The Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee is a United States federal government interagency committee created during the Trump Administration, which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, and is coordinated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).[1] Some media have called it "secret anti-cannabis agency",[2] "a uniquely Trumpian government body ... launched in secret for reasons the administration won't explain",[3] and a "secretly amassed committee of federal agencies from across the government to combat public support for marijuana".[4]
The committee's existence was "previously unknown" until it was described in an August, 2018 BuzzFeed News investigatory report by Dominic Holden.[5] In a reaction to the journalism for The Hill, the national Drug Policy Alliance called it "mind-boggling, and underscores this Administration’s ineptitude on drug policy",[6] and a California cannabis rights advocacy group called it an assembly of "department-wide prohibitionist cabals".[7] Federal authorities in Denver contacted by local television news said they hadn't heard of the committee.[8]
Political analysis by MassCentral.com said the ONDCP is "required by statute to 'take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize'" cannabis at the federal level, and would be "intent on getting Donald Trump to reconsider his support for letting states go their own way in this area", labeling the effort anti-federalism.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Andrew Blake (August 29, 2018), "Trump administration quietly fighting against marijuana support, legalization: Report", The Washington Times
- ^ Josh Jardine (September 26, 2018), "The Government's Secret Anti-Cannabis Agency Can't Be Real... Can It?", The Stranger, Seattle
- ^ Harry Cheadle (August 29, 2018), "The Trump Administration Has Secretly Launched an Anti-Weed Committee – but no one outside the administration seems to know what it's doing.", Vice
- ^ Holden, Dominic (August 29, 2018), Inside The Trump Administration's Secret War On Weed, BuzzFeed News
- ^ Christopher Ingraham (August 30, 2018), "The White House is looking for 'negative trends' on marijuana. We've got them.", Wonkblog, The Washington Post
- ^ Megan Keller (August 29, 2018), "Trump tasked multi-agency committee with countering pro-marijuana message: report", The Hill
- ^ A.J. Herrington (August 29, 2018), "Trump Regime Reportedly Attempting to Undermine Legal Pot Reefer Madness-Style", High Times
- ^ Report: White House Working To Portray Marijuana In Negative Light, Denver: KCNC-TV, August 31, 2018
- ^ Anti-Pot Staffers Conspire to Turn Trump Against Marijuana Federalism, MassCentral.com, September 2, 2018[permanent dead link]
Further reading
edit- Steven Nelson (August 29, 2018), "White House 'drug czar' office reportedly runs secret anti-marijuana committee", Washington Examiner
- Matthew Rozsa (August 29, 2018), "Trump's marijuana task force ordered to ignore data that shows positive impacts: report – New documents reveal that the Trump administration plans on waging a fierce war against marijuana", Salon.com