Position on marijuana unclear as states increasingly legalize
President Joe Biden has appointed Anne Milgram, former state attorney general and longtime criminal justice advocate, to head the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Criminal justice critic Anne Milgram would shape the crackdown on drugs amid a worsening opioid crisis, if confirmed.
In 2009, when she was Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, Ms. Milgram said that a plan to legalize medical marijuana in that state was “feasible.”
But those comments date back more than a decade, and his current stance on marijuana policy and reform was unclear on Tuesday.
“Like Anne Milgram’s future boss, Attorney General (Merrick) Garland, it’s hard to say exactly what her stance will be on cannabis, but her emphasis on evidence-based policy is one reason to be optimistic, ”Morgan Fox, spokesperson for the National Cannabis Industry Association, wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily.
“Ideally, Milgram will focus the DEA’s resources on non-cannabis issues and violence associated with the drug trade, and facilitate the eventual transition from jurisdiction over cannabis to regulatory bodies that are not part of it. law enforcement sphere. “
https://mjbizdaily.com/biden-selects-anne-milgram-to-lead-drug-enforcement-administration/
The Washington Post has reported that Milgram is data-driven and advocates targeting the tops of the illegal drug supply chain rather than preying on low-level offenders.
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Milgram’s appointment comes at a time when states are increasingly legalizing adult marijuana and fixing communities and individuals disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.
New York, Virginia, and New Mexico are the latest states to legalize recreational marijuana, after residents of Arizona, New Jersey, South Dakota and Montana voted in favor of it in the ballot box last November.
In addition to law enforcement issues, the DEA has come under fire from the marijuana industry and a number of lawmakers in recent years for delaying approving requests from companies and research institutions to study the drug. marijuana.
Ms. Milgram recently worked as a lawyer for New Jersey-based law firm Lowenstein Sandler and taught at New York University Law School.
During her professional career, she served as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan and a civil rights attorney in the US Department of Justice.
