Do you support legalization?
No. I’ve never advocated legalization and certainly the president has made it clear that’s his position.
Where did the perception come from that you are permissive in drug enforcement?
The perception is that Seattle is this very tolerant city, but when I talk to my colleagues around the country and they look at what are your resources for law enforcement, targeting adults for small, personal amounts of marijuana, it isn’t high on the radar screen when you have X amount of bodies. You can look at most prosecutors across the country and they have filing standards. Police departments aren’t going to say no, don’t arrest, but are you going to take an officer off the street for four hours or are they going to choose to take themselves off the street for four hours to book somebody for a small amount of marijuana? It’s less about tolerance.
via – The wall Street Journal “Q&A With the New Drug Czar“
I believe we need to give Director Kerlikowske a chance to get moved into his office and a few months to get on his feet before we can start screaming, “What are you doing?!?!” at him. I like his tone and the 50/50 split between enforcement and treatment is refreshing. I’m not happy that any drug use is still seen as abuse. It is my hope that Director Kerlikowske is the bridge between a law enforcement official and a medical professional holding the office. Time will tell.
One thing to remember: it is just as irrelevant that the Director does not favor legalization as President Obama holding the same opinion. The People will change the law on a state by state basis. What we require from the federal government is to not interfere with process.
I like that Gil/ they realize that “people feel that this has been a war on them”……Perhaps their new thinking will be compassion and science….
MrSpof,
Your tone is sensible. Also, it’s very important to note that sometimes policies can change more than rhetoric.
However, the developments with regard to California dispensaries are not encouraging. As imperfect as it is, California has a system for the distribution of significant amounts of cannabis.
The Federal government has seen fit to descend on independent places of business without any evidence that those establishments are violating the interstate commerce clause of the constitution or California’s Prop 215. This is government by mere whim. It is the antithesis of the rule of law.
The Bush administration set the bar extremely low. But that doesn’t mean Obama’s goons should get a pass.
I agree also. Let the guy get his new furniture in place, and figure out where all the break rooms are at…
Well said and good take Spof, I agree!!!!