By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The resignation of DEA Director Michele Leonhart is a big victory for proponents of medical and even recreational marijuana.
Leonhart was steadfastly – some say stubbornly – opposed to pot use and even ignored President Obama’s assertion that federal agencies should respect the marijuana laws of each state.
“The real reason we’re glad to see this longtime DEA administration official go is her antiquated and unreasonable views on marijuana,” The Star-Ledger wrote in an editorial for Thursday.”We don’t need our nation’s top drug enforcement officer to be wasting any more taxpayer dollars on totally pointless pot prosecutions.”
Drug reform experts also celebrated Leonhart’s departure.
“We are happy to see her go,” Dan Riffle, the director of federal policies at the Marijuana Policy Project, told Time. “She’s a career drug warrior at a time when we’ve decided the ‘War on Drugs’ is an abject failure.”
Leonhart, a 35-year veteran of the DEA, served as the head of the administration since 2007.
