[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2604]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  DRUG POLICIES--BE HONEST AND DIRECT

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, Wednesday, in a congressional hearing, 
under oath, Michael Botticelli, the Deputy Director of the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy, could not answer my direct questions: 
What is more dangerous, methamphetamine or marijuana? How many people 
died from marijuana last year? He complained that people think 
marijuana is benign.
  Well, I don't think marijuana is benign, but I can understand how 
people can get confused when so-called ``experts'' cannot give straight 
answers. Federal law says that marijuana is more dangerous than cocaine 
and methamphetamine, which everybody knows is a lie.
  Unlike marijuana, tobacco use is falling. Unlike marijuana, we don't 
arrest millions of people for using tobacco. Tobacco use has been cut 
almost two-thirds because we have been honest about the facts.
  Maybe there's a lesson for our drug policy officials: if you want to 
discourage marijuana use, be honest and be direct.

                          ____________________