “Prevent Crime, Enforce Federal Laws, and Represent the Rights and Interests of
the American People; Reduce the Threat, Trafficking, Use, and Related Violence of
Illegal Drugs”- DOJ FY 2007-2012 Strategic Plan, Stewards of the American Dream,
Strategic Goal 2; Strategic Objective 2.4.
 “Strengthen Efforts to Prevent Drug Use in Our Communities”- 2010 National Drug
Control Strategy, Chapter 1.
 “Seek Early Intervention Opportunities in Health Care”- 2010 National Drug Control
Strategy, Chapter 2.
 “Disrupt Domestic Drug Trafficking and Production”- 2010 National Drug Control
Strategy, Chapter 5.
 “Strengthen International Partnerships”- 2010 National Drug Control Strategy,
Chapter 6.
 “Substantially reduce the flow of illicit drugs, drug proceeds, and associated
instruments of violence across the Southwest border”- 2009 National Southwest
Border Counternarcotics Strategy, Strategic Objectives 1-6.
 “Improve Information Systems for Analysis, Assessment, and Local Management”-
2010 National Drug Control Strategy, Chapter 7.
 “Stem the Flow of Illicit Bulk Cash Out of the United States” - National Money
Laundering Strategy, Goal 3.
 “Support Global Anti-Money Laundering Capacity Building and Enforcement
Efforts”- National Money Laundering Strategy, Goal 8.

CPOTs represent the “Most Wanted” drug trafficking and money laundering organizations
believed to be primarily responsible for the Nation’s illicit drug supply.

People want to sell drugs based off the profit they can make due to the black market.. this is a demand thing and the reason people want to abuse drugs is the issue.. this combined with the profits to be made seem to cause infinite supply. 8) take the money given to you and use it ti treat and improve life for people.. why do you think there is so much drugs in the ghetto.. please dont say because the the people living there.. no its because the people are living there.. people sell it because they are poor.. people take it because they are poor.. you guy just dont get it do you? Just like in addiction it creates and promotes itself until the underlying cause is addressed. So adding to the pain is just fueling the fire.

In addition to the goals cited above, DEA has its own long-term objective to maximize the
monetary value of currency, property, and drugs seized (Drug Trafficker Revenue Denied).

follow anything in the drug war far enough and you get to the money.. being this is a funding request this can be seen as we want more money so we can get more money off the market we create.

In FY 2005, DEA established a five-year plan with annual milestones through
FY 2009 to meet the challenge of crippling drug cartels so that they are unable to reconstitute
their operations with new leadership

except for the one we partner up with.. they will be aloud free reign and we will promote no competition so they will flourish

UCCESS STORY: INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
On July 2, 2010, Ecuador Anti-Narcotics Police Forces and Ecuador Military authorities with
the assistance of DEA seized a fully-operational submarine built for the primary purpose of
transporting multi-ton quantities of cocaine. One individual was taken into custody by
Ecuadorian authorities at the site of the seizure. The twin-screw, diesel electric-powered
submarine is about 30 meters long and about nine feet high from the deck plates to the ceiling.
The sophisticated vessel also has a conning tower, periscope, and air conditioning system. The
submarine was constructed in a remote jungle environment in an effort to elude law
enforcement or military interdiction, and is currently located near a tributary close to the
Ecuador/Colombia border. As a result of DEA intelligence, Ecuadorian authorities were able
to seize the vessel before it was able to make its maiden voyage. This is the first seizure of a
clandestinely constructed fully operational submarine built to facilitate trans-oceanic drug
trafficking.

and there is still drugs to be found everywhere..

The broad jurisdictional reach of 21 USC §§ 959 and 960a significantly expands DEA’s
effectiveness in narco-terrorism investigations and prosecutions. 21 USC § 960a allows for
prosecution of terrorist-related, extra-territorial drug offenses and provides DEA with a
particularly powerful tool to prosecute, disrupt, and dismantle narco-terrorist groups worldwide.
21 USC § 959 expands the reach of DEA to acts of manufacture or distribution outside of the
U.S. The section makes it unlawful for any person to manufacture or distribute a controlled
substance or listed chemical intending or knowing that it will be unlawfully imported to the
United States.

seems to me that the draw of terrorists to this is funding their demented cause from the profits to be found from the black market the current policy you try to enforce creates. Sure would be so much easier to cut terrorism right out if this was a regulated legal business.

DEA operations in Afghanistan serve a dual purpose: preventing the country from again
becoming a major supplier of heroin to the United States,

doenst seem to be the case as production has incresed by 25% to record levels.. IDK maybe more funding is what you need 8(

SUCCESS STORY: FINANCIAL INVESTIGATIONS
In April 2010, more than $40 million worth of gold, silver,
and jewels arrived in Texas after it was forfeited in an
international money laundering investigation. The jewelry
was seized as a result of an investigation that identified two
companies in the Colon Free Zone in Panama, that were
responsible for laundering narcotics proceeds from the U.S.
The investigation resulted in the first U.S. indictment of an
offshore business engaged in an illicit Black Market Peso
Exchange (BMPE) money laundering operation, in which
narcotics proceeds earned in the U.S. are exchanged for
Colombian pesos and then used to purchase goods in the
Colon Free Zone. During the investigation, more than $2
million in U.S. currency was also seized in the form of
cashier and/or bank checks. The seizure and investigation
was led by DEA’s Long Island District Office, DEA’s
Panama Country Office, and the Criminal Division’s Asset
Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. The forfeited
assets will be liquidated with the final proceeds from those
sales placed into DOJ’s Assets Forfeiture Fund.

wonder who all benefits from the profits of drug war..

The amount of marijuana produced in Mexico has increased an estimated 59 percent overall
since 2003. C

and this is a reason to give you more money? LOL

Although fourteen states have legalized the manufacture, distribution, and possession of
marijuana for purported medical use, marijuana has never been approved by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for any medical use and remains a Schedule I controlled substance under
the CSA. Rather the FDA has stated that "there is currently sound evidence that smoked
marijuana is harmful," and "that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana
for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy
of marijuana for general medical use."

This just makes you sound stupid and ignorant

And it goes on.. the fact that people ever buy into this really speaks worlds about their competency.

 

[weekend addiction]

your mom sounds hot

Lol he said his brother.

 

[exists]

Although fourteen states have legalized the manufacture, distribution, and possession of
marijuana for purported medical use, marijuana has never been approved by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for any medical use and remains a Schedule I controlled substance under
the CSA. Rather the FDA has stated that "there is currently sound evidence that smoked
marijuana is harmful," and "that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana
for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy
of marijuana for general medical use."

This just makes you sound stupid and ignorant

And it goes on.. the fact that people ever buy into this really speaks worlds about their competency.

People will swallow mountains of BS as long as the ones shoveling it out are "stopping terrorists."

Hasn't there been an issue with the feds not allowing studies to go past stage I & II trials or something? I swear these guys will only reschedule if FDA studies confirm that cannabis has medical properties. All other studies everywhere are irrelevant to them

Lol he said his brother.

The dude knew

 

[plmar]

Fuck the DEA and everyone who has anything to do with it

 

[23536]

The DEA demands phase 3 studies to be completed in order for there to be evidence of medical utility, but it won't approve such studies.

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/662045-Marijuana-Rescheduling-Ruling-What-Does-It-All-Mean

Of course, Obama has absolute power over the DEA. He could order them to downschedule it unconditionally. But, as I said earlier, Obama was replaced by an android in 2009.

 

[neversickanymore]

Forbes 2/04/2014
Deputy Drug Czar Admits Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol

During a congressional hearing today, The Raw Story’s Eric Dolan reports, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) got deputy drug czar Michael Botticelli to admit that marijuana is safer than alcohol. But it was not easy:

“How many people die from marijuana overdoses every year?” Connolly asked.

“I don’t know that I know. It is very rare,” Botticelli replied.

“Very rare. Now just contrast that with prescription drugs, unintentional deaths from prescription drugs, one American dies every 19 minutes,” Connolly said. “Nothing comparable to marijuana. Is that correct?”

Botticelli admitted that was true.

“Alcohol—hundreds of thousands of people die every year from alcohol-related deaths: automobile [accidents], liver disease, esophageal cancer, blood poisoning,” Connolly continued. “Is that incorrect?”

But Botticelli refused to answer. Guessing where the line of questioning was headed, he said the “totality of harm” associated with marijuana indicated it was a dangerous drug, even though it was not associated with deaths.

“I guess I’m sticking with the president—the head of your administration—who is making a different point,” Connolly fired back. “He is making a point that is empirically true. That isn’t a normative statement, that marijuana is good or bad, but he was contrasting it with alcohol and empirically he is correct, is he not?”

Botticelli again tried to dodge the question, but Connolly interrupted him and told him to answer.

“Is it not a scientific fact that there is nothing comparable with marijuana?” Connolly asked. “And I’m not saying it is good or bad, but when we look at deaths and illnesses, alcohol, other hard drugs are certainly—even prescription drugs—are a threat to public health in a way that just isolated marijuana is not. Isn’t that a scientific fact? Or do you dispute that fact?”

“I don’t dispute that fact,” Botticelli said.

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, by contrast, refuses to admit that marijuana is safer than anything. At a a recent meeting of county sheriffs, DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart reportedly criticized President Obama for speaking candidly about the relative hazards of alcohol and marijuana. It’s not clear whether Leonhart thinks Obama’s statement was incorrect or merely inconvenient. But either way, the outrage generated by Obama’s remarks shows drug warriors believe he conceded a point crucial to their cause. I hope they are right.

NSFW:

 

[RTrain]

The DEA acts like because it is a government agency that it must have the backing of every blue, red, or grey politician. Then it seems their goal to demonize those who could possibly demonstrate any lax attitude towards a drug deemed illegal. Well sorry guys, I know it must be awful disappointing, but even the friggin' president of the country disagrees with you, so wake up, maybe take a reality pill (preferably something illegal) and drop the supremacist attitude.

 

[foolsgold]

also since been made LEGAL pot has could suicide rates

A new study released by the American Journal of Public Health draws an astounding conclusion from its analysis of suicide data for 1999 to 2007 from states which had legalized medical marijuana:

Suicides among men aged 20 through 39 years fell after medical marijuana legalization compared with those in states that did not legalize... after adjustment for economic conditions, state policies, and state-specific linear time trends... legalization was associated with a 10.8% reduction in the suicide rate of men aged 20 through 29 years and 30 through 39 years, respectively.
The study says that the actual mechanism through which suicides are reduced by medical weed legalization "remains a topic for future study," but it does acknowledge one possible interpretation:

The negative relationship between legalization and suicides among young men is consistent with the hypothesis that marijuana can be used to cope with stressful life events.
The authors of the study said that the data for females was "less precise."

Via American Journal of Public Health

 

[poledriver]

hrm, cool...