Former President Richard Nixon admits that marijuana is “not particularly dangerous,” according to recently discovered audio first reported by the New York Times. The audio was recorded from a White House meeting in March 1973, about two years after President Nixon declared in a press conference that drug abuse in the United States was “public enemy number one” and that the War on Drugs had begun. It is something.
“Let me tell you, I don't know anything about marijuana. In other words, I know it's not particularly dangerous, and most kids are in favor of legalizing it. But on the other hand, that's a false signal at this point.'' — President Nixon speaks to White House aides and advisers
The audio was discovered among thousands of hours of official Nixon Library recordings by Minnesota drug legalization lobbyist Curtis Hanna, who told the Times that the former president ” He said he was shocked to hear that the president was saying things that were essentially the opposite of what he believed.
But this is not the first time evidence has surfaced suggesting that President Nixon's personal views on marijuana were inconsistent with his administration's hard-line stance. John Ehrlichman, a close aide to President Nixon who was imprisoned for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, said in a 1994 interview that the administration's motivations behind the drug war were political and driven by public health concerns. He admitted that he was not moved.
The new recordings come as the Biden administration prepares to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, signed into law by President Nixon in 1970. I was disappointed. The DEA recently announced that it will hold a public hearing on Dec. 2 to consider expert opinions. That means there will be no formal action on cannabis rescheduling before the November election.
Get the latest cannabis business news every day. Subscribe
Have an additional perspective to share? Send us a message and let us know. If your comment is selected by an editor, it may be featured here.
Perspectives to add? Please use the form below to suggest revisions or submit comments for review.
graham abbott
Based in Portland, Oregon, Graham is the editor-in-chief of Ganjapreneur. He has been writing about the state of legalization since 2012 and has contributed to Ganjapreneur since its official launch in 2014.
Ganjapreneur is made possible by the following partners:
Source link
