You’ve certainly heard me talk about Michele Leonhart enough here.
Now that President Obama has nominated her to stay on officially as Director of the DEA, we do have the opportunity to educate the Senate before her confirmation.
Someone at Change.org has put together an action item — a petition to sign and send letters to your Senators.
Check it out here. Only 23 people have acted so far on this item — would be nice to see that go up a bit.
on Anti-marijuana quack Dave Weldon to take over CDC: “I strongly disagree with Servetus’ statement about Dave Weldon. His views on marijuana are not only outdated but also harmful…” Dec 17, 07:40
on Anti-marijuana quack Dave Weldon to take over CDC: “Brain volume changes seen in opioid users: 10-Dec-2024 — OAK BROOK, Ill. – Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine…” Dec 12, 22:14 on Catholic bishops fear marijuana and freethinking: “Doctors and medical professionals working on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic found significant relief from psilocybin while participating in…” Dec 7, 14:24 on Catholic bishops fear marijuana and freethinking: “Ayahuasca (DMT) effects on the brain in reducing fear and anxiety are modulated by cross-talk between two serotonin receptor sites:…” Dec 7, 13:38
on Anti-marijuana quack Dave Weldon to take over CDC: “If you thought Bondi and Weldon are bad, I know plenty of Louisiana politicians in both parties who are even…” Dec 6, 11:26 on Catholic bishops fear marijuana and freethinking: “An evaluation prepared in Germany demonstrates that severe tobacco addiction can be medically treated using nicotine or the drug varenicline:…” Dec 1, 09:19 on Catholic bishops fear marijuana and freethinking: “Cannabidiol (CBD) is investigated as a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): 25-Nov-2024 – Current medical guidelines for ADHD…” Nov 26, 18:55
NORML should put this on their front page.
Done deal,added a question about how does our Justice Department have a medical policy and 14 states have medical marijuana laws for a drug with no medical applications,hence,marijuana no longer fits the description of a schedule 1 drug.
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I will sign, but will use my own words as the petition language is weak. It opposes her nomination on the grounds that she has “…an abysmal record when it comes to understanding medical marijuana and how to best enforce drug laws…” & that “…she oversaw raids of homes of sick patients with cancer and other debilitating illnesses who were using medical marijuana to alleviate their symptoms…”
I dare say that’s not enough to get the attention of any politician.
There should really be language in there reflecting her highly questionable relationship with “Super Snitch” Andrew Chambers as reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and on this site. Namely that as his handler, they have had a very close relationship, so close that their moves around the country coincided with each other, that he was paid over TEN TIMES the DEA’s own regulations for career pay an informant can receive – and 4 times that of the next highest paid informant – the DEA gave him so much money he was able to have homes in at least 2 different cities, and that he lied, repeatedly, under oath – for Michele Leonhart.
These facts alone should disqualify her.
sources:
http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/dea-bad-girl-michele-leonhart/
http://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4341.shtml
My letter is sent. I, too, rewrote the form letter. Too many reasons against her to be left out.
Here’s what I wrote – please feel free to use any of it –
I am a combat veteran and a parent and am writing to ask that you oppose the nomination of Michele Leonhart to the position of DEA administrator.
Not only has she been at the forefront of the DEA’s relentless push for raids on medical marijuana dispensaries and homes of sick people, but she has displayed boundless zeal in attaining convictions, to the point of what appears to be a willingness to bend the law – reflected by her highly questionable relationship with “Super Snitch” Andrew Chambers as reported in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch beginning in January of 2000.
In summary the paper reported that as his handler, they have had a very close relationship, so close that their moves around the country coincided with each other & that he was paid over TEN TIMES the DEA’s own regulations for career pay an informant can receive (and 4 times that of the next highest paid informant), in fact, under Leonhart’s handling the DEA paid him so much that he was able to have homes in at least 2 different cities & most importantly that he lied, repeatedly, under oath – for Michele Leonhart. Her indignant response to this – “The only criticism I’ve ever heard is what defense attorneys will characterize as perjury or a lie on the stand.â€
This type of overzealousness is what gets innocent people killed, as evidenced by the over 100 innocent Americans killed by law enforcement in botched “no-knock” raids, and by the recently released video of an airplane carrying an American missionary family killed by Peruvian Air force planes under the direction of the CIA.
These facts alone should disqualify her. If that’s not enough, please consider this –
In February of 2009 The Washington Times reported that President Obama planned to suspend the DEA’s raids once he “nominates someone to take charge of DEA, which is still run by Bush administration holdovers.” Leonhart is the most conspicuous and important of those holdovers. The Times quoted a White House spokesman who said, “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.”
14 states in the nation have legalized medical marijuana, and a dozen more have legislation in the works for same. The American Medical Association recently reversed their 70 years of opposition, coming more in line with the positions of the Institute of Medicine, the American College of Physicians, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Nurses Association among others. The DEA’s own Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner recommended granting an application filed by the University of Massachusetts to establish an alternative source of marijuana for medical research. Ms. Leonhart rejected the decision of her judge. It seems she’s already reviewed the DEA policies and is in favor of maintaining the status quo – despite the opinions of the medical community and a quarter of the nation’s states.
sources:
http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/dea-bad-girl-michele-leonhart/
http://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4341.shtml
http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/02/05/05/1853-82/index.xml
http://reason.com/blog/2009/01/13/marijuana-monopoly-maintained
http://www.cato.org/raidmap/
I signed it.
I can’t help but think, “Why are we still bothering with change.org?” It doesn’t seem to be taken seriously by anyone in government, and from what I can gather e-mail campaigns have been the least effective means of influencing the political process.
I mean, what evidence do we have that email campaigns (from change.org) actually affect political pressure?
truthtechnician — email campaigns are some of the least effective ways of influencing the political process, but they’re infinitely more effective than NOT doing something. Most people, faced with the challenge of doing something that requires more than a few clicks, will instead opt to not act.
Notice, if you sign the petition/letter and then go back to the site, it gives you the phone numbers of your two Senators. Call them — that’s where you get real results.
And to those of you who modified the letters — that’s also excellent. It makes them stand out and they’re more likely to be read.
You’re right Pete. Sorry for my negativity. I guess I’m grumpy in the morning. No commenting before 9AM!
US: Web: Open Letter to Change.org
Top 10 Ideas within the Criminal Justice category: Legalize Recreational Use of Marijuana; Legalize the Medicinal and Recreational Use of Marijuana; Rehabilitation, not incarceration; Legalize and tax marijuana; Remove Marijuana From Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act; Legalize Marijuana; Reduce criminal recidivism; End the war on drugs; End Marijuana Prohibition; and Make Marijuana Legal.
Change.org appears to endorse a free and fair voting process as reflected in the “Governmental Reform and Transparency” category. It rightly decries bias against people of color, gays, and the homeless. It embraces human rights. Yet, these noble ideals become diminished by brushing aside the most popular issue.
signed!
Pete, why aren’t you doing any appearances on msnbc, cnn… etc? it would be nice to see someone who knows the topic well convey our message to the masses!
thanks,
iDub
I’d love to, iDub, but Drug WarRant really isn’t on their radar. Plus, I’m in Central Illinois and they really prefer to grab their expert guests from DC, or at least a big city.