Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) has reintroduced an amendment to cut funds from the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) cannabis eradication program through their Salaries and Expenses Account. In 2016, the budget for the eradication program was $18 million and the amendment would cut that in half. The funds would be redirected to domestic abuse prevention and juvenile justice programs. This CJS appropriations amendment that was also proposed last year.
In a 2015 statement, Rep. Lieu explained that this cannabis eradication program “is a ridiculous waste of precious federal resources, especially when multiple states and jurisdictions have already legalized marijuana…it is time for the federal government to stop making marijuana use or possession a federal crime.”
This absolutely is the best move as current law wastes money, accomplishes nothing and denies access to the rest of the states who have not addressed an industry that is here to stay. Sessions needs to turn his attention to other drugs that really do present problems like heroin, cocaine, meth and opiate abuse. He must stop associating cannabis with these other drugs. It is entirely different. The rest of the anti crowd needs to get the facts about cannabis before spouting off negatively about something that has huge potential in so many areas.
I like your thinking.
I agree 100% with your comment. Marijuana shouldn’t even be in the same vocabulary with Drugs except for medicine reasons only. Sessions has no idea what he is talking about nor does the other people whom are against Marijuana.
it also would do wonders to have honest drug enforcement so youth believe there is a difference and some drugs are actually harmful. i might not be living the life of a recovering heroin addict if i believed or trusted what i believed to be government propaganda.
Bingo.
Facts matter. Truth matters. For an addict facing a choice between recovery and death, a lie can be a death sentence. If one is willing to lie about the basic facts, namely, the relative safety of drugs, then such a person is not for recovery; rather, they are for judgementalism, and ultimately, punishment and violence.
There are many who are fine with addicts dropping dead. Better for society, they say. So I say in return, fine: if you don’t want to help, then don’t help. But stop the lying! Step over the bodies, and be on your way, if that’s your choice, but don’t kick ’em as you pass by! That’s just being self-righteous and judgemental.
Hemp for reforestation: despite accounts of “illicit” growing operations which have damaged forest by clearcutting, pesticide, garbage strewing etc., the proliferation of hemp, even just “industrial”, represents the premier precursor crop for trees which are the creators of oxygen and custodians of fresh water for every animal on the planet, as well as the ultimate climate abuse prevention– defending against flooding, drought, fire, as if you didn’t know that from current headlines.
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After a year’s growth dead hempstalks massively fertilize the soil– a process which can be hastened with modern technology for harvesting and chipping down to mulch, then delivered for forest or agricultural development anywhere on planet– deserts are obsolete, you can toke to that.
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Cut it in half? If they want to eradicate something, how about the entire sabotage budget?
Norma. Please legalize Marjuana it helps people please
An interesting NORML post from 11 years ago:
http://norml.org/news/2006/09/07/98-percent-of-all-domestically-eradicated-marijuana-is-ditchweed-dea-admits
%98 of the “marijuana” eradicated by the DEA’s program is merely ditchweed or hemp, remnants of the governments’ WWII Hemp for Victory campaign. The vast majority of the feral hemp when captured a decade ago was in Indiana.
The hypocrisy is abounds. The rest of the world is using hemp as an industrial crop. Meanwhile our government pretends not to know the difference between marijuana and hemp, only recently in 2014 distinguishing the two strains of sativa through an amendment to the farm bill. (See, amendments really do work). Of course, the amendment is limited to growing hemp at Universities and Dep. of Agriculture. Im SURE politicians arent exploiting that restriction or profiting from their controlled sales. (Sarcasm).
The expense of an $18 million dollar annual budget to eradicate a non psychoactive highly beneficial plant especially during the recession, leaves a rather obvious question of who is directly benefiting from this program?
The money trail keeps returning to the Koch brothers and several special subsidies they routinely lobby for. Charles and David Koch own several petrochemical and timber patents that would compete with a legal fairly taxed domestic hemp industry including but not limited to everything from Georgia Pacific lumber, to Brawny paper towels to stainmaster carpets; all products that a domestic hemp industry could produce more cheaply and efficiently. For many rural Americans we could grow, produce and manufacture these home necesities and buiding products for ourselves.
(Continued)…
Fuel. Food. Timber. Medicine. Shelter. All subsidized for specific people and products other than the most efficient crop available: hemp. Another book could be written over the American Chemistry Council that promotes and lobbies for American plastics being made solely by petrol and not plant blased cellulose. Hemp has plenty of cellulose.
Since the 80s when the late Jack Herrer wrote “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” the attitude surrounding the outlaw of hemp has been labeled a conspiracy “with no evidence,” even by marijuana advocates. We’ve seen Koch sponsored moles infiltrate the DPA and the connections between Anslinger, Hearst and Mellon get lost in the history books. In 2004, Koch Industries purchased the infamous timber and petrochemical patents from DuPont that allegedly prompted the Marijuana Stamp Act of 1937. When it became clear that the hemp amendment would pass in 2014, the Kochs passed another amendment that restricted hemp from being subsidized or used as fuel in the United States. If the hemp conspiracy isn’t true, there are a trail of laws and subsidies… including the DEA’s eradication program… that need a lot of explaining to the contrary.
Overdose: Marijuana = 0, Opioids = Lots and Lots and Lots…
They needed to cut it along time ago.
Cut DEA funding for cannabis, Amen to that!
I salute Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA)! I wish more of our Federal level representatives had at least half as much common sense and compassion as he does!
People like him are the kind of people I will vote for without hesitation. I just really wish we had more like him…
I would agree with this if they keep funding for the eradication of the illegal grows that massively pollute the forest with toxic chemicals and cause the death of streams and wildlife in the area.
Doesn’t make sense that the cannabis “illegal grows” pollute with chemicals and waste water, as widely reported in news media, whereas informed sources say that cannabis grown for food and fuel requires LESS water and LESS fertilizer and pesticide than corn or cotton.
I absolutely agree with you that eradication of the illegal grows that massively pollute the forest is very important.
I also believe that if cannabis was legal nationwide that these harmful grows would rapidly diminish as the price would drop below the amount that currently makes them so profitable.
Please read my research on the next blog regarding Bonamici’s hemp amendment and the Koch conspiracy to prohibit hemp to sell their poisonous Koch fertilizer. I dug up some connections between hemp’s ability to self fertilize, the toxicity of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and the Koch brothers that explain not only how our government has been poisoning us with synthetic Koch Fertilizer, but we’ve been subsidizing the poison from which we eat to the poison getting elected with our own tax dollars.
http://www.ibtimes.com/charles-koch-blasts-subsidies-tax-credits-his-firm-has-taken-195-million-worth-them-2034949
http://www.thebestdemocracymoneycanbuy.com
https://www.southlandorganics.com/blogs/news/17982096-health-effects-of-synthetic-fertilizer
http://grist.org/article/2010-02-11-tracking-u-s-farmers-supply-nitrogen-fertilizer/
http://polluterwatch.org/charles-koch-university-funding-database
http://www.hemphasis.net/Environment/environment.htm
This fucktard president and band of racist idiots will not let this happen. Dream-on dreamers!
Overdose: Marijuana = 0, Opioids = Lots and Lots and Lots
Can someone please find the full text of this amendment / bill?
I looked here:
https://www.congress.gov/member/ted-lieu/L000582?q={%22search%22:[%22Ted%20Lieu%22,%22DEA%22],%22within%22:[%22DEA%22]}&searchResultViewType=expanded
I can’t seem to find anything besides this article.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3518/all-info
If Ted is your Congressman, tell him to use the new leverage Democrats have in December and attach this bill to the Debt Ceiling in December.
Justin: Can we contact Bill Maher since he is on the NORML Advisory Board and get him to talk to Lieu about attaching this to the Debt Ceiling bill? This is Bill’s Congressman.
GREAT AND NEXT ELIMINATE THE DEA ALL TOGETHER!! FUCK THE DEA!!
KEEP BUSTING THESE ILLEGAL MARIJUANA GROWERS POLLUTING THE ENVIRONMENT, DRAINING WATER FROM RIVERS AND STREAMS. I HAVE FOUND MORE THAN 1 ON HIKES.