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 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.
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
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