By Carey Wedler
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is terribly confused and wildly uninformed. That, or he’s a liar.
Trump’s pick to head the Department of Justice has long opposed cannabis and enthusiastically supported the war on drugs. Though he reportedly recently assured congressional lawmakers he would not be instituting a crackdown on weed in states where it’s legal, his rhetoric against the increasingly accepted plant is concerning.
Sessions attracted headlines last week when he claimed “there is more violence” surrounding marijuana use than many people imagine. Of course, this is demonstrably false according to crime statistics from states where it is legal. As the Denver Post has noted, “there is one thing that legalization supporters, opponents and neutrals within Colorado agree on: It’s unlikely marijuana has much to do with Denver’s recent uptick in crime.”
As one meme quipped, the violence Sessions should have been referring to is caused by the war on drugs, which is now widely known to cause widespread, institutional violence.
Nevertheless, Sessions remains steadfast in his opposition to weed. In another false statement, Sessions claimed this week that marijuana is almost as dangerous as heroin. Speaking to law enforcement agents at the federal, state, and local level on Wednesday, Sessions boldly asserted:
…I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana – so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less awful. Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life.
First, let’s examine the claim that legalizing cannabis will not help the heroin — and by extension, the opiate painkiller — crisis. One recent study indicated that in states that allow access to cannabis, overdoses from opiate drugs drop. That 2014 study concluded such deaths had decreased by as much as 25% in states with medical marijuana programs. Further, according to some reports — and in an apparent nightmare scenario for Sessions — some opiate addicts are switching to cannabis rather than continuing to use the deadly drug.
“They felt a lot better when their pain was being controlled by cannabis rather [than] opioids because opioids have a lot of side effects,” said Dan Clauw, a researcher investigating this trend.
It is unclear what exactly Sessions considers so “awful” about cannabis. In various forms, it is increasingly proving to help treat epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, anxiety, pain, and the side effects of chemotherapy, to name a few indications. As the government-run National Cancer Institute has acknowledged, preliminary research shows cannabis may help inhibit the growth of tumor cells by causing cell death.
Heroin and opiates do none of these things, except treat pain — a benefit clearly outweighed by the extreme risk of addiction and death these drugs pose (in contrast, even former Attorney General Loretta Lynch has admitted marijuana is not a gateway drug). From 1999 to 2015, 183,000 people in the United States died just from prescription opioids, and many painkiller addicts graduate to heroin out of desperation.
In contrast, research supports the medical potential of cannabis. This is particularly impressive considering the weed the government provides for academic research hardly even resembles healthy cannabis and is often covered in mold. Imagine what researchers might discover if they were studying cannabis similar to what individual users are actually consuming.
Nevertheless, Sessions correctly asserts preventative measures are vital to tackling drug abuse. But his other solutions, namely, criminal enforcement, are less viable. Even police officers are increasingly skeptical of the government’s ongoing war on marijuana. While many officers recognize the serious threat of heroin and painkillers, a recent survey of law enforcement showed marijuana is a top concern for fewer than 5% of those questioned.
Sessions is not only out of touch with research regarding cannabis, but also the priorities of the law enforcement agents he presides over.
Though he claims he will not aggressively pursue the plant, at least one U.S. attorney has already tried. Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden issued a warning to the organizers of High Times’ Cannabis Cup in Las Vegas, asserting they had incorrectly interpreted an Obama-era memorandum commanding the Department of Justice to respect state’s rights on marijuana. Though it’s doubtful Sessions had anything to do with this specific action, it’s possible his stance is already permeating the culture of the Department of Justice.
Whether Sessions is simply grossly uninformed about cannabis or is actually misrepresenting it to bolster his drug warrior approach, one thing is clear: his focus on “enforcement” ensures the failed policy will be in full swing for some time to come.
Jeff you are misinformed buddy, maybe imbibe and you’ll change your mind. Why is it none of these folks never mention how many lives have been ruined by alcohol.
One of the cutest most energetic girls I knew was killed by a drunk driver. Still brings tears to my eyes.
“Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life.” I’m with him on this one. He’s going to immediately shut down the pharmaceutical companies who are knowingly distributing drugs that harm and kill, right?
This is purely my opinion, based solely on facts, as I understand them.
You have your opinion.
You are grossly misinformed as well, unless your post was complete sarcasm.
They want ALL DRUGS to ONLY come from pharmaceutical companies. These companies have already created synthetic marijuana, an alternative to real marijuana. For the sole purpose of profit.
The only thing I agree with, is drugs that kill. Need to be banned immediately. Those which are prescribed, can be changed over to healthy alternatives.
I remember the sci-fi series LEXX and the Grand Vizier, and Milfred. The Grand Vizier wanted to rule the universe, Milfred wanted to destroy the universe. Pence is the Grand Vizier, Trump is Milfred.
Jeff Sessions is just an actor playing a role and probably has very little to do with what he says or does in public. The globally dominant few run all nations’ left/right divisions, we should all know by now they own and control both sides. Please stop falling for and feeding it, these are master masqueraders, only actors, with zero power or influence over any decisions made for us, and the real problem we need to address is a giant step over them all.
Pay attention to these words so very true above. keith
It boggles my mind that so many STILL can’t see that the dirty bird doesn’t distinguish between its left wing and its right wing, it only knows that both of them working together is the only thing that makes it fly.
Cannabis saves lives …. called ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE!
Kakistocracy definition: A nation run by the worst or most unscrupulous citizens.
We’re being ‘treated’ to a Circus Maximus show of kakistocracy to disgust Americans to the point they will accept TPTB’s solution waiting in the wings.
Parag Khanna is already making the rounds promoting Trump’s $1 Trillion infrastructure project which emphasizes public-private partnerships, the aim of Agenda 21 and corporate control.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/78f6c5119cd27db1d2d3ebf078a54a58a6737740bce105cc66b112bce037bcbe.jpg A global totalitarian Technocracy.
”We can lead horses to water…but ya just can’t make em think”…If wishes were fishes… I wish the Hundredth Human would finally ‘Wake Up’ & let that tipping-point create the proverbial ‘straw that broke the camels back’ of emancipated inertia… wash away ALL the intentionally placed impediments & obstacles holding the collective consciousness of the 7.5 + billion of us hostage….cheers
Hey Eddie Sachs great post,Cheers to you too. keith
Cheers amigo
NO WE DON’T ONLY THE LOONY COMMIES THINK THERE IS NOTHING SINISTER ABOUT THE GEORGE BUSH SENIOR NEW WORLD ORDER. THE CHIEF FUNDER ROCKEFELLER DIED, THERE ARE DOZENS OF LOONATICS WAITING TO TAke his place. Including his grandson GEO of Face book who banned sharing President trump support. QUIT FACE BOOK !!
Quite Heglian hey?
Absolutely! That’s their “bread & butter” standard approach for just about everything.
Mmmm, bread and butter. “Homer, stop that!” ?
Yep, have to have a sense of humor in the Matrix to stay sane. 🙂
We already know Sessions is a LIAR. We watched him lie to Congress on national TV. He should be in jail. Most people know he is trying to preserve the private prison system and civil forfeiture a huge windfall & staple for the feds. The states need the money, the people need the medicine and one only needs to look at Portugal to see the benefits of legalization for all.
Seriously?
“Hold on, this is waiting to be approved by Activist Post.”
I reply to one mans post, I see this for 30+ minutes. In the meantime, My other reply and another persons post have already been approved. My other post was almost immediately approved, in under 2 minutes. Is it that controversial? I’m certain it does not violate any rules, unless “Activist Post” is another untrustworthy source of information, approve it please. Or delete it and pm me why.
37 minutes ago <~~~~ Still waiting. Feel free to delete this one though, as it's for the admin, who hasn't approved one post, yet approved 2 others over it.
Thank You