"Yeah, I certainly have said in my four, five, whatever number confirmation hearings I've had that you fill out the forms, that I had youthful experimentation, I think was the phrase that we were told to use, when I was in college,"
Are we teaching the children of America that marijuana -an illegal substance- is okay to use?
In the interview with Huffington Post the Attorney General is quoted saying that "It wasn't a big deal." Committing crimes is not a big deal? No matter how small the offense, it is STILL a crime. Marijuana is still illegal to use in the United States according to Federal law, although many states have legalized the sale of marijuana.
While in a hearing with congress, Eric Holder dodges every question. When asked by rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, "One of the laws of the land, which is federal law from 1970- 10 years before i was ever born, says that marijuana is a violation- the sale of and possession, is a violation of federal law. What do you say to those kids, when you're in the classrooms and they ask why you choose to enforce certain laws and some laws you don't enforce?" To this the Attorney General responded with, "We have limited resources. I don't think you are meaning to suggest that the federal government should prosecute every possessory marijuana case that exists in the united states, which technically we, I suppose, would have the authority to do." Let me speak for the American people when I say, Mr. Holder, if you suppose you have the authority to prosecute citizens, you obviously have no understanding of your job. Let's look at the first word in your official title. Attorney. Attorneys prosecute criminals, not tell them that they smoked marijuana too. Real attorneys would see the that marijuana issue sweeping across the nation as a problem.
The United States of America is now faced with difficult issues. How are we suppose to tell our children that smoking marijuana is 'bad for them' if the leaders of this country are saying it is 'Youthful Experimentation' and make it appear to be 'no big deal'? How are we suppose to tell our children marijuana use is illegal when we have states legalizing the sale of the drug left and right?
Works Cited:
Gerstein, Josh. "Eric Holder at Center of Marijuana Debate." POLITICO. Politico.com, 8 Apr. 2014. Web. 02 May 2014.
Goyette, Braden. "Even The Nation's Top Law Enforcement Official Has Smoked Pot." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 02 May 2014.