After yesterday’s ‘resignation’ of Reince Priebus, U.S. President Donald Trump has appointed General John Kelly as the White House’s new chief of staff.
This puts yet another politician who happens to be vocally opposed to marijuana at the right hand (and ear) of Trump, something cannabis users in America are already concerned with thanks to a certain attorney general who is determined to revive the war on drugs.
In his previous position as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kelly made his stance on cannabis known to Americans back in April, when he spoke about threats to the United States at a forum at George Washington University.
‘Let me be clear about marijuana: it is a potentially dangerous gateway drug that when frequently used, leads to the use of harder drugs,’ he said.
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‘It’s use and possession is against federal law, and until the law is changed by the United States Congress, we in DHS along with the rest of the federal government, are sworn to uphold all the laws that are on the books.’
Kelly also made comments about Immigration and Customs Enforcement, noting that the body ‘will continue to use marijuana possession, distribution, and convictions as essential elements as they build their deportation, removal, apprehension packages for targeted operations against illegal aliens living in the United States.’
Combined with Jeff Sessions’ determination to reexamine Obama administration policies that allowed states to legalize cannabis, and Donald Trump’s disdain for ‘illegal aliens’, will Kelly’s attitude have the potential to bring cannabis prohibition and Sessions’ new war on drugs to the forefront?
