Decriminalize drugs and defund the DEA 👍
this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2024
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Abolish the DEA.
Deschedule cannabis & mushrooms.
If we're actually following the scheduling guidelines, can we do psychedelics next?
I mean, they probably will. They've got to offer fucking something other than "I'm not a literal fascist who will black bag and torture you like Trump." It's not particularly effective to be like "I know your lives are fucking terrible out there, but I'm not gonna do a god damned thing to really improve them, because why should I have to, my opponent is fucking bonkers and I'm going to hold him over your head abusively, dangling him as a threat that you'll be punished under unless you vote for me."
Far easier to threaten us with the spectre of fascism than actually fucking do anything to improve things or, you know, stop fascism. However, enough folks in the Democratic party are waking up to the public not actually responding well to this abuse, and see that they're enabling fascism to be able to lean on it as a danger that only they can thwart. So they gotta start giving something, and drugs are an easy one.
I forgot the exact details but that's slowly becoming a reality in the states. I think the FDA was re reviewing mushrooms for use fighting against PTSD
Mushrooms are in phase three trials and have been for awhile. That doesn't help a lot of other plants that were misclassified under Nixon, several of them used in religious contexts such as Ayahuasca (DMT) and Peyote (mescaline).
Essentially, all of these medicines need to be reviewed because scheduling was based on political motivations and not any understanding of their pharmacology. They were being used as medicine by medical doctors (psychiatrists) when Nixon scheduled them. This was a great injustice to anyone with mental health issues and direct violence towards groups already using psychedelics (rather medicinally, spiritually, or recreationally). And this injustice and violence continues to this day.
We all know Nixon was a crook and that the drug war is a crock of shit. Yet, we continue locking people up and denying access to medicine (or spiritual food depending on your outlook) because we don't like the substances people choose to have a relationship with. We're complicit in his violence everyday we let it continue as though it's justice.
Anyway, I hope the DEA reschedules cannabis. It would be a great first step. But we have to recognize that it's just one step and not the end goal. The drug war needs to end. And we can't be content with only weed being looked at.
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DEA: Ok, it's reclassified.
Indiana: Cool. We'll make it 5 years in prison for smoking a joint.
I hate this state.
The states surrounding Indiana:
I go to Illinois to get weed. Most of the cars in the parking lots are from Indiana. I wish I was closer to Michigan. Their weed is super cheap and they don't have a limit for out-of-state purchase quantities like Illinois.
Let me just say, the Indiana license plate design makes me want to gouge my eyes out. Second, every car I see with an Indiana license plate is a giant pile of shit for some reason.
We used to have an awesome license plate.
That was the license plate of my childhood.
That's pretty rad. I don't know why they changed it to the current abomination.
This one wasn't too bad except we don't grow much amber-colored grain in Indiana. We mostly grow corn. So it's stupid.
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Wisconsin is gonna be the last state to legalize because we're the Alabama of the fucking north. Your 5th DUI probably has lesser consequences than getting caught holding here.
You're the Alabama of the north? Have you ever heard the Hoosier accent? And both Dan Quayle and Mike Pence come from Indiana. Also, we once tried to legislate pi. And not to the correct value of pi.
Lol fair points, tho we do have quite an accent up here dontchyaknow? But I guess you have Gary, IN too and all we have is a bunch of serial killers.
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Yall might have something akin to fair elections this year. Maybe.
Your purple state may actually be purple soon.
Meanwhile, yesterday I walked into a store and bought THC vape cartridges legally. There was even an armed cop in there for security. I said hi to him on the way in.
I know "just move" isn't a real solution, but man I would never live in a state that isn't solid blue ever again. After growing up in a "purple" area of a red-leaning state, the difference is pretty insane.
They are now seeing how profitable the plant is, so they want to change the narrative. Don't be fooled.
Edit: The reclassification will just put the plant in its due place, before its reputation was tarnished by the war on drugs.
True, but I still want it reclassified
They’re just trying to not only have it be a cash business. The banks want a portion of that monies.
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It may be finally happening!
The whole scheduling system is ridiculous, Schedule 1 is for drugs with no medicinal usage and high addiction potential, which isn't true for a lot of them. LSD has therapeutic uses (I've used it myself) and Heroin, while addictive, definitely has medicinal usage as a strong pain killer. IIRC Cocaine is Schedule 2.
“It may finally be happening!”
I’ve heard that every election year since 2008, so I won’t expect to see it until several birthdays from now
In how many of those election years had the DHHS finally asked the DEA to reclassify...?
I've noticed this vein of irrational cynicism before. Bad things happen, and therefore bad things will keep happening. I told people for years that it was already too late for Disney to extend copyright yet again; it takes too long to get anything through Congress. This Congress can barely elect a Speaker, but people were still arguing there'd be a last minute extension in the final weeks of 2023.
Point is, cynicism shouldn't replace clear thinking.
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Alcohol is unscheduled.
Cannabis is schedule 1.
These should be reversed to reflect the actual truth of things.
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It's really bizarre the cops and bureaucrats apparently get to decide law to this extent.
Well get used to it as the Supreme Court has begun to lay down the precedent needed to completely do away with Chevron deference.
In other words, they're doing away with the authority that gives federal regulatory agencies their purview to set regulations. You know, the public servants who have dedicated their lives/educations/careers/etc. to a field of study?
They're replacing those decisions with ones made by judges and politicians.
I much prefer "bureaucrats" (literally just another word for those public servants) make those decisions rather than billionaires and politicians.
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It has some trade-offs, the same rules allow the DEA and ATF to make rules but also allows things like the EPA to function. It really is a double edged sword.
Your comparison is EPA, an agency of environmental subject matter experts, so for drugs, which is a health issue, it should be a health agency. DEA is law enforcement. It’s letting cops decide policy when it should be an agency of subject matter experts writing evidenced-based policy.
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Hey if this happens does anyone know how this will affect drug testing for work? Employers are private entities obviously but a lot only drug test due to federal regulation or contract compliance.
I assume that companies would still drug test for weed. It's still a controlled substance with reclassification. They may be less likely to do so, but this wouldn't stop it from occurring.
This is why it's also important to ensure doctors can prescribed weed as a medicine. It forces companies to accept weed as a medical accommodation for most positions.
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Oh wow, I guess William Randolph Hearst's ghost must have finally run out of bribe money.
Can the DEA even reclassify drugs? All the DEA could do, in theory, is decriminalise and not prosecute - which they're kind of doing already.
It's up to Congress to write laws. Maybe the FDA, in this case.
The FDA and HHS have already made their recommendations to reschedule. Now the DEA gets to weigh in, then there’s a period for public comment. ~~After that, IIRC, the FDA makes a final decision~~. The current recommendation is to Schedule III from Schedule I.
but that’s just for rescheduling on a federal level.
edit: correction-- it's the DEA who makes the ultimate decision.
Unfortunately the DEA is the agency that makes the final decision. I have less faith in them to do the right thing on this than the FDA. Though the new head Biden appointed specifically called for a review of the scheduling, which could be a signal the DEA is receptive to dropping it. Schedule I for marijuana is a joke. I mean, you could make an argument caffeine is more dangerous. Even just lowering it to another level could make a big difference in the states it's legal.
Unfortunately the DEA is the agency that makes the final decision.
ok, i just looked into this, and you're correct. my mistake.
Regarding their stance... i think this could go either way, and it's most likely to be a bit of a compromise, leaning into the FDA and HHS recommendation, as, historically, they've kid of ridden the fence on the issue, often giving a token, "we enforce the law," type of answer when questioned about their stance on the subject.
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Criminalization is a multi-million dollar industry and greed is more powerful than our laws.
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