The main topic was the opium cultivation in Afghanistan and how the US will be able to continue working with the Afghans once our troops leave at the end of this year. The panelists clearly acknowledged as did Feinstein that this was a serious issue. DEA has a presence in Afghanistan and lost several agents in a helicopter crash there a couple of years back.
Afghanistan currently produces 80% of the world's opium. The Taliban is making huge sums of money from the cultivation of opium, which of course, funds its insurgency against the Afghan government and its acts of terror.
Capra was also asked by Senators Feinstein and Grassley (R-IA) about his feelings on what is happening with marijuana legalization in Colorado. He gave an impassioned response stating that he had recently attended an international drug conference in Moscow and was asked by many why the US is doing things like the action in Colorado while trying to encourage other nations to enhance their drug enforcement efforts. Capra stated that he had no response. He also emphasized that DEA had nothing to do with putting addicts in jail. "I have never arrested an addict," he said. It was not about some kid smoking a bhong in his parent's basement. "That is the parent's problem," he stated.
At one point, Senator Grassley asked him whether he would like the federal government to simply enforce the law. Capra did not really give the requested yes or no answer. How could he? Our Justice Department under Eric Holder has made it a policy not to enforce federal laws against marijuana in the case of Colorado, which is basically violating that law. Now we have President Obama making the statement that marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol. That is a question that can be debated hours on end, as well as the libertarian arguments, but it was not a helpful statement for the President. Today's marijuana is stronger than ever, and the harmful effects are still being investigated, discovered, and reported by researchers.
I wish I could report that this hearing resulted in something positive. Unfortunately, it did not. Senator Feinstein said abruptly that "she had to go" and thanked everyone for coming. End of hearing. I don't think it lasted much more than an hour.
"Gotta go now. Thanks for coming."
If you don't think it is chilling to have the administration selectively enforce laws and arbitrarily establish laws.... then you don't know history.
ReplyDeleteWe are the first country in the history of the world to determine how we would be governed. The Constitution was debated vigorously for several years and we then adopted the Bill of Rights.
Only tyrants rule over people ... supposedly for their own welfare. Only despots ignore inconvenient laws and procedures. Only they target their political enemies using the power of the state.
Everything flows from this ideologue incompetent amateur in the White House... the Justice Department preference, the IRS scandals, and ALL the rest. He puts in people who are the same as him and they advance by outdoing each other on what they believe will please the boss... no matter how dirty, how illegal, and unconscionable it may be.
I wonder if defoliant would work well with this? Get rid of the poppies (And everything else that is growing.) you solve the problem.
ReplyDelete