In 2011-2012 the Obama Administration came into California with a scorched earth policy towards medical cannabis dispensaries. An out of control AG, Melinda Haag, with all the zealotry of an Inquisition priest, shut down dozens of legitimate dispensaries, threatened landlords and property owners and utterly disrespected the voter approved laws of the State of California.
Now, I am not going to get too into what has been well discussed on the marijuana issue, but the idea that marijuana is some crazy dangerous drug has been well discredited. We know we spend an unjustified amount of resources on imprisoning marijuana "offenders", we know the law is used in urban areas to harass minority youth. We know the law is unequally policed.
We also know that marijuana makes up roughly 65% of illicit drug use in this country and with pharmaceuticals abuse making up the next 15%, it is clear that without marijuana's illegality, there would be no war on drugs. There would be a health issue for those remaining 20%.
I have to say that I was shocked to run across this article referencing this article reporting Vice-President Joe Biden's horrendous history as one of the country's most zealous drug warriors. In fact,
Biden has sponsored more damaging drug war legislation than any Democrat in Congress. Hate the way federal prosecutors use RICO laws to take aim at drug offenders? Thank Biden. How about the abomination that is federal asset forfeiture laws? Thank Biden. Think federal prosecutors have too much power in drug cases? Thank Biden. Think the title of a “Drug Czar” is sanctimonious and silly? Thank Biden, who helped create the position (and still considers it an accomplishment worth boasting about).
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Biden voted in favor of using international development aid for drug control (think plan Columbia, plan Afghanistan, and other meddling anti-drug efforts that have only fostered loathing of America, backlash, and unintended consequences). Oh, and he was also the chief sponsor of 2004′s horrendous RAVE Act.
Now, Biden, in 2008, had publicly stated he was against the federal pressure on cannabis dispensaries, but the
Rolling Stone article reveals that the Vice-President just may be at the center of the Obama Administration's hard-line dictatorial stance on marijuana use in America:
"There are not many friends to legalization in this administration," says Kevin Sabet, director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida who served the White House as a top adviser on marijuana policy. In fact, the politician who coined the term "drug czar" – Joe Biden – continues to guide the administration's hard-line drug policy. "The vice president has a special interest in this issue," Sabet says. "As long as he is vice president, we're very far off from legalization being a reality."
(Sabet is
no proponent of legalization either.)
Meanwhile, everyone from former President Jimmy Carter to current crazy person Pat Robertson understands that the Federal marijuana laws are absurd. Even the AMA has asked the Feds to at least reschedule the plant.
And quite frankly, what business is it of the Federal Government to come into States with laws on marijuana use and act against them? What is the interest? What is the real world motivation for this continuing abuse of authority? Because the only people benefiting from the Feds' actions are the drug cartels, prisons and the cheap labor that comes with them and police departments keeping seized goods and money.
President Obama could end this with the flick of a switch. How can anyone reasonably make the argument that marijuana prohibition is beneficial to society anymore? It's an insane and antiquated policy. And Joe Biden is one it's stalwart warriors.
What is his special interest?