Unleash the DEA

by Howie Katz

If the DEA is turned loose to enforce the federal marijuana laws, it would nullify the recreational use of pot in those states that have legalized it.

In 2013, President Obama’s Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to stop enforcing federal drug laws that contradict state marijuana policies. That order also put a leash on the DEA.

Now a number of states, most notably Washington, Colorado and California, have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. That blue haze you see in Denver is not car pollution, it’s pot pollution.

The DEA has classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, the same as heroin and cocaine. Under federal law it is illegal to possess, use, buy, sell, or cultivate marijuana. The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article VI, Clause 2) holds that in case of conflict between federal and state law, the federal law must be applied.

Now that Trump is President and Jeff Sessions is Attorney General, it’s time to unleash the DEA and put a stop to the marijuana legalization nonsense. If the DEA is turned loose to enforce the federal laws against marijuana in those states that have legalized its recreational use, it would in effect nullify the state legalization laws.

More and more recent studies by reputable researchers have shown that marijuana is indeed a dangerous drug, contrary to the claim by pot proponents that it is innocuous. Marijuana should not be legalized.

The pro-pot crowd claims that by legalizing marijuana, the Mexican drug cartels would be driven out of business.  That is patently untrue!  In Colorado for instance, the cartels are doing a thriving business.  Many stoners prefer to buy their pot on the black market because it’s cheaper on the street corner than in the ‘legal’ pot shops where they would have to pay the added on state and local taxes.

Will Trump and Sessions unleash the DEA to go after the federal law violators in Washington, Colorado, California and the other states that have legalized pot? I’m not holding my breath.

Howie Katz is a former law enforcement officer and retired criminal justice professor.  In 1969 he founded the Texas Narcotic Officers Association. He currently resides in Houston, Texas. 

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