Reefer madness in marijuana classification? Huffman, Congress members ask Obama to take action

March 02, 2014

North Coast Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and 17 other members of Congress have a message for President Barack Obama: It's time to get real and stop classifying marijuana as equal to heroin and more harmful than methamphetamine or cocaine.

In a letter sent to the White House, the signers referred to Obama's comments that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol in a recent New Yorker magazine article and called on the first president to admit inhaling to "take action to help alleviate the harms to society caused by the federal Schedule I classification of marijuana."

"Thank you for your continued thoughtfulness about this important issue," the letter states. "We believe the current system wastes resources and destroys lives, in turn damaging families and communities. Taking action on this issue is long overdue."

The letter writers also ask Obama to direct his administration officials to publicly reflect his views.

"Statements such as the one from DEA chief of operations James L. Capra that the legalization of marijuana at the state level is reckless and irresponsible' serve no purposes other than to inflame passions and misinform the public," the letter states.

Washington and Colorado recently legalized marijuana for recreational use, and a similar measure is expected to go before California voters in November 2014.

According to a recent Field Poll, the proposition stands a good chance at passing, with a clear majority of Golden State voters favoring the legalization of marijuana for the first time in 44 years.

Eureka Police Department Chief Andrew Mills said everyone is searching for solutions to a very complex subject.

"The main things I believe need to be addressed are the havoc being wreaked on the environment, the damage it brings to our cities in terms of illegal indoor grows and the crimes, such as home invasion robberies," Mills said. "If these can be addressed, I believe it's a step in the right direction."

The national spotlight on the environmental damage caused by large-scale, illicit marijuana grows has increased over the last year.

Huffman called a meeting of local stakeholders last August to discuss marijuana enforcement issues in Humboldt County, with a focus on the widespread destruction resulting from illegal operations in the region -- including clear-cuts, diverted streams and the dangerous poisons left behind.

At the time, Huffman and Sheriff Mike Downey seemed to point to legalization as the path forward.

Huffman also supports changes to federal sentencing guidelines to reflect the environmental and safety threats caused by marijuana growing operations that trespass on public forests and private land.

"Drug trafficking organizations ... are making forests and open spaces unsafe for working and recreation," he wrote in a November letter to the U.S. Sentencing Committee, which establishes the federal guidelines. "We urge you to consider the significant impacts of drug cultivation operations on public and trespassed lands throughout the country, and add new emphasis to countering the environmental damages of drug production."

Times-Standard staff writers Jillian Singh and Melissa Simon contributed to the report.