Pubdate: Mon, 15 Aug 2016
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Greg Barnett
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n543/a03.html

DEA WRONG NOT TO RESCHEDULE POT

Re: "DEA rules that marijuana has no medical value" [News, Aug. 12]: 
The Drug Enforcement Administration will not change the Schedule 1 
designation for marijuana because of the strength of new pot strains 
compared to 1968. Perhaps one should remind the government that the 
strength of the THC content in marijuana was never considered or even 
measured before making it Schedule 1. The schedule change was done 
purely in the spirit of retribution. Rescheduling stems from Leary v. 
United States, which found the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 
unconstitutional. Congress responded by placing marijuana on the 
Schedule 1 list the next year.

There was no testing done before the 1937 act was passed. It was 
purely crony capitalism. DuPont had just patented nylon. Any farmer 
can grow hemp. DuPont and their political allies, including Andrew 
Mellon, had bought heavily into backing the patent for sale to the 
military. Hemp was seen as a competing fiber that could readily be 
used in place of nylon for many applications. Outlaw the plant and 
guess who benefits?

The argument regarding the strength of marijuana does not hold water. 
It's just more rhetoric from the DEA. Hearing "Oh, the children" just 
underscores the comedy of the argument. My teenager had no problems 
getting her hands on marijuana. Getting her hands on some alcohol was 
considerably more difficult. Outlawing marijuana has been 
counterproductive at best.

Make a roadside test for marijuana sufficiently valid to justify 
arresting a driver under the influence. That is where some research 
dollars should be spent. A bullet costs less to manufacture than a 
shield. I guess the feds never caught onto that philosophy.

Greg Barnett

Costa Mesa
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom