THE DEA POSITION ON MARIJUANA AND THEIR FUTURE

 

THE DEA POSITION ON MARIJUANA AND THEIR FUTURE

 

Dated: January 2011

 

Marijuana is properly categorized under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), 21 U.S.C. § 801, et seq. The clear weight of the currently available evidence supports this classification, including evidence that smoked marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no

accepted medicinal value in treatment in the United States, and evidence that there is a general lack of accepted safety for its use even under medical supervision.

 

The campaign to legitimize what is called “medical” marijuana is based on two propositions: first, that science views marijuana as medicine; and second, that the DEA targets sick and dying people using the drug. Neither proposition is true. Specifically, smoked marijuana has not withstood the rigors of science–it is not medicine, and it is not safe. Moreover, the DEA targets criminals engaged in the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana, not the sick and dying. This is true even in the 15 states that have approved the use of “medical” marijuana.1

 

On October 19, 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder announced formal guidelines for federal prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The guidelines, as set forth in a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden, makes clear that the focus of federal resources should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with existing state laws, and underscores that the Department will continue to prosecute people whose claims of compliance with state and local law conceal operations inconsistent with the terms, conditions, or purposes of the law. He also reiterated that the Department of Justice is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all states and that this guidance does not “legalize” marijuana or provide for legal defense to a violation of federal law.2

 

While some people have interpreted these guidelines to mean that the federal government has relaxed its policy on “medical” marijuana, this in fact is not the case. Investigations and prosecutions of violations of state and federal law will continue. These are the guidelines DEA has and will continue to follow.

 

The Drug Enforcement Administration Website (The DEA)

 

The DEA Policy on Marijuana

 

The DEA Drug Abuse Chart

 

The DEA has been very successful, with the war on drugs.  Over 1/2 of the people in the federal correctional system are in on drug charges.  1 out of 6 inmates are there for marijuana charges, which is about 1/3 of the federal prison population.  What will be their role when Attorney General Eric Holder ends this war as we know it?  Over 1/3 of the Department of Justice budget goes towards  incarcerating people in the federal correctional system.  And the DEA claims that marijuana is properly categorized as a schedule one substance under the controlled substance act. 

 

I understand and accept that they are a law enforcement group and their job is to enforce the law as it is written, to the best of their ability.  I do not believe that their positions are not based on facts or research, but is based on old politics from the Ronald Reagan Administration, that are discriminatory ideals that is about to change under the Obama Administration.

 

The FBI main focus is on anti-terrorism and it has been that way since 9/11. And I feel with new drug reform legislation, the DEA can become more effective as a law enforcement group and I will tell you why.

 

It is my position and this is a speculation based on research and personal experience.  America is about to be hit with a major influx of heroin out of Afghanistan.  America's presence in Afghanistan  since 2001, has not decreased the production of the poppy plant.  In fact more heroin is being produced now than before.

 

Afghanistan is a very poor country, over 40% of the population makes under $1.25 a day and about 70% of the population is illiterate. And half of the GDP is from heroin production.  So we know their intent, once American troops leaves this country.  And the plot thickens. 

 

Many of our troops leaving Afghanistan are addicted to opiates, the VA health system is overwhelmed with newly addicted opiate users.  I think there is a correlation between the newly opiate addicts and the veterans committing suicide.   22 veterans are committing suicide everyday and many veterans are being diagnosed with PTSD.  While the VA in many cases cannot complete a veterans claim for assistance within a year.  The VA is backed up and overwhelmed, because there was no exit plan for America and I think the war just begun for many Americans in our backyards.

 

If you was the enemy what would you do, with the current situation.  Many veterans will be unemployed, unemployable, sick mentally and physically and disparate.  The next major act of terrorism will be the spread of Afghan heroin.   And a lot of innocent people are going to be hurt.  While our streets will be flooded with disparate well trained killers, trained by the United States military in need of money and a fix.

 

For this reason, I believe Attorney General Eric Holder has to scale back and change the role of our law enforcement groups, to battle against the new and real threat, which is afghan heroin, with an intent to destroy America in an act of terror unlike any before.

 

If you ask the drug dealers, heroin has not hit the streets yet in it raw form.  Sure there are opiates out there like oxycontin, but dope is not available at the moment, but this is about to change once America leave Afghan. And the DEA will become more important than ever, as the FBI will again have to infiltrate the drug trade as a priority in the fight against terror. And to do this many of the marijuana offenders will have to be set free from prison, to incarcerate real threats of America.  The war on drugs as we know it must end, so that a new chapter can begin.  Drug reform laws are a necessity and should be welcomed without partisanship.  

 

Frank Paul Jones

President and Chairman of the NCNCHINC