“It’s pretty cynical for DEA to claim on the one hand that we have to wait for the science to come in, and with the other hand literally block that research from happening,”
By Ryan J. Reilly | March 1, 2010 3:38 pm
The total amount of marijuana seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration nearly doubled from 1,539 metric tons in fiscal 2008 to 2,980 metric tons in last year.
The numbers were disclosed as part of the DEA’s budget request for fiscal 2011.
A spokesman for the DEA declined to elaborate on the reason for such a dramatic rise in seizures of marijuana.
“Several factors play into this number and in any given year the amount of drugs seized by DEA can fluctuate,” said spokesman David Ausiello.
Aaron Houston, the director of government relations of the Marijuana Policy Project, a lobbying group that advocates the legalization of marijuana, said he suspected the increase was a result of drug seizures from cartels.
Despite Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement that targeting individual users of cannabis for medical purposes was no longer a priority, the DEA budget request spoke dismissively of the benefits of medical marijuana, even placing the word patients in quotation marks.
“DEA does not investigate or target individual ‘patients’ who use cannabis, but instead the drug trafficking organizations involved in marijuana trafficking,” the request stated.
[Editor’s Note: This might be a good place for a wake up call…]
Houston applauded the Obama administration for its decision to stop raiding medical marijuana facilities in states that allow the practice. But said Houston, “on the rest of their drug policy, they’re on Bush administration auto-pilot.”
The DEA request said that there has been no Food and Drug Administration research that shows the benefits of medical marijuana. But the DEA has blocked such research from taking place, according to Houston. Just a few days before Obama was sworn into office, Houston said, the DEA refused to grant approval for a University of Massachusetts Amherst study into medical marijuana.
“It’s pretty cynical for DEA to claim on the one hand that we have to wait for the science to come in, and with the other hand literally block that research from happening,” said Houston.
The DEA’s full budget request is available on the Justice Department’s Web site.
I’d shared that video with national and local news shows and am happy to say that it is appearing on a grand scale. I have also written to my reps to block to new nomination by Obama for DEA chief jerk – I sent it under the subject “agriculture”! lol I’m trying to approach this in many ways and we’ll see which one catches in which areas. Being in the mid-west I defy our reps to ignore those realities of the benefits of cannabis in agriculture – land, money, environment etc. The coasts might have better luck in the civil rights approach or rights to privacy but in agri-areas I’m trying to approach them in a language they speak – unfortunately that usually means $$$$
All I know is that watching all of that medicine being burned up makes me rage in my core! How dare they pretend that they are waiting for scientific proof when all of the scientific proof they are offered is written off as “anecdotal”?? Is there a more detestable word in the English language??
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The video was also shared on “Current” and made it to the top news story a few days ago:
http://current.com/news/92425552_the-bottom-line-marijuana-should-be-legal-again.htm
The comments are always interesting there… a few people had questions like, what happened to those cops? Maybe you know?
One thing that is so hipocritical, the United States government grows and distributes marijuana cigarettes to a few patients who were part of a now defunked medical marijuana program… so it’s funny to hear anyone in the government claim smoked marijuana is not medicine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassionate_Investigational_New_Drug_program
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“This matter is still under investigation”. So I’m sure the cops are on paid leave for awhile (at least until it blows over a bit).
What’s even more hypocritical is the fact that the US owns patents on the medical benefits of cannabinoids all the while maintaining that it is a schedule I drug meaning that it has no medical benefits whatsoever! This is just one link to one of the several patents that the US has on cannabinoids not to mention the hundreds owned by private (read: pharmaceutical companies)
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507
I get so angry I can’t even see straight!
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I hear you! Luckily, cannabis also helps glaucoma! hehe.
Here, you will love this article in regards to your comments about agricultural uses and the midwest. Next week a rally is being held on the Pine Ridge Indian Res to promote Hemp education:
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100511/NEWS01/705119901
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This made it to Fox News!
http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=11839
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