DEA Chief Criticizes Obama For Telling The Truth About Marijuana

[ravdin]

Via the Boston Herald:

DEA chief Michele M. Leonhart slammed President Obama’s recent comments comparing smoking marijuana to drinking alcohol at an annual meeting of the nation’s sheriffs this week, according to two sheriffs who said her remarks drew a standing ovation.

I'd say that Leonhart should be fired for insubordination, but an even better decision would be to disband the DEA altogether.

 

[Praktik]

Disbanding the DEA is part of the peace dividend we can reap once the War on Drugs Mental Illness can be declared over.

 

[ravdin]

 

[plague311]

Maybe she shouldn't just pander to the crowd. The effects of marijuana in comparison to alcohol are well documented. You can say marijuana is a gateway drug, but so is alcohol, in my opinion moreso.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Leo Grenkle, national director of the Boojum Enforcement Agency, declares boojums a national crisis of the highest priority and requests immediate triple funding to combat the problem.

 

[Cain]

Maybe she shouldn't just pander to the crowd. The effects of marijuana in comparison to alcohol are well documented. You can say marijuana is a gateway drug, but so is alcohol, in my opinion moreso.

True, but marijuana leads to more bad stuff, like Grateful Dead music, while alcohol leads to glorious unplanned pregnancies.

 

[plague311]

True, but marijuana leads to more bad stuff, like Grateful Dead music, while alcohol leads to glorious unplanned pregnancies.

Haha +1.

 

[Travis]

Wow, a bunch of Sheriff's who are scared all that War On Drugs money is gonna dry up are angry the President isn't staying on message that all the illegal narcotics are evil?

Shocking!

 

[sir drinks-a-lot]

Maybe she shouldn't just pander to the crowd. The effects of marijuana in comparison to alcohol are well documented.

Would you care to summarize?

 

[geni]

Disbanding the DEA is part of the peace dividend we can reap once the War on Drugs Mental Illness can be declared over.

There are certian practical problems with getting a small green plant to regconise a surrender document.

 

[ravdin]

Maybe she shouldn't just pander to the crowd. The effects of marijuana in comparison to alcohol are well documented. You can say marijuana is a gateway drug, but so is alcohol, in my opinion moreso.

Would you care to summarize?

For starters, I wonder how many of those sheriffs have had to respond to domestic violence calls because someone had been smoking too much pot?

 

[plague311]

Would you care to summarize?

Absolutely:

Many people die from alcohol use. Nobody dies from marijuana use.

People die from alcohol overdoses. There has never been a fatal marijuana overdose.

The health-related costs associated with alcohol use far exceed those for marijuana use.

Alcohol use damages the brain. Marijuana use does not.

Alcohol use is linked to cancer. Marijuana use is not.

Alcohol is more addictive than marijuana.

Alcohol use increases the risk of injury to the consumer. Marijuana use does not.

A bias source that uses non-bias sources to back up their claims. Do I agree wholeheartedly with every claim? Nah. They stretch it a little bit, but the overall message is factual and based on the available evidence.

 

[theprestige]

The DEA and other law enforcement agencies are charged with combating illegal behavior. Their jobs are made harder when the President excuses or trivializes behavior that is actually against the law, and that his own subordinates are supposed to oppose.

The Chief Executive should be very careful with the opinions he expresses about the law, and how what he says affects the people he's asking to enforce the law.

 

[Craig4]

There are certian practical problems with getting a small green plant to regconise a surrender document.

I've always said that you should wage war on common nouns. The first indication should be that the thing you are at war with isn't normally capitalized unless as the first word of a sentence.

 

[plague311]

The DEA and other law enforcement agencies are charged with combating illegal behavior. Their jobs are made harder when the President excuses or trivializes behavior that is actually against the law, and that his own subordinates are supposed to oppose.

The Chief Executive should be very careful with the opinions he expresses about the law, and how what he says affects the people he's asking to enforce the law.

I don't find that to be the case at all. You could say that about any individual in politics from the Mayor on up. Is it your position that political figures should not be able to disagree with a law, but still uphold it? Furthermore, he never said it should be legal, he compared it to drinking alcohol. The information and evidence available states that it's a close comparison but the illegal substance actually has a lesser negative impact. You're holding him to a different standard than other politicians.

 

[The Fallen Serpent]

Would you care to summarize?

The low toxicity of THC renders death by overdosing on marijuana highly unlikely and is currently undocumented with scientific rigor. The toxicity of ethanol allows achieving death by overdose with greater ease.

The scientific link is greater for a larger number of diseases with alcohol consumption than to marijuana consumption. A difference in overall death rates for those who regularly consume marijuana versus the general population is murky at best and under studied. There does seem to be a link for greater vehicular and respiratory deaths, with possibilities of a cardiovascular disease link.

The link for the differences in death rates for regular consumers of alcohol versus the general population is also somewhat murky. Light to moderate consumption appears to achieve the best mortality rates, but heavy consumption has significantly higher mortality rates to non-consumption. There is a strong link for the increase in the risk of vehicular death, liver disease, and oral cancers for alcohol consumption.

 

[geni]

The Chief Executive should be very careful with the opinions he expresses about the law, and how what he says affects the people he's asking to enforce the law.

Given the political sensitivity of the topic I expect Obama is very careful about the opinions he expresses.

 

[Praktik]

The DEA and other law enforcement agencies are charged with combating illegal behavior. Their jobs are made harder when the President excuses or trivializes behavior that is actually against the law, and that his own subordinates are supposed to oppose.

The Chief Executive should be very careful with the opinions he expresses about the law, and how what he says affects the people he's asking to enforce the law.

Interesting, I think the problem is taking something trivial and dialing up the harm associated with it such that it becomes much more dangerous both in reality and in the public imagination.

Maybe marijuana use needs to be re-trivialized, actually.

 

[12AX7]

I agree with the conservatives on this one. Pot is BAD.

Just the other day we had a home invasion here locally. The perps forced their way into a home, held the occupants, their kids and their puppies and kittens at gunpoint while they ransacked the house looking for items to sell to get pot money.

And, with the recent legalization of pot in Washington and Colorado, one can easily see the burden on law enforcement. It's all the cops can do to keep up with the crazed potheads. And the emergency rooms are overflowing with pot overdoses, pot-related injuries (bong burns and whatnot), and gang-related weed-on-weed violence.

Then there's the shortage of Doritos and potato chips in those states. Now, many children have less snacks to pack in their daily lunches. For God's sake, won't someone think of the children!?

Go conservatives go.

 

[Virus]

President Choom Gang is obviously the expert on what marijuana does or doesn't do.