Pubdate: Mon, 15 Aug 2016 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: Greg Barnett Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n543/a03.html DEA WRONG NOT TO RESCHEDULE POT Re: "DEA rules that marijuana has no medical value" [News, Aug. 12]: The Drug Enforcement Administration will not change the Schedule 1 designation for marijuana because of the strength of new pot strains compared to 1968. Perhaps one should remind the government that the strength of the THC content in marijuana was never considered or even measured before making it Schedule 1. The schedule change was done purely in the spirit of retribution. Rescheduling stems from Leary v. United States, which found the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 unconstitutional. Congress responded by placing marijuana on the Schedule 1 list the next year. There was no testing done before the 1937 act was passed. It was purely crony capitalism. DuPont had just patented nylon. Any farmer can grow hemp. DuPont and their political allies, including Andrew Mellon, had bought heavily into backing the patent for sale to the military. Hemp was seen as a competing fiber that could readily be used in place of nylon for many applications. Outlaw the plant and guess who benefits? The argument regarding the strength of marijuana does not hold water. It's just more rhetoric from the DEA. Hearing "Oh, the children" just underscores the comedy of the argument. My teenager had no problems getting her hands on marijuana. Getting her hands on some alcohol was considerably more difficult. Outlawing marijuana has been counterproductive at best. Make a roadside test for marijuana sufficiently valid to justify arresting a driver under the influence. That is where some research dollars should be spent. A bullet costs less to manufacture than a shield. I guess the feds never caught onto that philosophy. Greg Barnett Costa Mesa - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom