New DEA Leader: Pot Probably Not as Bad as Heroin

'I'm not an expert,' he adds.

Chuck Rosenberg, pictured in 2007, says the Drug Enforcement Administration will still enforce federal marijuana laws, but that the drug is a relatively low priority.

By Steven Nelson 

The new leader of the Drug Enforcement Administration said Tuesday heroin probably is more dangerous than marijuana, diverging in tone from his embattled predecessor.
Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg, a former prosecutor whose stance on drug reform is somewhat of a mystery, also said his agents are not prioritizing marijuana enforcement -- though he's not ordered them off it.
The statements, made on a morning conference call, were far from an endorsement of marijuana, which four states allow for recreational use and many others do for medical purposes.

“If you want me to say that marijuana’s not dangerous, I’m not going to say that because I think it is,” Rosenberg said. “Do I think it’s as dangerous as heroin? Probably not. I’m not an expert.”

[WATCH: McCain Says 'Maybe We Should Legalize' Marijuana]
He added: “Let me say it this way: I’d rather be in a car accident going 30 miles an hour than 60 miles an hour, but I’d prefer not to be in a car accident at all.”

It’s a seemingly unremarkable answer and cautiously made. But it’s a significant break with his predecessor, Michele Leonhart, who said comparisons of pot to crack cocaine or heroin would be “subjective” and that it’s an “insidious” drug.
Dan Riffle, director of federal policies at the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project, says he appreciates Rosenberg’s candor.

“This is not a matter of opinion,” he says, “It's far less harmful than heroin and it's encouraging that the DEA is finally willing to recognize that.” Riffle notes thousands of overdose deaths each year result from opioid abuse compared to none from marijuana, which also is less likely to result in dependence.

[FLASHBACK: DEA Leader Fumes About White House Playing Softball With Pot Legalizers]
"That's a great improvement over the previous administrator who was incapable of distinguishing heroin from marijuana," agrees Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., a consistent thorn in the side of Leonhart. "The real question that one day will be asked and correctly answered is: Is marijuana a more dangerous drug than alcohol?"
Leonhart resigned in May in the wake of a scandal involving agents participating in sex parties.

Her colorful opposition to marijuana last year saw her chastise President Barack Obama for saying alcohol is more harmful than marijuana and unload on White House staffers playing softball matches against drug policy reformers.
Rosenberg's expected to be less vitriolic.
In his new role, Rosenberg said, he asked leaders of DEA branches across the country “to focus their efforts and the resources of the DEA on the most important cases in their jurisdictions, and by and large what they are telling me is that the most important cases in their jurisdictions are opioids and heroin.”

Rosenberg said, “I’ve also told them we are not going to shy away from doing marijuana cases where appropriate. We want to do the biggest and most important cases there are.”

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But as a general matter, he said, “Typically it’s heroin, opioids, meth and cocaine in roughly that order and marijuana tends to come in at the back of the pack.”
A reporter for a Spanish-language news outlet attempted to extract more information from Rosenberg about how the agency will respond to the spread of state laws that allow marijuana possession for medical or recreational use in violation of federal law, under which almost all pot possession remains illegal.

“If it’s marijuana, that’s illegal under federal law and I’ve told them not to shy from that,” he said. “More to come on that.”
Rosenberg was on the call to promote a DEA prescription drug take-back program that aims to reduce the number of unused prescription opioids in households in a bid to cut down on their misuse and address a common gateway to heroin use. A study last year found states that allow medical marijuana for treatment of conditions like pain have fewer opioid overdose deaths.