The involvement not only raises 10th Amendment concerns, but also whether federal laws are being broken, e.g., the Hatch Act and the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.”
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Nonetheless…
“Federal officials are getting dragged into a state-level fight over medical marijuana, after opponents of a ballot initiative to legalize the idea in Utah claimed that the #DEA supports their efforts.
Drug Safe Utah, is a registered political organization fronting for the ultra-conservative Eagle Forum … and the UMA.
Drug Safe Utah’s registration papers also list a third organization as “affiliated” with its work: the DEA’s SLC Metro Narcotics Task Force.
A spokesman at DEA’s national headquarters said the agency does not endorse any proposed legislation anywhere, and that it follows the Hatch Act. He directed specific questions about the Salt Lake City office’s [actions] to a colleague in Denver who did not immediately respond to questions.
Whatever the agency’s intentions, its Salt Lake staff have handed the group a potent political weapon in their campaign against: the appearance of law enforcement backing.”
UMA seems to think this is something to brag about:
“‘Our reasoning … is I think it adds legitimacy to the campaign when law enforcement is seen as being on your side,’ UMA VP for Communications Mark Fotheringham said
Any interference with duly signed petitions would be disquieting to transparency and democracy advocates, said Chase Thomas of the Alliance for a Better Utah. Leading voters to believe that federal law enforcement has taken sides in the campaign goes even further.
‘This is supposed to be a citizen’s initiative. It’s part of the constitutional powers in Utah that citizens have a right they can invoke’ to bring laws forward on their own, Thomas said. ‘A federal government task force trying to keep this off the ballot seems even worse than private citizens or corporations doing so.’
Fotheringham acknowledged the group ‘didn’t have very tight control’ over the door-knocking project because it is paying a third party vendor to run it rather than training and deploying volunteers who support their cause.
‘We do not, however, have any control over who THEY hire.’ he wrote.”
Does the #UMA actually think turning over control over to an unvetted third party they know is sending unbonded, unscreened, $200/day mercenaries uneducated on the issue – roaming the streets armed with the private information about thousands of citizens – makes things BETTER??
We think that instead it shows desperation, recklessness and a willingness to turn Utahns into political pawns.
There’s much more in this thoughtful article.
#MMJ #UTPOL #UMCI #TRUCE
See full article – Anti-marijuana group says it’s working with the DEA to sabotage medical pot
