Jurassic narcs
On Monday, I watched a committee hearing for the medical marijuana bill proposed in Illinois. The hearing was held in Chicago’s disorienting Thompson Center, and it was pleasantly surprising.
Not all the committee members attended the hearing, but those who showed up clearly “got it.” The legislators offered sympathy and respect to the patients who testified, while challenging brainless assertions by the state’s apparently dwindling faction of drug warriors.
There were only a few prohibitionists on hand to speak, and they were relics, typified by Peter Bensinger, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration from 1976-1981. After reciting a good portion of his lengthy resume, Bensinger got down to business and said… well, it was kind of hard to pull a central point out of the jumble of scary statistics and self-righteous platitudes.
He rambled quite a bit about how the FDA is here to protect everyone, and because marijuana does not have FDA approval, it is self-evident that no one can safely use it as medicine. And besides, we just don’t know how bad marijuana is yet. We used to think it was bad, Bensinger continued, but as it turns out, he’s certain that future studies will verify that it’s even worse than anyone could have ever imagined.
Bensinger said he didn’t doubt the sincerity of the patients, but he offered no alternative to being a sacrifice on the drug war’s alter of pain.
Legislator John Fritchey was visibly agitated as he responded to Bensinger, telling personal stories about the pain in his own family. Bensinger appeared unmoved.
When Bensinger finally gave up his seat, Rep. Larry McKeon, the sponsor of the bill, insisted that a description of Bensinger’s rudeness be entered into the record of the committee hearing. McKeon, who suffers from a variety of illnesses, sat at the table with witnesses like Bensinger as they presented testimony. McKeon said that as Bensinger approached the table, he insisted that McKeon leave the table so he could sit in the center chair. McKeon also said Bensinger attempted to grab a microphone from him as McKeon prepared to speak.
Whatever the Jurassic narcs like Bensinger are trying to accomplish in their perverse crusade against medical marijuana, they certainly aren’t winning friends and influencing people. Of course, considering the scope of Bensinger’s prohibition-based business empire, his own personal motivations are clear.
Oh, yes, to make this post somewhat relevant to this weblog, I didn’t hear the word decriminalization all day, but there were a few sly allusions to “Mayor Daley’s plan.”
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