Abolish the DEA

When President Obama took office he directed law enforcement agencies to respect states rights to set their own marijuana policies and to avoid pursuing cases unnecessarily. Apparently the DEA didn't read the memo.

We recently wrote about how a DEA raid at Full Spectrum Laboratories, a Denver medical marijuana testing facility, was triggered by the lab applying for an analytical lab licensure through the DEA. Now DEA agents have hit another marijuana testing lab -- Colorado Springs-based Genovations -- not long after the lab applied for the same license. [...]

The problem, explained DEA spokesperson Mike Turner in a recent interview, is that the DEA is required to inspect a lab that applies to them for a license. And if they happen to find marijuana during the inspection, they have to confiscate it since it's still a class-one narcotic under federal law. And this discovery will likely count against labs on their application.

From Lee's perspective, the situation's a catch-22. To correctly calibrate his machinery, he needs to use scientifically measured samples of marijuana components -- but to legally use those components, he needs a DEA license. And the DEA supervising agent who stopped by yesterday made it abundantly clear Lee wouldn't be getting that.

I don't know what the DEA's annual budget is but I feel certain the money could be better spent. We have other law enforcement agencies that could pursue truly criminal drug cases instead of busting medical marijuana and research facilities and harassing doctors who practice pain management medicine. As it stands, the DEA is more destructive to civil society than any criminal could hope to be.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]