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Lawmakers Push To Cut DEA Funding For Cannabis Eradication Program

Lawmakers Push To Cut DEA Funding For Cannabis Eradication Program - Green Rush Daily

Politics

Lawmakers Push To Cut DEA Funding For Cannabis Eradication Program

The DEA is falling apart at the seams. And that’s a good thing for a country that’s suffered the negative effects of a costly “war on drugs” for far too long.

You’ve probably heard about all the trouble DEA Chief Chuck Rosenberg has gotten into after he called medicinal marijuana “a joke.” (If not, read this.)

In addition to a group of lawmakers, backed up by more than 110,000 Americans, who have called on President Obama to fire Rosenberg, a new group of 12 House members is now working hard to take funding away from the DEA.

More specifically, these politicians want to get rid of the DEA’s “Cannabis Eradication Program,” which was designed to search out and destroy cannabis plants.

Of course, as virtually every aspect of the war on drugs, this program was a miserable failure that ended up wasting tons of resources and giving cops yet another reason to harass people growing marijuana.

“The Cannabis Eradication Program’s sole mission is to eradicate marijuana plants and arrest growers.”

“However, historical data indicates that the vast majority of plants seized under this program are wild plants descendant from industrial hemp,” said a letter written by the lawmakers pushing for the change.

“There is no justification for spending this kind of money on an antiquated program never shown to be effective.”

That language leaves no room for confusion—the DEA’s cannabis eradication program was a failure, pure and simple.

If it goes through, the proposed change will not only eliminate the wasted resources previously used to run this bogus program, but will also help free up money for much more productive programs.

Representative Ted Lieu, who’s leading the effort, called the proposal an “important step forward to cut waste from our federal budget and focus our limited resources on programs have proven to be effective at preventing violence, assisting children who have been victimized, and promoting public health.”

Lieu and the other lawmakers involved have proposed using the $23 million previously dedicated to the cannabis eradication program to address backlogs in rape kit testing, provide help to child abuse victims, and cover some of the cost of installing police body cams.

Sounds like a pretty unbeatable plan: stop wasting money, take steps to end cannabis prohibition, and find ways to solve actual problems.

Let’s hope this bill goes through.

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