The myths of marijuana: Former DEA chief says pot legalization a 'disaster'
Power Players
These days,
former DEA administrator Peter Bensinger is like a lonely voice crying
out in the wilderness – an anti-drug crusader who served three American
presidents, now battling the perils of pot at a time when legalization
is all the rage.
“I think it’s
a disaster,” he told “Power Players” of the rapid growth in sales of
recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington and medicinal pot in
18 other states.
It “will
damage the young people in that state. It will damage the industries in
the state, and put the highways in jeopardy,” he said. “Plus, it's
against federal law and the Constitution and our international
treaties.”
Bensinger argued
that the public, and politicians now pushing to legalize the drug, have
been duped by the “myth” that marijuana can do no harm.
“You'll
dissipate a drink in about an hour per drink; marijuana can stay in
your body for a week,” he said. “It goes to where we're fattest, which
is our brain. … It causes short-term memory loss if used chronically. It
impacts on the immune system if used regularly. It affects your depth
perception.”
He said recent
statistics show a spike in traffic fatalities from drivers high on pot
and a significant influx in hospital emergency room visits due to
overuse of the drug.
As for
President Obama’s claim in a recent interview with “The New Yorker” that
marijuana isn’t more dangerous than alcohol, Bensinger said it’s just
flat wrong.
“I don't agree with the president at all and neither
does his director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora
Volkow, nor the American Medical Association. They both say marijuana is
not safe,” he said. “The Food and Drug Administration, not legislators,
should decide what's medicine. And the Congress should decide, not the
president of the United States, what's legal.”
The
Obama administration’s decision not to enforce federal statutes that
conflict with the legal distribution of pot in Colorado and Washington
also puts many DEA field agents in those states in a bind, Bensinger
said.
“You think that this world is strange because you took an
oath of office to uphold the law and the constitution of the United
States and enforce the federal laws,” he said of the DEA agents in
states where marijuana is legal. “And you've got a president who is
unwilling to do it.”
While
proponents of marijuana legalization contend that it will curb illegal
activity by regulating the sale of the drug, Bensinger said he believes
that it will instead increase in illegal activity by enticing drug
traffickers to operate more openly.
“Believe me, they'll come to
Colorado, they already have arrived,” he said. “They see this
legalization as a great opportunity, to sell to the young people, and to
sell to the others who are now going to be able to have marijuana in
possession.”For more of the interview, and to hear why Bensinger believes the American public will ultimately reject the legalization of marijuana, check out this episode of “Power Players.”
Editor’s note: Bensinger
is currently president and CEO of Bensinger, DuPont & Associates, a
private consulting firm that promotes drug-free workplaces. Among the
services offered to clients are employee drug testing, health and safety
training programs and risk management.
ABC News’ Alexandra Dukakis, Gary Westphalen, Tom D’Annibale, and Gary Rosenberg contributed to this episode.
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