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A bit of hypocrisy from Chuck Rosenberg, now former head of the Drug Enforcement Agency as he steps out to protest Trump's statement on making sure to to handle suspects "too nice." Now, this puts me at odds here. On the one hand, I'm definitely a firm believer in due process, innocent until proven guilty and fairness in all parties involved in the judiciary or law enforcement. That said, it's Chuck Rosenberg and the DEA, so it strikes me as a tad bit hypocritical.

Keep in mind this is the same organization that was caught red-light handed having "sex parties" with prostitutes hired by cartels. Allegations of contributing to the delinquency of local Colombian police (the more the merrier, right?) were also lodged. The findings became part of a broader investigation that deals with a number of cases of sexual harassment and abuse coming from the DEA, FBI, US Marshals and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DEA Chief Michele Leonhart Retires Over Handling of Colombia Sex Scandal <a href="https://t.co/PWacSGRjFz">https://t.co/PWacSGRjFz</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews">@nbcnews</a></p>— paula lorene horton (@LorenePaula) <a href="https://twitter.com/LorenePaula/status/788107388855267328">October 17, 2016</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hidden among the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DEA?src=hash">#DEA</a> sex scandal was the revelation that <a href="https://twitter.com/TheJusticeDept">@TheJusticeDept</a> has problem with naught text messages: <a href="http://t.co/tygJazqOsw">http://t.co/tygJazqOsw</a></p>— MuckRock (@MuckRock) <a href="https://twitter.com/MuckRock/status/601394983283912704">May 21, 2015</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Atlanta DEA sex scandal claim continues playing out in St. Louis drug case <a href="https://t.co/pWHLVCC1FM">https://t.co/pWHLVCC1FM</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/stltoday">@stltoday</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/rxpatrick">@rxpatrick</a></p>— Christine Byers (@ChristineDByers) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristineDByers/status/831906160450076672">February 15, 2017</a></blockquote>

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Evidently some of these prostitutes were quite possibly underage. Then head of the DEA was not aware. When Trey Gowdy questioned Michele Leonhart on whether some of these girls were teenagers her flat answer: "I don't know that." She could not however, recommend sanctions which is why <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/14/none-dea-agents-who-partied-prostitutes-were-fired/">none of the agents involved in the sex scandal were fired</a>.

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Chuck called medical marijuana "a joke" meanwhile his knowledge of the substances he's overseeing is a sad bit of comedy itself.

<quote>"If you want me to say that marijuana's not dangerous, I'm not going to say that because I think it is. Do I think it's as dangerous as heroin? Probably not. I'm not an expert.</quote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Will the Obama Administration Defend in Open Court DEA Agents Who Pointed* a Gun at a Little Girl's Head? <a href="https://t.co/3KSMegJTq5">https://t.co/3KSMegJTq5</a></p>— Jerri Lynn Ward (@LibertysFire) <a href="https://twitter.com/LibertysFire/status/895732200674652160">August 10, 2017</a></blockquote>

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There you have it. "I'm not an expert." Though several studies suggest kratom and cannabis could do a great deal to alleviate not only the opiate epidemic and help wean addicts off of other hard drugs but replace dangerous, addictive and sometimes deadly pharmaceuticals. Take the case of kratom. Yes, this is personal.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">DEA: "But it could have been the caffeine inside it. Who knows? So we're making caffeine Schedule I." (actual reasoning for kratom ban)</p>— Than (@Than217) <a href="https://twitter.com/Than217/status/912523213548089346">September 26, 2017</a></blockquote>

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I never forgave Chuck for <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhedgecock/2016/11/21/what-you-need-to-know-about-kratom-before-december-1/&refURL=https://www.google.com/&referrer=https://www.google.com/">attempting to ban kratom.</a> I know dozens of folks in the ethnobotanical community personally. Hundreds I am well acquainted with from being in several of the same social media groups. Some of them have personally spoken to me about how worried they were about possibly having to go back to pain meds. Folks who enjoyed the lucidity of kratom compared to opiates. Folks who didn't like feeling doped up and inebriated just in order to deal with the daily excruciating reality of living with daily, chronic pain.

So if this "protest by walk-out" is supposed to be about high ideals, I have a challenge to Mr. Rosenberg. Couldn't you do more for the oppressed and the downtrodden if you retained your office and platform? Couldn't you do more to ensure that such miscarriages of justice didn't take place? He could, for instance, worked with the 12 members of Congress who were lobbying to eliminate the marijuana eradication program and <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/business/cannabis/Lawmakers-want-to-defund-the-DEAs-marijuana-eradication-program.html">divert funds to worthier causes</a> like domestic-violence prevention and deficit-reduction.

Well, I guess it's too late for that now.