Sunday LA Times had an article by Evan Halper that says that the DEA is losing the war on pot.
DEA may be losing the war on marijuana politics - Los Angeles Times:
The part of the article that disturbed me was that Michele Leonhart , head of the DEA received standing ovations from the Anti-Drug/Industrial complex attendees at a conference. It seems clear to me that the primary push back on legalizing pot is the people who are afraid of losing their jobs. They may not lose their jobs --because the serious drugs: Opiates, cocaine, PCP, etc are still a serious problem. However being able to make the easy big, dramatic marijuana busts was good for the morale of the troops. It was also relatively easy, because it is large and difficult to conceal. Busting "store front" medical marijuana stores was also very easy to do.
I can sympathize. Soldiers who spent many years fighting a war in Vietnam felt terrible after we retreated and gave up the war. These Government employees of the DEA, and their many relatively high-paid contractors have been fighting the "drug war" for 60 years. The government "declared war" on drugs and began attacking the users and producers of drugs. Marijuana has always been included as one of those drugs.
Now that it appears that the Government is giving up the war on pot, I can see how bad that would be for the morale. Those agents probably think about how much of their life was spent doing it, and how many people's lives they ruined and sent to jail for doing something that soon might not even be a crime. Pretty tough to swallow. Michele Leonhart has a huge challenge to keep the DEA focused during this Marijuana transition. She doesn't have to be a "friend" to the agents and contractors --she is going to have to LEAD. That might be extra difficult for her to do, since she sort of "came up through the ranks"
DEA may be losing the war on marijuana politics - Los Angeles Times:
The part of the article that disturbed me was that Michele Leonhart , head of the DEA received standing ovations from the Anti-Drug/Industrial complex attendees at a conference. It seems clear to me that the primary push back on legalizing pot is the people who are afraid of losing their jobs. They may not lose their jobs --because the serious drugs: Opiates, cocaine, PCP, etc are still a serious problem. However being able to make the easy big, dramatic marijuana busts was good for the morale of the troops. It was also relatively easy, because it is large and difficult to conceal. Busting "store front" medical marijuana stores was also very easy to do.
I can sympathize. Soldiers who spent many years fighting a war in Vietnam felt terrible after we retreated and gave up the war. These Government employees of the DEA, and their many relatively high-paid contractors have been fighting the "drug war" for 60 years. The government "declared war" on drugs and began attacking the users and producers of drugs. Marijuana has always been included as one of those drugs.
Now that it appears that the Government is giving up the war on pot, I can see how bad that would be for the morale. Those agents probably think about how much of their life was spent doing it, and how many people's lives they ruined and sent to jail for doing something that soon might not even be a crime. Pretty tough to swallow. Michele Leonhart has a huge challenge to keep the DEA focused during this Marijuana transition. She doesn't have to be a "friend" to the agents and contractors --she is going to have to LEAD. That might be extra difficult for her to do, since she sort of "came up through the ranks"
