Dallas / Ft. Worth NORML

(Change.org) Last week President Obama quietly announced that he would nominate Michele Leonhart to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency. Ms. Leonhart, who was appointed and promoted by George W. Bush, oversaw the Bush administration’s tactic of raiding the homes of desperately ill individual medical marijuana patients in California.

Ms. Leonhart also has a record of adamantly fighting against allowing scientific research of the potential medicinal value of marijuana. Ignoring the ruling of a federal judge, Ms. Leonhart single-handedly blocked applications from respected university researchers studying medical marijuana.

Tell your Senator not to confirm Ms. Leonhart.

We need a DEA leader who un derstands the potential value of medical marijuana — not a Bush-era holdover who thought raiding the homes of cancer patients was a good idea.

Surf over to Change.org and sign the petition (click the big medical marijuana caduceus on the left). We may not be able to stop Leonhart’s appointment, but we don’t have to be silent about it. You’ll make an even bigger impression if you write, call, or fax your senator, and if you have the means to do so, visit them in person. (While you’re at it, check out our state and federal Action Alerts at NORML.)

The illegality of marijuana makes our constituency much less powerful politically than our numbers should merit. There are 4.3 million people in the National Rifle Association (NRA). There are 1 million people in the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). There are a half a million people in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Their political power means Washington never succeeds in restricting gun rights, abortion rights, and free speech rights.

There are 22 million people who will smoke marijuana this year. That’s about equal to total number of adult African-Americans in America. 12.5 million of us will partake at least once a month. That’s about equal to the total number of adult Asian-Americans in America. There are 3.5 million people who will smoke marijuana daily this year. That’s about equal to the total number of adult Mormons in America. Can you imagine appointing to the head of a federal law enforcement agency a person who believed we should arrest all black or Asian or Mormon people?

Yet probably only 1 out of 100 daily marijuana smokers belong to a political cannabis reform organization like NORML. It’s no wonder Washington laughs at us. You cannot hide in the closet anymore if you expect to no longer be treated as a criminal. Join DFWNORML Today!