Eric Holder questions marijuana's legal status as he prepares to leave Justice Department

[babylonsister]

Eric Holder questions marijuana's legal status as he prepares to leave Justice Department

Updated by German Lopez on September 25, 2014, 11:17 a.m. ET


On the eve of his reported resignation, US Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview with Yahoo News that it's time to reconsider marijuana's legal classification in the federal government's scheduling system.

Under the current classification, marijuana is placed in the same category as heroin. That places it in a strict regulatory class that severely limits how researchers and doctors can use the drug. The reclassification, then, could dramatically shift how the federal government handles marijuana in the war on drugs and provide some legal legitimacy to medical marijuana at the federal level.

"I think it's certainly a question that we need to ask ourselves — whether or not marijuana is as serious a drug as is heroin," Holder said. "{T}he question of whether or not they should be in the same category is something that I think we need to ask ourselves, and use science as the basis for making that determination."

The question, which goes at the heart of US drug policy, enshrines Holder's legacy in drawing down the war on drugs. Holder's office had already allowed Colorado and Washington to carry out their own experiments in legalization without federal interference — arguably the most significant steps in dismantling the war on drugs since its beginnings in the 1970. Holder also supported reforms that will pull back prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

Holder clarified that he's still unsure about where he stands on the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana, but he said legalization efforts at the state level should provide a lesson for federal policymakers.

While decriminalization and legalization are largely up to an act of Congress, the US attorney general holds a lot of power in deciding when to review a drug's schedule, as I explained before. But the process also involves significant scientific and bureaucratic processes, some of which are already underway for marijuana.

more...

http://www.vox.com/2014/9/25/6842187/US-drug-schedule-marijuana-Justice-Department-Eric-Holder?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=ezraklein&utm_content=thursday

[malthaussen]

1. Very interesting.

Given how much bashing Mr Holder has taken for enforcing certain MJ laws, this statement in light of his resignation makes me wonder if something is going on in the background.

-- Mal

[eShirl]

2. indeed!

I hadn't considered that

[Bragi]

3. Can Obama "legalize" or "decriminalize" by executive order?

If so, he should do so.

[ColesCountyDem]

4. No, he can't. n/t

[cleanhippie]

5. He can have the FDA take it off the schedule I list.

That act alone would effectively end all efforts to prevent cannabis use by law enforcement.

[Bragi]

10. Then failing to do so is sad and nonsensical /nt

[cleanhippie]

14. Tell me about it.

[ColesCountyDem]

20. No, he can't.

President cannot order the FDA to do anything. The original schedules were created by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Only the FDA, in conjunction with the DEA can move drugs up or down on the schedules.

[Romulox]

31. You are wrong. Ignorance of the law isn't a compelling argument.

I've posted the easily locatable information on this thread. Next time search that info out before lecturing, please.

[ColesCountyDem]

35. No, you're wrong.

When you find something resembling evidence that the President can order the FDA to do or not do a given thing, get back to me.

[Romulox]

38. Lame. Here's the direct cite: 21 US § 811(a) ("Controlled Substances Act")

the Attorney General may by rule—

(1) add to such a schedule or transfer between such schedules any drug or other substance if he—

(A) finds that such drug or other substance has a potential for abuse, and

(B) makes with respect to such drug or other substance the findings prescribed by subsection (b) of section 812 of this title for the schedule in which such drug is to be placed; or

(2) remove any drug or other substance from the schedules if he finds that the drug or other substance does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule.

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/811.htm

[ColesCountyDem]

42. Citing it a BIT out of context.

You can't cherry pick the part of the statute you happen to like, while ignoring the parts that you don't.

[Duppers]

50. The President appoints the Commissioner for the FDA

He can hire, fire, etc. The commissioner reports to the Secretary of Health and Human Services who reports to the President. (He's not called Commander-in-Chief for nothing.)

So, you think this statement is misleading:

"President Obama told reporters at a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit that the he wasn't ready to share any experimental Ebola treatments with West Africa"
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/obama-resists-fast-tracking-ebola-drug-but-new-test-cleared

So, umm, yeah, no power over the FDA?

And what industry do you think ranks at the top for paying lobbyists? Rather flies in the face of "the FDA is so independent" assertion.

Last year Pharmaceuticals/Health Products paid $226,344,456 to lobbyists!
https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?indexType=i

And remember what the Bush admin did for Big Pharma?


(Btw, our President really pissed me off, when in '09 he appointed former Monsanto VP and head lobbyist Michael Taylor as Deputy Commissioner for the FDA!!)

[ColesCountyDem]

51. What I SAID was...

.. that the President can't order the FDA to do anything. I'd very much appreciate not having words put in my mouth.

Have a nice day.

[Cartoonist]

16. Give me time to do some research

unless someone can do it faster.

But yes, Obama can "decriminalize" marijuana. I read an article that said just that. The only hitch is that he used an act by Thomas Jefferson to explain why. I guess it hasn't been done since, so that will make things muddy.

[Cartoonist]

18. not the same thing

http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2014/03/thomas-jefferson-vs-the-enforce-the-law-act-of-2014/

“I discharged every person under punishment or prosecution under the Sedition law, because I considered & now consider that law to be a nullity as absolute and as palpable as if Congress had ordered us to fall down and worship a golden image; and that it was as much my duty to arrest it’s execution in every stage, as it would have been to have rescued from the fiery furnace those who should have been cast into it for refusing to worship their image.”
- Letter to Abigail Adams, 1804
-
Well, if he wasn't impeached for that, what's a little pot offense?
This is not the article I recall, nor the crime that was discussed, but there is something here.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. With a little more finesse than Charlo Greene,

but maybe the same underlying sentiment..."fuck it, I quit." LOL

[Orsino]

7. "Use science as a basis for making that determination"?

The science was in a long time ago. You're resigning, Mr. Attorney General. No need for such timidity.

[cleanhippie]

8. Yes, this seems a cowardly act on the way out the door.

[Orsino]

9. Unless it's eleventh-dimensional chess...

...or the beginning of something more assertive.

[cleanhippie]

11. Oh, it's the beginning of something more assertive, all right.

The fact that cannabis will become legal in more and more states is undeniable. The administration can try to get back out in front and lead on this issue of it wants, but the train had already left the station.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

22. Trust me, it's more about economics than science.

[Octafish]

12. Still doesn't draw attention away from the central unanswered question of his tenure...

"Why aren't Bush and Cheney in prison?"

[Rex]

25. And why is he resigning when he is needed most?

Bush and Cheney are protected persons, we don't value justice enough to do the right thing.

[Octafish]

29. It's like a Nicholas Cage movie where SuperSecret Washington has a SuperSecret Pardon going.

Otherwise, traitors, war criminals, warmongers and war profiteers would join the banksters in jail.

[Rex]

32. Just think if they were treated like whistleblowers!

Nah never happen.

[padfun]

27. That's not going to happen

You can find something on just about every president in history to throw them in jail, and they just aren't going to do that.
some people have diplomatic immunity and our Presidents seem to have an unwritten one as well.

I agree that they are criminals but it isn't going to happen and it gets old when people still bring this up.

[Octafish]

28. You know what doesn't get old?

My friend's brother who was killed by a fellow soldier in Iraq.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014484955

So, as there's no statute of limitations on murder, I'll await for the return of Justice, when the warmongering traitors and war criminals who lied America into illegal, immoral, disastrous and unnecessary wars are held to account.

Almost forgot: Welcome to DU, padfun!

[Duppers]

49. "gets old when people still bring this up" ??

Bullshit.

[LiberalLovinLug]

13. Easy to stand up to big Pharma, big Policing, and big private Prisons, when you are leaving office

And he is still "unsure about where he stands". And I'm sure he will be until he is finally not in office anymore. Reminds me of a few others, both Republican and Democratic only having the courage to speak up about the obvious misclassification when they leave office such as George Schulz, Reagan's SOS, who spoke publicly about pot being decriminalized.

[Hari Seldon]

15. He will cease to be unsure of his own position

until about a day after he ceases to be Attorney General.

[Dustlawyer]

17. He sucked, does suck, will suck, past present and future. Only in the future, he will affect a lot

fewer of us. He will go back to Wall Street having done them a solid and will get an Eric Cantor thank you!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

19. you got that right.

The pass on what cheney and bush did in Iraq was unforgivable. Same goes for his banker fiends

[leftstreet]

24. +1

[TheNutcracker]

26. +2

[whatchamacallit]

21. Get out already!

[Man from Pickens]

23. I work with MMJ businesses

and Eric Holder has been no friend to the industry, whether in the enforcement of federal laws in defiance of state-level legalization, or in this "Operation Chokepoint" style programs specifically designed to antagonize/burden the industry.

How many years has he had to lighten the enforcement of these obviously-damaging laws? Why suddenly as he is leaving is he now trying to get on the right side of this issue?

[Romulox]

30. Holder is lying. He had the power to reschedule all along, and still does today.

Cannabis could be rescheduled either legislatively, through Congress, or through the executive branch. Congress has so far rejected all bills to reschedule cannabis. However, it is not unheard of for Congress to intervene in the drug scheduling process; in February 2000, for instance, the 105th Congress, in its second official session, passed Public Law 106-172, also known as the Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reed Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 2000,[17] adding GHB to Schedule I.[18] On June 23, 2011, Rep. Barney Frank and Rep. Ron Paul introduced H.R. 2306,[19] legislation that would completely remove cannabis from the federal schedules, limiting the federal government's role to policing cross-border or interstate transfers into states where it remains illegal.

The Controlled Substances Act also provides for a rulemaking process by which the United States Attorney General can reschedule cannabis administratively. These proceedings represent the only means of legalizing medical cannabis without an act of Congress. Rescheduling supporters have often cited the lengthy petition review process as a reason why cannabis is still illegal.[6] The first petition took 22 years to review, the second took 7 years, the third was denied 9 years later. A 2013 petition by two state governors is still pending.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_cannabis_from_Schedule_I_of_the_Controlled_Substances_Act#Process

[Comrade Grumpy]

34. Are you saying the AG can reschedule with just the stroke of a pen?

What about that rescheduling review process? You know, FDA, DEA, all that?

[ColesCountyDem]

37. Yes, that's what he's saying.

Ignorance of the law is manifest his 'broad brush' statement.

A far more valid legal reference is http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/811.htm . Wikipedia as a 'source' for legal, medical or scientific information is questionable.

[Romulox]

40. URLs can't end in periods. Also, that's not how laws are cited.

To cite a law, you need to refer to both title and section of the law, as well as the pertinent sub-sequestion. For example, 21 US § 811(a), which is the controlling section of the Controlled Substances Act, cited above.

[Romulox]

39. I'm not "saying" anything. I'm citing the US Code. Check out 21 US § 811(a).

It's not what I'm saying, it's what the US Congress said, as embodied in US Title 21 ("Controlled Substances Act&quot .

SUBCHAPTER I — CONTROL AND ENFORCEMENT

Part B — Authority to Control; Standards and Schedules

§811. Authority and criteria for classification of substances

(a) Rules and regulations of Attorney General; hearing

The Attorney General shall apply the provisions of this subchapter to the controlled substances listed in the schedules established by section 812 of this title and to any other drug or other substance added to such schedules under this subchapter. Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e) of this section, the Attorney General may by rule—

(1) add to such a schedule or transfer between such schedules any drug or other substance if he—

(A) finds that such drug or other substance has a potential for abuse, and

(B) makes with respect to such drug or other substance the findings prescribed by subsection (b) of section 812 of this title for the schedule in which such drug is to be placed; or

(2) remove any drug or other substance from the schedules if he finds that the drug or other substance does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule.

Rules of the Attorney General under this subsection shall be made on the record after opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the rulemaking procedures prescribed by subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5. Proceedings for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of such rules may be initiated by the Attorney General (1) on his own motion, (2) at the request of the Secretary, or (3) on the petition of any interested party.

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/811.htm

[Comrade Grumpy]

55. As I understand, there's a rulemaking process that involves FDA and DEA.

Not just the stroke of a pen.

There have been several rescheduling petitions. They all got killed by DEA.

[SomethingFishy]

33. The people of the US don't give a shit what Eric Holder thinks about legalization

they want it done and they want it done now. People are tired of being called "criminal" for smoking a joint. The jails are crowded with people who did nothing but get high.

Not to mention that Holder sure didn't mind raiding LEGAL MMJ dispensaries in California, throwing people in prison for doing what was deemed legal in their state. Fuck him. Now that he's walking out he wants to change his mind? Here's a partial list of the people Holder decided needed to spend some time in prison for doing what their state told them was legal:

http://www.canorml.org/costs/federal_medical_marijuana_prisoners_and_cases

[SamKnause]

36. Mr. Holder certainly

doesn't sound very intelligent by making the following statement, "I think it's certainly a question that we need to ask ourselves-

whether or not marijuana is as serious a drug as is heroin."

I doubt seriously that the man is ignorant, so is he being dishonest intentionally ???

Yes he is !!!!!!!

I have zero trust in our elected and appointed officials.

They continue to treat the U.S. citizenry as complete idiots.

Some of us have access to the internet.

Some of us have read numerous articles and studies from around the world.

Some of us are familiar with the drug policy in Portugal.

Some of us have 40 plus years of personal experience to base our opinions on.

This 'Fake and Failed War Against Drugs' has always been about destroying those who use cannabis.

The countless lives that have been lost, the countless lives that have been ruined, the trillions that have been made off this evil farce.

All this destruction to rid the U.S. of a plant that has never medically caused the death of a single human.

The insanity is infuriating !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To continue this assault on cannabis users is evil on scale that is unimaginable !!!!!!!!!!!!

[F4lconF16]

43. +1

Exactly right.

[Caretha]

45. Did you ever ask yourself

if he was just plain fuckin' stupid or a stooge?

[Jamastiene]

53. Well said.

It is preposterous that they expect us to pretend to be so damn dumb as to believe their assertions. The evidence is out there. They are flat out lying.

[SamKnause]

54. Thank you.

The politicians lie.

The justice department lies.

The DEA lies.

The FBI lies.

The NSA lies.

The ATF lies.

The military brass lies.

Homeland Security lies.

The media lies.

Many religious leaders lie.

The police lie.

Wall Street lies.

CEO's lie.

Lobbyists lie.

This country is run by pathological liars, cons, and shysters.

[jaysunb]

44. I was recently flamed pretty well for making this connection

That doesn't necessarily mean the federal government views marijuana and heroin as equally deadly drugs, or that it considers marijuana to be deadlier than meth or cocaine. The war on drugs was initiated at a time when much of the nation was in hysterics about what drugs like marijuana and LSD would do to the moral fabric of the country. Marijuana was seen as dangerous not necessarily because of its direct health effects, but because of the perception — some of it rooted in racial prejudices  — that pot makes people immoral, lazy, crazy, and even violent. This perception persists among many supporters of the war on drugs to this day, and it's still reflected in America's drug scheduling.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025561387

[TheNutcracker]

46. He still needs to ask??????

[Comrade Grumpy]

47. Holder has probably been the best AG in recent history on drug policy.

The medical marijuana raids weren't good, but they've largely stopped. They've accommodated to medical marijuana.

He and Obama wisely chose not to fuck with the legalizer states.

He and Obama have made significant progress on sentencing reform. And the Congress, too. Fair Sentencing Act, retroactivity for crack sentencing reforms, literally begging drug war prisoners to ask for clemency.

[BlindTiresias]

48. yeah, yeah Mr. Holder

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

I can't wait for his stronger, even more ineffectual opinions in the future.

[bobduca]

52. We'll see

Chiquita Banana's bag man has always been an agent of change (for the 1%)