Gregory D.

Lee

Read Greg's bio and previous columns here

February 13, 2009

Marijuana Minions: Obama Supporters Want the DEA to Go Away

To the horror of millions of Barack Obama supporters, the Drug Enforcement Administration is still enforcing federal marijuana laws!

Despite President Obama’s campaign promises to halt DEA raids on so-called “medical marijuana” dispensaries, they continue. I guess DEA didn’t get the memo.

According to White House spokesperson Nick Shapiro, “The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind.” In other words, when the president gets his new guy to run the DEA, he or she will make darn sure those raids on marijuana dispensaries stop.

There must be a lot of sick people in California needing their cannabis medicine. Mr. Shapiro failed to mention that the Los Angeles Times reported that there are as many as 11 “dispensaries” within a two-mile radius in some parts of the marijuana-friendly city, prompting increased DEA action. With the president’s pro-drug policy, his constituents won’t have to go on the street corner anymore to buy their “dose” of marijuana for whatever ails them, like an eating disorder, hang nails or sore feet.

When DEA Administrator Karen Tandy retired, Michele Leonhart, the deputy administrator, took over. Since the Senate must confirm both the administrator and deputy DEA administrator, she is a Bush appointee. That should make her eligible for unemployment insurance soon. Maybe someone ought to tell Mr. Shapiro that, like the president, she has a white mother and African-American father.

Having worked for Ms. Leonhart in Los Angeles for several years before retiring from DEA, I know she has impeccable integrity. She possesses an abundance of common sense, is an extraordinary people person to the point that everyone calls her “Michele,” and she pays her taxes. As a woman, she rose through the ranks as a street agent to “break the glass ceiling” and become in charge of the world’s most respected, effective and admired drug law enforcement agency. In light of her outstanding qualifications, she has absolutely no chance of becoming President Obama’s DEA administrator. What a shame. By the way, I think she’s a Democrat, if that makes any difference.

President Obama will keep his campaign promise by appointing a lapdog. I say this from my experience working for DEA in both Republican and Democratic administrations.

President Carter never invited the DEA administrator to the White House, nor did he ever visit DEA headquarters. He doesn’t know what the initials “D.E.A.” mean.

President Ronald Reagan increased DEA’s agent strength by about 40 percent.

During the Clinton Administration I taught at DEA’s Office of Training, located at the FBI Academy. A White House staffer asked that DEA representatives attend the annual drug policy speech at the nearby Montgomery, Md. County jail. I drove several state and local narcotics officers who were attending training at the time over there, and we sat in bleachers in the jail’s gym behind inmates who had front row seats.

Characteristically late, in walks President Clinton along with Al Gore, Janet Reno and most of the cabinet. President Clinton spoke glowingly about the results of a federally funded drug rehab program, and introduced a graduate who spoke highly about its benefits to him and other former drug addicts. Love was everywhere, and you left thinking this was the best program ever devised by humans to end drug dependence. President Clinton bit his bottom lip while wiping away tears as he embraced the program’s graduate.

A week later, I read in the Washington Whispers section of U.S. News and World Report that President Clinton had eliminated this viable drug rehab program from his budget the day before the drug policy event.  

So there you have it. President Obama, like his Democratic predecessors, is poised to reverse drug enforcement efforts.

Can the country afford this kind of change?  

Gregory D. Lee is a retired DEA Supervisory Special Agent and is now a syndicated columnist for North Star Writers Group. He can be reached through his web site: www.gregorydlee.com .   

© 2009 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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