Trump Official Says Marijuana “Not a Factor” in the War on Drugs
A key Trump official says that marijuana isn’t a factor in the drug war.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Sunday that marijuana is “not a factor” in a meeting with NBC’s Meet the Press. Kelly also said that solving the nation’s drug issues doesn’t involve “arresting a lot of users.”
The comment came during a discuss regarding the flow of drugs to United States from Central America and Mexico; Chuck Todd asked Kelly if legalizing marijuana would hurt this.
“Yeah, marijuana is not a factor in the drug war,” Kelly responded. Shortly after he said: “It’s three things. Methamphetamine. Almost all produced in Mexico. Heroin. Virtually all produced in Mexico. And cocaine that comes up from further south.” Kelly said that in 2015 those three drugs, plus opiates, were responsible for the deaths of 52,000 people in the United States; he adds that it cost the country $250 billion.
“The solution is not arresting a lot of users,” said Kelly. “The solution is a comprehensive drug demand reduction program in the United States that involves every man and woman of goodwill. And then rehabilitation. And then law enforcement. And then getting at the poppy fields and the coca fields in the south.”
