Pubdate: Wed, 05 Mar 2014
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)
Copyright: 2014 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
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CONGRESS ADVISED TO KEEP 'POT' ILLEGAL

WASHINGTON - A senior U.S. drug-enforcement official urged Congress 
and others Tuesday not to abandon scientific concerns over marijuana 
in favor of public opinion to legalize it, even as the administration 
of President Barack Obama takes a hands-off approach in states where 
voters have made legal its sale and use.

The deputy administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
Thomas Harrigan, testified Tuesday before a House oversight panel 
that easing laws governing marijuana threatens U.S. institutions.

"We should not abandon science and fact in favor of public opinion," 
Harrigan said.

Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have legalized 
marijuana for medical use. To date, only Colorado and Washington have 
allowed the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes. 
Several other states, including Oregon and Alaska, are expected to 
vote on legalizing recreational marijuana within the next year.
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