interview with a DEA agent

for my 'innovation in marijuana' project, i did an interview with a DEA agent.
He's the father of my friend, and not only did he do this interview, he also gave me an iron-on/sew-on DEA patch. The interview is short, only because we got behind on the project, and it was last minute. fortunately, we're advancing to REGIONALS and we are going to elaborate on our project.
we also plan to interview the owners at amigo's and us, as well as secrets, on the northside of chicago on friday.

any suggestions? O:

What is your name and job title?
Bill @@@@ and I am a Special Drug Enforcement Agent.

What is your personal opinion of marijuana?
I do not think it should be legalized and that it is a gateway drug, meaning that people who smoke marijuana usually don’t stop there; they continue to go onto experiment with more addictive drugs.

What does the DEA think about marijuana?
Same concept as question 2. They don’t approve of the drug

Do you agree with the Schedule I classification of marijuana?
No I do not at all; it needs to be a lower schedule in my personal opinion. It’s very outdated.

What sort of situations have you been in, involving pot?
I have been involved with numerous arrests dealing with the selling, trafficking and inhaling of marijuana. Too many to recount.

In your personal experience, what age group/ ethnicity/ sex/ social class experiment with pot the most? Which tend to be most involved (ie: dealing, growing, etc.)?
It’s basically every social group, not necessarily a specific one. It really is across the board, you can’t really narrow it down.

What part of the country do you think is the biggest problem area in reference to the breaking of marijuana laws?
The Mexican Border.

What state do you think has the strictest laws regarding marijuana?
I honestly have no clue; every state has their own specific laws. I would hope Illinois is a top contender.

Do you believe marijuana will ever be legalized, either medicinally or recreationally?
I think that one day it might be, because in California you can get it medically and Alaska allows you have a small amount, so I do think one day others states will allow it to be used medically and recreationally.

In your personal opinion, which is the worst: marijuana, alcohol, or tobacco?
Well they all suck, but if I had to choose I would say marijuana.

Do you think industrial hemp should be utilized in America?
If it is used for manufacturing products like rope, clothing etc., then I don’t have an issue with that but when it gets out of hand and people are using it inappropriately, then no.


some of what he says is total bullshit, with underlying racism... which actually helps our project. lol

 

Interesting read.





Seems like a typical dea response, nothing too extreme. Where do you see underlying racism?

 

I like the statement that marijuana is worse than alcohol or drugs. A good government employee, statistics don't enter into the equation at all. If it's legal then it doesn't matter how much mayhem or death it causes. So much for looking at things from a realistic standpoint. I must say great idea for a great project Babyjay. A+!:sifone:

 

i could be looking into it too much... but he says 'along the mexican border', which isn't a fact. i've got sources that say other areas are worse than the mexican border.

thanks moondoggy! i'm going to ask him more questions too, any ideas for questions i can ask?

 

Very nice. Keep in mind that this dude is going to follow the party line. I was supprised that you were able to get him to admit that weed should not be a schedule 1 drug.

 

i was too. he even admits it will be legalized.
initially, my partner thought it was a huge bust... but its actually pretty helpful to us.

any ideas for questions i should ask, startreken?
i'm also interviewing a paraphanalia store owner... what should i ask him?
background of the store... his own background... opinions on marijuana legalization?

 

is this for history fair?

i did some huge project my junior year and i won at regionals but i didn't wanna go to nationals because it was too much work.

i did a video about Love Canal and chemical dumping and blah blah blah... since it was only me it took a lot of work and i was so exhausted.


you have some good questions... but i think you might could expand your questions to many other areas of interest regarding mj...

medical usage and reported benefits
lack of proper research regarding mj because of its drug scheduling
marijuana as the #1 cash crop in california, kentucky, etc
the benefits to our economy if it were legalized and taxed
the millions of prisoners eating our tax dollars because of minor marijuana related offences
cannabinoids and how they're produced in our brains naturally and without marijuana

 

I don't agree that weed is worse than alcohol or tobacco when they kill and cause severe health problems for people every day. Weed doesn't kill.

+1 rep 4 you, your project is awesome.

 

wtf?? lmao

 

he really is in the DEA for Marijuana.

 

How many college kids die from alcohol overdose yearly as opposed to marijuana? Is it even possible to fatally overdose on marijuana?

 

This completely discredits everything else he said. lol

Still......good job babyjay

 

Thank you for the good read! It's nice to see that our American DEA is still not thinking for themselves.

 

“…marijuana is one of the safest, therapeutically active substances known to man.” – Judge Francis Young (DEA)

 

he kinda contradicts himself when he says it shouldn't be schedule I and that it's outdated, but THEN he says that he would hope your state has some of the most strict laws against it

i bet almost just as much weed crosses the canadian border as the mexican border

 

Probably, but I'm guessing they don't focus on that as much.

 

underlying racism.. what?
the thing about the mexican border is true.. people get killed there over cannabis smuggling regularly

 

Does he know you toke? If so some of this might be taken as a rebuke.

Could also get an interview with someone of an opposing view, say someone from NORML.

 

I wonder what makes him so special?

Overall I would say that your interview comes from a weird perspective/situation. "special agent" Bill must choose between his personal opinions, loyalty/identification with his job, and his relationship with you (whatever that may be). Depending on what you're going for, you might want to ask him to assume ONE of these perspectives for your interview... or phrase your questions so that it is not as ambiguous as to where he is coming from. Cool project though.

This statement may be "logik" for you, but it's lacking in evidential support.

I agree, but for different reasons... without asking him more questions about why he thinks it's the Mexican border it could just be that he really doesn't know of other places with as serious of problems... Racist = ignorant, but ignorant =/= racist. Just a thought.

 

Lol he's so gonna raid you soon. You just totally outed yourself to a dea agent.

good luck with the project