Donald Trumps choice to head the Department of Homeland Security, Gen. John Kelly, was formerly the head of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which deploys U.S. military personnel throughout Central America, South America and the Caribbean to help counter drug cartels. Gen. Kelly thinks states legalizing marijuana in the U.S. has sent mixed messages to other countries where were still fighting the drug war.
The actual legalization does cause us problems because – the hypocrisy, said Gen. Kelly to Military Times in January, one month before his retirement from the Marines.
Where you stand is where you sit, said Kelley. So if youre a Latin American, and were harping on them to do more to stop the flow of drugs, they say: Wait a minute. As we look north, the real problem is the demand. So why dont you do more to stop the demand for drugs. [] Why would we do more when you seem to be legalizing this stuff?’
A few libertarian ears pricked up when Kelly made these remarks nearly a year ago.
Reasons Jacob Sullum observed, Kelly is right to perceive hypocrisy – or at least, grave moral inconsistency – in our current drug policies. He is also right to suggest there is something outrageous about the U.S. governments insistence that other countries bear the burden of stopping Americans from consuming intoxicants it has decided to ban.
But the generals mission-oriented perspective does not allow for the possibility that the war he has been asked to wage is bound to fail because it is fundamentally at odds with human nature and the laws of economics, Sullum noted.
The Future of Freedom Foundations Jacob Hornberger had similar thoughts, The drug war has been going on for decades and the states that have legalized marijuana have done so only in the past few years. So, why didnt the military win the drug war in the decades before marijuana was legalized?
Could it be that Kelly might just be looking for an excuse to justify his failure to win the war on drugs during his period of command? Hornberger asked.
Kelly has been careful to say that his real focus is hard drugs, and that he doesnt have a problem with medicinal marijuana. Im not a doctor, Kelly told Military Times, but Im told it has a medical use. So whether its veterans or anyone else, if it helps those people, then fine. Medicine is medicine.
Every medicine is probably illegal, unless you take it medicinally, Kelly said.
The head of the Drug Policy Alliance, a pro-legalization non-profit group, called Kelly a drug war zealot on Wednesday.
This is looking really bad, said executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance Ethan Nadelmann, in a press release statement. First [Sen. Jeff Sessions] for Attorney General, then [Rep. Tom Price] at HHS, and now yet another old-style drug war character for Homeland Security.
Trumps choice for Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, staunchly opposes pot legalization and has said good people dont smoke marijuana.
It looks like Donald Trump is revving up to re-launch the failed drug war, said Nadelmann.
Kelly is a big-time drug war zealot, said Michael Collins, deputy director of Drug Policy Alliances office of national affairs. As head of Southern Command he demonstrated that he is a true believer in the drug war, and its incredibly worrying that he could now head up Homeland Security.
President-elect Trump has said individual states should be able to decide whether or not to allow medicinal and recreational marijuana.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Trump’s Homeland Security Pick Says Legal Marijuana Makes It Harder To The Fight War On Drugs
Author: Staff
Contact: Rare
Photo Credit: Carolyn Kaster
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