During a speech to a conference of sheriffs in Washington, D.C., last week, Michele Leonhart, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), reportedly criticized President Obama for saying marijuana is safer than alcohol. Bristol County, Massachusetts, Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson gave this account to the Boston Herald:
Shes frustrated for the same reasons we are. She said she felt the administration didnt understand the science enough to make those statements. She was particularly frustrated with the fact that, according to her, the White House participated in a softball game with a pro-legalization group
.But she said her lowest point in 33 years in the DEA was when she learned theyd flown a hemp flag over the Capitol on July 4. The sheriffs were all shocked. This is the first time in 28 years Ive ever heard anyone in her position be this candid.
Kern County, California, Sheriff Donny Youngblood, president of the Major Counties Sheriffs Association, the group Leonhart addressed, confirmed that she called out Obama for what Youngblood described as irresponsible comments that were a big slap in the face to cops who have lost their lives keeping drugs off the street. He said she received a standing ovation.
