DEA Head Idiotic Statement Calls Medical Marijuana a Joke

Medical Marijuana Patients To DEA Chief: Pot Is No 'Joke,' And You Should Be Fired
Chuck Rosenberg's comments are "unacceptable," advocates said.
The Huffington Post
Ruby Mellen
Posted: 11/20/2015

"There is nothing funny about suicidal thoughts. Using medical marijuana not only directly helps with my medical condition, but it has the added effect of making me a better father and husband." T.J. Thompson

THE HUFFINGTON POST

WASHINGTON -- Medical marijuana patients and advocates on Friday delivered a petition to Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, calling for the firing of DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg for his characterization that using the drug as medicine was "a joke."

The petition, signed by more than 100,000 people, calls on President Barack Obama to oust Rosenberg and appoint a new DEA head "who will respect science, medicine, patients and voters."

Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority, the marijuana advocacy group that started the petition, said that for his family and millions of others, the use of the plant for medical purposes is "no joke."

T.J. Thompson, a U.S. Navy veteran, said medicinal marijuana quelled the suicidal thoughts and anxiety he was experiencing from post traumatic stress disorder after his service when no other drugs would.

"There is nothing funny about suicidal thoughts," Thompson said. "Using medical marijuana not only directly helps with my medical condition, but it has the added effect of making me a better father and husband." read more here

Vietnam Veteran Wounded Twice

Fla. man gets equivalent of 2 Purple Hearts in 44 years
The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press
Chris Umpierre
April 25, 2014

(Photo: Courtesy of Richard Crawford)

Richard Crawford was injured in a war twice in his life, 40 years apart.

The Fort Myers, Fla., resident, now 67, was honored Friday at Camp Lejeune, N.C., with the civilian equivalent of the Purple Heart.

Crawford's acceptance of the 2014 Defense of Freedom Medal, given annually to civilians killed or wounded while serving with the U.S. military, adds a capstone to his military career. Crawford received a 1970 Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam.

"It's special because this makes it over 40 years between Purple Hearts," Crawford said. "There's an old adage: 'Once a Marine, always a Marine.' I think I raised the bar on that one."

At 61, the former Fort Myers Drug Enforcement Administration chief was talked out of retirement to serve as an embedded law- enforcement professional in Iraq. After a tour advising the Marines on investigating roadside bombs, Crawford was recruited again in 2010. This time, the military shipped the 64-year-old to Afghanistan.
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Fighting Military Suicide by Addressing Prescription Drug Abuse

Murkowski Fighting Military Suicide by Addressing Prescription Drug Abuse
Alaska Business Monthly

With Suicides Now Averaging One Every Eighteen Hours, Senator Co-Sponsors Legislation to Allow for Take-Back of Prescription Drugs

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Lisa Murkowski joined a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues as an original co-sponsor of legislation aiming to address the issue of prescription drug abuse among our nation’s veterans, and as a way to stem the military’s suicide epidemic.

The Servicemembers and Veterans Prescription Drug Safety Act would open up a drug “take-back” program through the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs similar to that available to millions of Americans through the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

The DEA currently authorizes retail pharmacies to collect controlled substances through civilian drug-take back programs for safe disposal. Thus far, the DEA has failed to work with the DoD and VA to provide our nation’s servicemembers and veterans with reasonable access to appropriate mechanisms for the safe return and disposal of prescription medications.
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DEA personnel among 14 dead in Afghan copter crashes

DEA personnel among 14 dead in Afghan copter crashes
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Three were the first DEA personnel to be killed in Afghanistan
Seven U.S. service members and three U.S. civilians were killed in one crash
Four other U.S. service members killed when two copters collided Monday
In the crashes, 28 others injured, including one U.S. civilian
October 26, 2009 12:19 p.m. EDT
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Three Drug Enforcement Administration personnel were among 14 Americans killed when three helicopters went down in Afghanistan on Monday, a law enforcement source said.

They were the first DEA personnel to be killed in Afghanistan. NATO's International Security Assistance Force said that in all, 10 people died in one incident and four in the other.

It was the largest number of Americans killed in Afghanistan in a single day in more than four years, according to CNN records.

ISAF ruled out enemy fire in the crash that killed four Americans and said that enemy action was not thought to be the cause of the other.

A helicopter went down in the west of the country after a raid on suspected drug traffickers. Seven U.S. service members and three U.S. civilians were killed, according to an ISAF statement. Fourteen Afghan service members, 11 U.S. service members and one U.S. civilian were injured in the crash.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/26/afghanistan.chopper.crashes/index.html

DEA researcher from Woodlands was killed on visit to New Orleans

Agent's credit cards led to arrests
DEA researcher from Woodlands was killed on visit to New Orleans
By PEGGY O'HARE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 4, 2008, 7:13AM


Authorities have arrested two people linked to credit cards stolen from a Woodlands federal agent who died after he was severely beaten during an apparent robbery in New Orleans last week.

Thomas Joseph Byrne, 40, of The Woodlands, who worked as a supervisory special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration's Houston office, died Saturday in a New Orleans hospital from injuries he suffered in an assault and robbery Aug. 28, officials said.

Byrne had been in New Orleans attending the Organized Crime Enforcement Drug Task Force conference when he was attacked, said Garrison Courtney, a spokesman for the DEA's Washington headquarters.

The agent apparently was walking to his hotel from an unknown location when the robbery occurred.

Byrne may have been the victim of an abduction, because he was found on a street about 40 blocks from where he was last seen, according to information posted on the www.policelink.com Web site.

A passer-by found Byrne in the road at Interstate 610 and Interstate 10 and called for help, said Commander Bob Young of the New Orleans Police Department.

The agent was taken to a hospital, where he underwent several surgeries before he died Saturday night.

Byrne is survived by his wife, Maureen, and four children, ages 8, 6, 4 and 2.

Fellow agents were gathered Wednesday at the Byrne home in The Woodlands, where his family declined to comment.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5982561.html