The marijuana world was rocked today by the announcement that Eric Holder is resigning. If that announcement wasn’t significant enough, Eric Holder stated that he would be open to the idea of rescheduling marijuana in an interview with Katie Couric. Per the Huffington Post:
Just as Attorney General Eric Holder prepares to step down from his post, he appears more open than ever to the argument for rescheduling marijuana as a less dangerous, more beneficial drug.
“I think it’s certainly a question we need to ask ourselves, whether or not marijuana is as serious of a drug as heroin,” Holder said in an interview with Yahoo global news anchor Katie Couric, released on Thursday. “Especially given what we’ve seen recently with regard to heroin — the progression of people from using opioids to heroin use, the spread and the destruction that heroin has perpetrated all around our country. And to see by contrast, what the impact is of marijuana use. Now it can be destructive if used in certain ways, but the question of whether or not they should be in the same category is something that we need to ask ourselves and use science as the basis for making that determination.”
I am not shocked that Eric Holder is stepping down. I’m also not shocked that he is making these claims about marijuana after the fact. What I am shocked about is the outpouring of love and appraisal from the marijuana reform community. One major marijuana media outlet referred to Eric Holder today as ‘cannabis friendly’ on Twitter, to which I had to respond with ‘cannabis friendly? um, no.’ Below is an excerpt from Fire Dog Lake from earlier this year:
During a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing today Rep. Steve Cohen (D) directly pointed out to Attorney General Eric Holder that the power to reschedule any drug, including marijuana, rests with his office.
When explicitly asked why he hasn’t even at least request the medical evaluation that would begin the rescheduling process Holder responded, “I’m satisfied with what we have done.”
What they “have done” is actively stood in the way of change. Under Holder’s leadership the Department of Justice has not only refused to move forward with a petition from several sitting governors regarding the rescheduling of marijuana but has actually gone to court to fight against efforts to compel them to act.
If that excerpt doesn’t speak for itself, then I have lost all hope for humanity and logical reasoning. Eric Holder does not support marijuana rescheduling. If he did, he he would have done something about it during his six years as Attorney General. This is nothing more than political rhetoric plain and simple. As my boss always says, you are measured in life by your results, and the result of Eric Holder’s openness to rescheduling marijuana is nothing. Eric Holder is not ‘cannabis friendly.’ Eric Holder does not like marijuana. Actions speak louder than words, or in the case of Eric Holder’s ‘support’ for marijuana rescheduling, lack of action speaks louder than words.
