Federal officials are calling marijuana a \u201cdeadly\u201d drug\u2014touting their efforts to seize it and other illegal substances\u2014while also warning that possessing cannabis, even for medical use, carries \u201cserious consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
As President Donald Trump considers a cannabis rescheduling proposal\u2014and after he posted a video on the health benefits of CBD\u2014the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are sending a conflicting message about cannabis.<\/p>\n
In a press release about an August \u201csurge\u201d in drug seizures that was sent out on Tuesday, DHS said that CBP, as part of its \u201cmission to stop harmful drugs from entering the United States,\u201d was announcing that \u201cseizures of deadly drugs\u2014including fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana\u2014increased substantially from July to August.\u201d<\/p>\n
That rhetoric as it concerns marijuana departs from how most people view and compare the plant with the other listed substances that can be associated with overdose deaths. By the federal government\u2019s own admission in the past, cannabis has not on its own caused a fatal overdose.<\/p>\n
\u201cCartels are increasingly desperate to keep doing business, but the Trump Administration is stopping their deadly operations,\u201d CBP said.<\/p>\n
While looping together marijuana and drugs like fentanyl might raise eyebrows, cartel-related crime associated with cannabis has been a consistent talking point in Congress. In fact, it was the subject of a House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, & Accountability hearing<\/a> last month that focused on a so-called \u201cinvasion\u201d of Chinese and Mexican cartels via illicit cannabis operations.<\/p>\n \u201cSecretary Noem and the Department of Homeland Security are fulfilling President Trump\u2019s promise to make America safe again by dismantling drug cartels and stopping the flow of deadly drugs into American communities,\u201d DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said<\/a>. \u201cThanks to President Trump, fewer American families will be torn apart by addiction, fewer lives will be lost to overdoses, and fewer profits will go to violent cartels.\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, CBP posted a reminder on social media on Tuesday that cautioned travelers against bringing cannabis across the border.<\/p>\n \u201cAttention, travelers! Did you know that marijuana is still a controlled substance under U.S. federal law?\u201d it said. \u201cThis means that selling, possessing, producing, or distributing both medical and recreational cannabis is illegal!\u201d<\/p>\n