DEA: "Every Single Parent" Opposes Pot Legalization. Except For All the Ones That Don't.
Thomas Harrigan (above) is deputy administrator of the Drug Enforcement Adminstration (DEA).
Yesterday, reports The Huffington Post, he told the House Services Committee that "Marijuana destroys lives and families, undermines our economy, and insults our common values."
When pressed by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) to define those "common values" -especially since a majority of Americans support pot legalization - Harrigan softened his stance:
…pressed by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Harrigan said that "every single parent out there" opposed marijuana legalization.
"Your statement that all parents are against this is ludicrous," said Cohen. "What do you think, that people who are in favor of decriminalization or changing policy don't procreate?"
Harrigan later adjusted his statement, claiming that "most parents would be opposed to this." When Cohen pointed out that 55 percent of Americans now support legalization, Harrigan asked if all of them were parents. He insisted he had based his opinions on "medical and scientific fact, and not public opinion."
"You haven't kept up with society, you haven't kept up with science, it's part of the problem," Cohen told Harrigan.
Even the try-hard prohibitionists at The Partnership for a Drug-Free America admit that some (read: many) parents support legalization.
This seems like a good time to repost our 2010 video, "3 Reasons to Legalize Pot Now!"
Bonus points if you can identify the music being played during this discussion of the "hula hoop of the Jet Generation."
