When Meth Was an Antidepressant

Acting Drug Enforcement Administration chief Chuck Rosenberg is in hot box water after calling medical marijuana a “joke.”

“What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal—because it's not,” Rosenberg said in a briefing to reporters earlier this month. “We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don't call it medicine—that is a joke.”

That's not an uncommon view among the tough-on-drugs crowd. But, in the age of hemp-oil seizure medication, it’s not exactly a tactful thing to say. Now, a bipartisan group of seven lawmakers is calling for Rosenberg’s firing.

Rosenberg's comments are “indicative of a throwback ideology rooted in a failed War on Drugs,” the letter, spearheaded by Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic representative from Oregon, reads. “They do not reflect the overwhelming body of testimonial evidence, reforms happening across the country at the state level and in Congress, or the opinion of the American people.”

You may not agree with Rosenberg, but you have to admit: The distinction between medication and recreation is blurry, and becoming increasingly so.

This has always been a tough call for regulators to make. Take meth, for example. It’s the worst drug you can take, right? An overdose can cause convulsions or death. In many states taking it during pregnancy can get you arrested for child abuse.