DEA Director Michele Leonhart Expected to Resign

Michele Leonhart is expected to resign from her position as head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a report from CBS News.

[caption id="attachment_8692" align="alignright" width="300"] Michele Leonhart (Photo: Reuters)[/caption]

The Marijuana Policy Project called for Leonhart’s resignation last year in a Change.org petition which now has more than 46,000 signatures.

During her tenure as DEA administrator, Leonhart:

-refused to answer a congressman’s question about whether marijuana poses less potential harm to the consumer than crack, heroin, or methamphetamine and criticized President Obama for acknowledging the fact that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer;

-obstructed research into the medical benefits of marijuana by overruling the DEA’s own administrative law judge, who ruled that it would be in the public interest to end the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s monopoly on the supply of marijuana available for approved research;

-oversaw raids of medical marijuana dispensaries that were operating legally under state laws;

-reportedly called it the worst day of her 33 years in law enforcement when an American flag made of hemp was flown over the U.S. Capitol Building; and

-criticized the White House for playing in a softball game against a team of individuals from drug policy reform organizations.