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Trump's DOJ gears up for crackdown on marijuana
The Hill ^ | 07/23/17 | By Lydia Wheeler

Posted on 07/23/2017 10:14:54 AM PDT by Mariner

The Trump administration is readying for a crackdown on marijuana users under Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

President Trump’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, led by Sessions, is expected to release a report next week that criminal justice reform advocates fear will link marijuana to violent crime and recommend tougher sentences for those caught growing, selling and smoking the plant.

Sessions sent a memo in April updating the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and Department of Justice Department (DOJ) component heads on the work of the task force, which he said would be accomplished through various subcommittees. In the memo, Sessions said he has asked for initial recommendations no later than July 27.

“Task Force subcommittees will also undertake a review of existing policies in the areas of charging, sentencing, and marijuana to ensure consistency with the Department's overall strategy on reducing violent crime and with Administration goals and priorities,” he wrote.

Criminal justice reform advocates fear Sessions’s memo signals stricter enforcement is ahead.

“The task force revolves around reducing violent crime and Sessions and other DOJ officials have been out there over the last month and explicitly the last couple of weeks talking about how immigration and marijuana increases violent crime,” said Inimai Chettiar, director of the Brennan Center's Justice Program.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: agsessions; cannabis; compulsive; illindegenerate; lawandorder; marijuana; ocd; pot; potheads; reefermademess; second100days; smellyhippies; trumpdoj; weakling; wod
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To: Mariner
Of course the WOD bonanza would come rising out of the swamp and demand its share of the booty.

Yeah, let Mueller run amok while you tackle the marijuana problem - and it's huge. Just the other day I was walking through Dupont Circle (here in the swamp) when there were two dudes playing chess, and from the odor had had a toke or two. The one guy moves B-Q5. Bad move man. Bad move. And the other guy was too stoned to see it. And the cops just let it go.

121 posted on 07/23/2017 11:46:45 AM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: Mariner

I haven’t smoked a joint since 1968 but with all the talk about it of late I feel the urge.


122 posted on 07/23/2017 11:48:35 AM PDT by JonPreston
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To: blueunicorn6
Cowards weaken our country. Find your courage and put a dealer out of business.

How many dealers have you put 'out of business' today? So what are you waiting on Coward? Yeah, that's what I thought. A big yellow streak runs down your blueunicorn back!

123 posted on 07/23/2017 11:50:03 AM PDT by BlackbirdSST (We are the unOrganised Militia. We are "We The People"! BLOAT.)
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To: Mariner

Democrats would like nothing better than to make Marijuana legal throughout the country and pass it out on every street corner, as it’s a well known fact that Marijuana makes people stupid and stupid people vote Democrat.


124 posted on 07/23/2017 11:50:51 AM PDT by DJ Taylor (Once again our country is at war, and once again the Democrats have sided with our enemy.)
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To: AndyJackson

What you said!

Although it’ll just whistle past some.


125 posted on 07/23/2017 11:51:09 AM PDT by headsonpikes (Mass murder and cannibalism are the twin sacraments of socialism - "Who-whom?"-Lenin)
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To: laplata
Agreed. And it certainly isn’t going to help gain support for President Trump from casual users or Libertarian types.

This kind of tone-deafness will cost Trump his base. MAGA was never about re-fighting the failed drug wars of the 80s. Reefer madness might be a priority to those who held their noses and voted for Trump after Jeb didn't make the cut but it certainly wasn't a priority to those who were passionate about Trump from the beginning.

If Trump loses his base, it's all over. Jeff Sessions needs to go. He is utterly useless and will doom Trump's presidency.

126 posted on 07/23/2017 11:51:24 AM PDT by Drew68
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To: bigdaddy45
"I was originally a Sessions supporter, but this is absurd. Among all the problems we have in this country, weed is about as low on the list as you can get. Sessions is painfully out of touch with reality."

I don't know Sessions or have an opinion about him one way or another. I do know that nobody is perfect and that none of Trump's appointees will be perfect, either.

The old saying that you can't please everyone applies here.

I live in Washington and many of the municipalities have embraced marijuana because it provide something to be taxed.

Never mind the social problems that it causes.

Now, at night, the wife and I don't like to be out because not only does one deal with alcohol impaired drivers, but with ones that are 'high' as well.

Furthermore, since legalization of marijuana is still relatively new, the social ramifications have yet to be blatantly apparent. But, they will surely appear.

127 posted on 07/23/2017 11:53:30 AM PDT by Parmy
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To: Freedom56v2
Wow...Maybe instead of saying PEOPLE when you mean ME just say “you”...sheesh!

Sheesh!!! There are many people in several different threads making the same groundless accusations toward Sessions about why Hillary hasn't been pursued. So, I meant people, including you, because it was Trump's decision, not Sessions'.

And no cabinet member is pursuing Trump's agenda more than Sessions: border enforcement, immigration law enforcement in general, actions against sanctuary cities, etc. Look at State and Defense to find areas where his agenda is not being followed. Even Commerce and Treasury.

And just about everything in this article and thread involves a Task Force and a request for input on areas that might be changed.

128 posted on 07/23/2017 11:53:44 AM PDT by Will88
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To: Mariner
Could this have anything to do with trying to get Mexican cartels and gangs out of our national forests?

-PJ

129 posted on 07/23/2017 11:53:55 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too (The 1st Amendment gives the People the right to a free press, not CNN the right to the 1st question.)
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To: AndyJackson

The cops could have threatened a ticket if the guy didn’t retract that retarded move.

Seriously, I think that Cruz thread’s headline is accurate. DJT tasked him with finding a hidden bear in the DOJ to interim AG Jeff out of his job.


130 posted on 07/23/2017 12:00:39 PM PDT by txhurl
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To: Lazamataz

**Sessions is part of the swamp**

There is no denying it anymore. The ONLY way that’s not true is if This is a ruse by POTUS & Sessions to keep the Dems off guard, but facts don’t point to that possibility.

- Comey said in his testimony that he essentially knew that Sessions would be recusing himself.

- No one with his long years in DC would not know that Rosenstein is deep state, yet he hired him anyway. And Rosenstein appointed Mueller within days, much too quickly to have NOT planned it beforehand.

- If Sessions was just naive and that’s the reason he picked Rosenstein, then he should do the honorable thing and stop this witch hunt. Instead, he’s hiding in a broom closet at DOJ, only coming out to announce his new crackdown on dangerous (gasp!) weed-smokers and his plans to seize their personal property. It’s disgusting when I think of how the money for a new “War on Drugs” could be spent.

- I think Sessions was genuine in his initial support due to the immigration issue. But once Trump won and the Dems got over their shock, they pulled out their trusty files on Session and found something on him. Sessions values his reputation way too much and they knew that was his weakness. He probably cheated on his wife ONE TIME in 1976 or surfed porn ONE TIME in 1997 or some other “moral offense” and the deep state knows that’s his Achilles heel (”OMG! What if everyone finds out I’m not a perfect Christian?!?!”)

I have no other explanation why he would stab Donald J. Trump in the back like he did. And more importantly, nothing else explains when he doesn’t FIX THE MESS HE CREATED.

This had BETTER all be a ruse or he’ll spend his retirement years receiving hate mail from 62 million Trump voters.


131 posted on 07/23/2017 12:01:52 PM PDT by Nita Nupress (To Wash DC: America is coming. And we're bringing Galt-Right Donald J. Trump with us.)
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To: ifinnegan; bigdaddy45

‘“Booze does way worse. You think we should bring Prohibition back?”

New Left propaganda from the 60’s.

“You never smoked pot, did you?”

Still pushing the same fallacy, eh infinnegan. Like a broken record on a different day.

In “ifinnegan land” if you support the legalization of cannabis you automatically are a leftist or a marxist, or a pothead (and if you don’t use cannabis & still support it’s legalization you’re just crazy lololololol) or a progressive (no wait, that’s another prohibitionist’s favorite term, I get their respective rants confused sometimes lol), or an Obama supporter, etc...

More freedom is always better, infinnegan. If you are against the use of cannabis, don’t use it.

Btw, your support of unConstitutional nanny-statism makes you a RINO at best.


132 posted on 07/23/2017 12:03:37 PM PDT by TheStickman (And their fear tastes like sunshine puked up by unicorns.)
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To: Lazamataz

>> 1. Not one investigation into Crooked Hillary’s foundation.
2. Not one investigation into Crooked Hillary’s illegal, secrecy-devastating Email Server.
3. Not one investigation into Susan Rice’s illegal unmasking of private citizens.
4. Not one investigation into MANY other Democrat crimes.
5. But, recusal vis-a-vis Russian fake-investigations, a crackdown on pot, and a increase in civil forfeiture.

Sessions is part of the swamp.
*********************************************************

These words have a stinging ring of truth.

We’ve been “had”.
**********************************************************


133 posted on 07/23/2017 12:06:54 PM PDT by Kalamata
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To: Mariner
Maybe too many millennials are failing pre-employment drug tests?

What is going to be the Democrat response, to introduce a bill banning companies from drug-testing all but the most dangerous jobs?

-PJ

134 posted on 07/23/2017 12:07:13 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too (The 1st Amendment gives the People the right to a free press, not CNN the right to the 1st question.)
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To: Mariner

I’m sorry but given everything else going on, hearing this is extremely frustrating.


135 posted on 07/23/2017 12:07:26 PM PDT by Jonny7797
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To: Just mythoughts
I suppose you ignored the ‘fine print’ that describes the controls on what the Attorney General can or not do...
Here is the actual law...21 U.S.C. CHAPTER 13 - DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION AND CONTROL
SUBCHAPTER I - CONTROL AND ENFORCEMENT
Part B - Authority To Control; Standards and Schedules

(b) Evaluation of drugs and other substances
The Attorney General shall, before initiating proceedings under subsection (a) of this section to control a drug or other substance or to remove a drug or other substance entirely from the schedules, and after gathering the necessary data, request from the Secretary a scientific and medical evaluation, and his recommendations, as to whether such drug or other substance should be so controlled or removed as a controlled substance. In making such evaluation and recommendations, the Secretary shall consider the factors listed in paragraphs (2), (3), (6), (7), and (8) of subsection (c) of this section and any scientific or medical considerations involved in paragraphs (1), (4), and (5) of such subsection. The recommendations of the Secretary shall include recommendations with respect to the appropriate schedule, if any, under which such drug or other substance should be listed. The evaluation and the recommendations of the Secretary shall be made in writing and submitted to the Attorney General within a reasonable time. The recommendations of the Secretary to the Attorney General shall be binding on the Attorney General as to such scientific and medical matters, and if the Secretary recommends that a drug or other substance not be controlled, the Attorney General shall not control the drug or other substance. If the Attorney General determines that these facts and all other relevant data constitute substantial evidence of potential for abuse such as to warrant control or substantial evidence that the drug or other substance should be removed entirely from the schedules, he shall initiate proceedings for control or removal, as the case may be, under subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Factors determinative of control or removal from schedules In making any finding under subsection (a) of this section or under subsection (b) of section 812 of this title, the Attorney General shall consider the following factors with respect to each drug or other substance proposed to be controlled or removed from the schedules:
(1) Its actual or relative potential for abuse.
(2) Scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known.
(3) The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug or other substance.
(4) Its history and current pattern of abuse.
(5) The scope, duration, and significance of abuse.
(6) What, if any, risk there is to the public health.
(7) Its psychic or physiological dependence liability.
(8) Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this subchapter.

The BS is on you
Show me where my BS is.

You think there are no international agreements in the weeds?
What? Drinking too much to properly format a question?
Are you talking about the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) and the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971)?
Do you agree with UN meddling in American law?

Congress is the branch that is responsible for what becomes law.
No shit, Sherlock! Where have I said somebody else was responsible?
Get a clue, Commander Clueless, and don't castigate those with more knowledge than you on an issue! Congress passed the buck on schedule change as is clearly evident in the law posted above.
Some more clues for you...controlled substance act schedule change

136 posted on 07/23/2017 12:10:43 PM PDT by philman_36 (Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty and supped with infamy. Benjamiin Franklin)
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To: BlackbirdSST

Oh, good, a dealer!


137 posted on 07/23/2017 12:13:39 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Mariner

Sessions is a terrible disappointment to me. I expected him to go after the Clinton Foundation & Cankles herself. I wanted President Trump to fire him the day he recused himself from the Russia farce.

Session’s recent announcement for more property seizures without waiting for an actual conviction plus his strange obsession with marijuana tells me he was the right guy for the campaign but the wrong guy for AG.


138 posted on 07/23/2017 12:16:48 PM PDT by TheStickman (And their fear tastes like sunshine puked up by unicorns.)
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To: Parmy
not only does one deal with alcohol impaired drivers, but with ones that are 'high' as well.

No more than before, since people responsible enough to avoid pot when it was illegal will be responsible enough to avoid driving under its influence when it's legal.

139 posted on 07/23/2017 12:16:54 PM PDT by NobleFree ("law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual")
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To: Seaplaner

“I happen to agree that marijuana increases crime”

The only reason pot increases crime is because it’s against the law. Manufacture, distribution, sales, possession and use are all crimes.

This link between pot and crime is a false one.


140 posted on 07/23/2017 12:17:57 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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