DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart - the last remaining member of the Bush Administration working for the Obama Administration.

In a move preceded by its Governor Chris Gregoire and other governors like Rhode Island’s Lincoln Chafee and Vermont’s Peter Shumlin, 42 Washington State Legislators today petitioned the DEA’s Administrator Michele Leonhart to reschedule marijuana at the federal level to recognize medical use.

We write in support of the petition that Governor Chafee and Governor Gregoire recently submitted to initiate rulemaking proceedings for the reclassification of medical cannabis (also known as marijuana) from Schedule I to Schedule II of the CSA.

We are also concerned that qualifying patients with serious medical conditions who could benefit from medical use of cannabis do not have a safe and consistent source of their medicine that has been recommended by a licensed health care professional in our state. The divergence in state and federal law creates a situation Where there is no regulated and safe system to supply legitimate patients who may need medical cannabis. More to the point, it is clear that the long-standing classification of medical use of cannabis in the United States as an illegal Schedule I substance is fundamentally flawed and should be changed. The federal government could quickly solve the issue if it were to reclassify cannabis for medical use from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II drug so that it can be prescribed, which we believe the petition provides substantiated peer-reviewed scientific evidence to support.

The solution lies ultimately with the federal government. We urge the DEA to initiate rulemaking proceedings to reclassify medical cannabis as a Schedule II drug so qualifying patients who follow state law may obtain the medication they need through the traditional and safe method of physician prescribing and pharmacy dispensing.

Reacting to the news, NORML’s Allen St. Pierre replied to an activist who’d asked if this was the first time a state legislature has initiated such a rescheduling petition.  ”While 36 states from 1980-1994 passed numerous toothless medical cannabis reforms (most of these bills took the form of the legislature and governor ’memorializing’ Congress and the Executive Branch to change cannabis’ scheduling to II or below),” St. Pierre noted, “I think you maybe right that a state legislature itself to date has not formally petitioned the feds for down scheduling.”

I was a progressive talk radio host during the Bush Administration.  One of the most frustrating issues I had to comment on dealt with embryonic stem cell research.  These proto-cells are the blank slate from which bone, muscle, nerve, and other cells are formed in our body.  They hold amazing promise in the treatment of injuries and illness.  You may remember the late Christopher Reeve fighting for stem cell research to help those paralyzed by spinal injury like he was.

You may also remember Al Gore during that era, warning the world of the Inconvenient Truth of global climate change.  Since the beginning of the industrial era, the pollution we’ve created has led to a global rise in average temperature.  We face a man-made crisis that could threaten our existence on earth.

In each of these cases the Bush Administration opposed moving forward on the research of these issues.  The pressure of religious organizations led Bush to stifle all federal research on stem cells.  The pressure of energy industries led Bush to withhold and censor information on global climate change.  And a majority of Americans, like myself, could not believe we’d be so superstitious and short-sighted as to reject the science that could help us heal our bodies and our planet.

We rejoiced when Barack Obama was elected and early in his administration, issued the following proclamation:

Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration on a wide range of issues, including improvement of public health, protection of the environment, increased efficiency in the use of energy and other resources, mitigation of the threat of climate change, and protection of national security.

The public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decisions.  Political officials should not suppress or alter scientific or technological findings and conclusions.  If scientific and technological information is developed and used by the Federal Government, it should ordinarily be made available to the public.

Indeed, Mr. Obama’s commitment to science has been felt on most scientific issues.  He overturned Bush’s ban on funding stem cell research.  He has strongly addressed the issues of global climate change.  However, on one issue of scientific  integrity, Mr. Obama has been no different than his predecessor.  In fact, when it comes to marijuana policy, Mr. Obama may be worse than Mr. Bush.

There are 25 million American adults who will use cannabis this year, 15 million this month, and an estimated 1.5 million Americans using medical marijuana legally under state law.  The federal government even delivers over a half pound of marijuana every month to four Americans who still remain on a 33-year-old federal medical marijuana program.  Nevertheless, as far as the Obama Administration is concerned, marijuana has “no accepted medical value in the United States”.  They admit there are only fourteen researchers approved by the federal government to study cannabis’ effect on humans and the government, to date, has never once surveyed or studied the federal medical marijuana patients.

It’s not as if we don’t have plenty of science to show marijuana’s medicinal effect.  As far back as 1974 the government has known that THC applied to cancer cells in the lab kills them and not the surrounding healthy cells  It’s the “magic bullet” type of cancer treatment that we’ve been looking for!  The government itself has even patented the medicinal effects of cannabinoids.  Despite all this and more, just this year Obama’s DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart (a Bush hold-over) denied yet another petition by legitimate researchers to study the medicinal effects of marijuana, saying, “[T]here are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy.”

There are no studies according to Leonhart, so then why stop research that would provide those studies?  The government isn’t even coy about the political reasons they use to justify rejecting the science of marijuana.  The National Institutes on Drug Abuse told the New York Times that “[O]ur focus is primarily on the negative consequences of marijuana use. We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana.”  So what exactly are those fourteen approved researchers trying to learn about marijuana?  It’s not that the science has no good news about marijuana, it’s that our government doesn’t want you to hear it.

This isn’t just an issue concerning the narrow medical uses of cannabis.  Every government that has ever studied the social ramifications of marijuana prohibition has agreed that the prohibition does more harm to the user and to society than the marijuana does.  Every study has recommended decriminalization and regulation… and every president since Richard Nixon (except Jimmy Carter) has ignored those recommendations.

Even when real world results show our policies to be ineffective, Mr. Obama continues to uphold the prohibition status quo.  Adults and teens in the Netherlands, where adult use of cannabis is tolerated, have half the use rates of marijuana and other drugs as Americans.  Dutch 15-year-olds are one third as likely to have tried marijuana compared to Americans.  Portugal, which has decriminalized all drugs since 2001, has seen dramatic declines in use, abuse, overdose, and crime.

Yet when asked this week by a student whether he’d look into a policy of decriminalization like Portugal, Mr. Obama flat refused to even consider the possibility, instead retreating into platitudes about “reducing demand” through “treatment and prevention”.  Not much of a reassurance for medical marijuana patients who can’t “reduce demand” and responsible adult users who don’t need “treatment and prevention”.  Since “reduce demand” is not “eliminate demand”, it appears Mr. Obama is content to continue to imprison those who demand drugs (well, drugs without bar codes, that is).

Our politics is infected by a terrible strain of Reefer Madness.  Republicans who shout about states rights, limited government, and individual responsibility seem to have no problem superseding state law, fostering massive bureaucracy, and intruding on the individual if he smokes a joint.  Democrats who shout about government surveillance, racial justice, and environmental protection seem to have no problem spying on people, locking up blacks disproportionately, and rejecting an alternative to trees and oil in order to stop an individual from smoking a joint.  And the president who is a Constitutional law professor, who reveres scientific inquiry, and has some personal experience on the issue seems to have no problem perverting the Bill of Rights, rejecting science, and locking up or forcing into rehab people just like him who smoked a joint.

Apparently there is only one cure: leaving office.

Acting DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart... you've been Kohl-blocked!

As NORML has warned, President Obama has nominated Michele Leonhart to head the Drug Enforcement Administration. Leonhart has been serving as Acting DEA Administrator since her appointment by the Bush Administration. Now during confirmation hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) has placed a hold on the nomination.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sen. Kohl was upset about DEA restrictions on how nursing homes are allowed to dispense pain medications to elderly patients. New regulations intended to stem the diversion of addictive painkillers to the underground market would require nursing homes to have doctors, not nurses or other staff, to dispense medications like Oxycontin and Vicodin. The economic realities of the nursing home market do not allow these facilities to always have the necessary doctors on staff, leading to long wait times, under-treatment of pain, and suffering for elderly patients in pain.

Sen. Kohl placed the hold, an privilege of senators that prevents Leonhart’s nomination from proceeding to the full Senate, “until we have made more progress towards our goal of ensuring that nursing home residents get timely access to the prescription drug care they need,” said Kohl. “Every day nursing home patients continue to suffer from agonizing pain and we need an interim solution as soon as possible.”

NORML applauds any reason to prevent Leonhart from assuming the role of DEA Administrator.  However, we hope Sen. Kohl and the remainder of the Judiciary Committee also consider the nominee’s positions on medical marijuana and the Mexican Drug War as further indications she is unfit for the position.

If Sen. Kohl is concerned about nursing home patients continuing to suffer in agonizing pain, then Leonhart’s opposition to the fifteen states that provide medical marijuana to elderly patients should also be of concern.  As Acting Administrator, Leonhart has green-lighted at least thirty raids of medical marijuana dispensaries.  These raids run contrary to the directive of her boss, Attorney General Holder, who specified that scarce federal law enforcement resources should not be expended on medical marijuana operations running lawfully under state laws.  The medical marijuana from these dispensaries has been shown to relieve neuropathic pain as well as stave off the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and lessen the effects of arthritis – all beneficial for the elderly nursing home community.

All members of the committee should be wary of Leonhart’s views of the rapidly destabilizing Mexican state due to the drug war.  Just today the WikiLeaks dump of foreign diplomatic cables reveals a Mexican drug war plan that “lacks a clear strategy” and “suffers from infighting among security agencies” according to the Washington Post.  The leaks have insiders calling the $1.4 billion “Merida Initiative” of aid to Mexico “ill-conceived and doing little so far to fight drug traffickers.”

Yet Acting Administrator Leonhart, when questioned about the now 31,000 Mexicans now dead in the drug-trafficking wars since 2006, said “Our view is that the violence we have been seeing is a signpost of the success our very courageous Mexican counterparts are having. The cartels are acting out like caged animals, because they are caged animals.”  Where WikiLeaks reveals American and Mexican officials secretly doubting the effectiveness of our $1.4 billion strategy, Leonhart is selling it lock, stock, and barrel to the taxpayers.

Of further concern in the Leonhart nomination to head the DEA is her opposition to the science on cannabis.  She has refused to act on an eight-year-old petition supported by NORML to reschedule cannabis out of Schedule I where it is deemed to have “no medicinal value”; this is inexcusable stonewalling in the face of fifteen US states that recognize cannabis’ medicinal value, the calls from the American Medical Association for its rescheduling, and the federal government’s own patent on the medicinal properties of cannabinoids.  Leonhart has even refused to heed the declaration of a DEA judge in the petition of Professor Lyle Craker, whom the judge said should be allowed to grow cannabis for scientific research.

You can still write or call your Senator about Ms. Leonhart’s nomination process – to do so click here and here.  Tell your Senator to support Sen. Kohl’s opposition to Michele Leonhart for DEA Administrator and demand President Obama nominate an administrator who will be open-minded on the science of medical marijuana and willing to reasonably discuss the end of the drug war altogether.

The Head of the DEA, Michele Leonhart, will be officially confirmed today by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leonhart was nominated by President George W. Bush

Here is the original post:
Obama Administration Finally Moves to Confirm Leonhart DEA Head

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Acting DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart

President Barack Obama recently nominated Michelle Leonhart to direct the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. NORML is asking you to contact your Senator today and urge him or her to reject this nomination.

As interim DEA director, Ms. Leonhart orchestrated federal raids on individuals and facilities who were compliant with the medical marijuana laws of their states — a policy that is in direct conflict with the wishes of the present administration. Further, Ms. Leonhart has inexplicably called the rising death toll of civilians attributable to the U.S./Mexican drug war “a signpost of the success” of current drug prohibition strategies. Finally, she has repeatedly acted to block clinical research into the medical properties of marijuana — actions that would appear to run contrary to this administration’s pledge to allow science, rather than rhetoric and ideology, guide public policy.

Ms. Leonhart’s actions and ambitions are incompatible with common sense marijuana law reform. Please urge Congress to reject this nomination. For your convenience, a prewritten letter will be e-mailed to your member of the U.S. Senate when you enter your contact information below.

Thank you for assisting NORML’s federal law reform efforts.

Originally posted here:
Reject Obama’s Nomination of Michelle Leonhart For DEA Director

First, do no harm...

(Change.org) Last week President Obama quietly announced that he would nominate Michele Leonhart to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency. Ms. Leonhart, who was appointed and promoted by George W. Bush, oversaw the Bush administration’s tactic of raiding the homes of desperately ill individual medical marijuana patients in California.

Ms. Leonhart also has a record of adamantly fighting against allowing scientific research of the potential medicinal value of marijuana. Ignoring the ruling of a federal judge, Ms. Leonhart single-handedly blocked applications from respected university researchers studying medical marijuana.

Tell your Senator not to confirm Ms. Leonhart.

We need a DEA leader who understands the potential value of medical marijuana — not a Bush-era holdover who thought raiding the homes of cancer patients was a good idea.

Surf over to Change.org and sign the petition (click the big medical marijuana caduceus on the left).  We may not be able to stop Leonhart’s appointment, but we don’t have to be silent about it.  You’ll make an even bigger impression if you write, call, or fax your senator, and if you have the means to do so, visit them in person.  (While you’re at it, check out our state and federal Action Alerts at NORML.)

The illegality of marijuana makes our constituency much less powerful politically than our numbers should merit.  There are 4.3 million people in the National Rifle Association (NRA).  There are 1 million people in the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL).  There are a half a million people in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  Their political power means Washington never succeeds in restricting gun rights, abortion rights, and free speech rights.

There are 22 million people who will smoke marijuana this year.  That’s about equal to total number of adult African-Americans in America.  12.5 million of us will partake at least once a month.  That’s about equal to the total number of adult Asian-Americans in America.  There are 3.5 million people who will smoke marijuana daily this year.  That’s about equal to the total number of adult Mormons in America.  Can you imagine appointing to the head of a federal law enforcement agency a person who believed we should arrest all black or Asian or Mormon people?

Yet probably only 1 out of 100 daily marijuana smokers belong to a political cannabis reform organization like NORML.  It’s no wonder Washington laughs at us.  You cannot hide in the closet anymore if you expect to no longer be treated as a criminal.  Join NORML Today!

You may find yourself saying "This is not my beautiful car. This is not my beautiful wife. This is not the Change I Can Believe In..."

That does it.  I’m burning the Obama cap I got at the Democratic Convention.  The man has lost his mind.

(White House) WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

• Elisabeth Hagen, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety, Department of Agriculture
• Michele M. Leonhart, Administrator of Drug Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice

President Obama said, “The skill and dedication of these individuals will make them valued additions to my administration, and I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years.”

Michele M. Leonhart has nearly 30 years of experience as a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration.  She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as DEA Deputy Administrator and became the Acting Administrator in 2007.

Anyone remember Candidate Obama talking about the Change We Can Believe In from the Bush Administration in regards to science?

(TPM) “My administration will value science,” Obama said, in what sounded like a pointed reference to his predecessor. “We will make decisions based on facts.”

With the appointment of Leonhart, we can forget about science and facts having any bearing on the actions of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  For example, it is a fact that more Mexicans have been killed in the drug war in two years than Americans who have died in 9/11, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined and that death toll is directly attributable to American demand for marijuana we’re more than willing to grow for ourselves.  Yet Michele Leonhart thinks piled up bodies of Mexican citizens and cops is a success:

(Stash) “Our view is that the violence we have been seeing is a signpost of the success our very courageous Mexican counterparts are having,” said Michele Leonhart, acting DEA administrator. “The cartels are acting out like caged animals, because they are caged animals.”

Leonhart also seems to have made a science out of wasting taxpayer dollars:

WASHINGTON — The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration spent more than $123,000 to charter a private jet to fly to Bogota, Colombia, last fall instead of taking one of the agency’s 106 planes.

When reputable scientists, backed by a finding of fact by the DEA’s own administrative law judge, apply to the DEA to study the medical efficacy of cannabis, Leonhart runs out the clock, delays, impedes, and finally rejects any attempt to value science and make decisions based on the facts.

(Stash) Professor Craker’s petition was rejected despite the opinion of DEA ALJ Bittner that granting Craker a license to grow marijuana “would be in the public interest.” Judge Bittner issued a comprehensive, 88-page nonbinding recommendation to DEA Deputy Administrator Michele Leonhart on February 12, 2007, following nine days of hearings, testimony and evidence presented by the ACLU and others on both sides of the issue.

While I’m happy about the Obama doctrine of not using federal resources to go after states following their medical marijuana laws, I still worry about such a die-hard drug war ideologue running the DEA.  Maybe Obama had to go with Leonhart because nobody else would take the job anymore.

DEA: Mexican drug violence is a sign of progress, not failure

When up becomes down and peace becomes war, you know you’re talking to a prohibitionist. Today’s wacko statement comes from Michele Leonhart, acting DEA administrator since the fall of 2007.

“Our view is that the violence we have been seeing is a signpost of the success our very courageous Mexican counterparts are having,” said Michele Leonhart, acting DEA administrator. “The cartels are acting out like caged animals, because they are caged animals.”

Let’s look closer at the DEA signpost shall we?

Mexican officials attributed 6,290 murders to drug-related violence, more than double the number in 2007. Several hundred of the victims were government officials and many of their bodies were mutilated and placed where they would be found, to warn others against opposing cartel operations.

The killing of several hundred government officials, not to mention six thousand citizens doesn’t seem to be much of a victory. In the regulated marketplace, rival companies wage hostile takeovers and fortuitous mergers. When that market is illegal and the remedies of the marketplace are not allowed, the law of the jungle will prevail.

Anthony Placido, DEA assistant administrator and chief of intelligence, said there were three broad categories of violence associated with the cartels: individuals vying for power within the five main cartels, the cartels fighting each other for control of lucrative aircraft landing rights and transit points, and the cartels fighting government officials who thwart their operations.

There will most likely be an aggregation of power as at least one of the cartels will be violently “merged” with another. As well as an aggregation of bribes and the cartels that emerge will become better equipped and be more efficient. Personally, I despise cartels and the power and leverage they yield. Hopefully the murders will end soon and peace will return to the border towns, but I have no doubts that drugs will still find their way into the US. I’m also sure there will be a cartel there to manage it.

Speaking at a press conference with DEA administrator Michelle Leonhart, Attorney General Eric Holder declared that ending medical marijuana raids  ”is now American policy.”

A reporter asked, “shortly after the inauguration there were raids on California medical marijuana dispensaries…do you expect these to continue?”, noting that the President had promised to end the raids in the campaign.

Holder responded, “What the President said during the campaign…is consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement.  He was my boss in the campaign….He is my boss now.  What he said in the campaign is now American policy.”

Download audio file (eric-holder-declares-ending-dea-raids-is-american-policy.mp3)

The question appears about 25 minutes into the press conference, which was devoted to an operation against the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel.

February 25th, 2009.  Mark it as the day on your calendar when the beginning of the end of adult marijuana prohibition happened.  With federal pressure off of California and other medical marijuana states, the acceptance of cannabis will grow… like a weed!

I think I am crying…  Good night, y’all!