Chuck Rosenberg, the new head of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, dashed the hopes of many marijuana legalization advocates who hoped he would be more open to reform than his predecessor Michele Leonhart.

Rosenberg sat down with Fox News last week to address the heroin epidemic sweeping the country. When the topic of marijuana came up, Rosenberg said he doesn’t think marijuana is as dangerous as heroin, however he doesn’t believe pot should be reclassified under the Controlled Substances Act, as reported by High Times.

More from High Times:

“Marijuana is dangerous,” Rosenberg said. “It certainly is not as dangerous as other Schedule I controlled substances; it’s not as dangerous as heroin, clearly, but it’s still dangerous. It’s not good for you. I wouldn’t want my children smoking it. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone do it. So I don’t frankly see a reason to remove it.”

Rosenberg went on to clarify that the DEA would still be enforcing federal marijuana laws in states with legal marijuana, when deemed necessary.

“I’ve been very clear to my special agents in charge: If you have a big marijuana case, if that, in your jurisdiction, is one of your biggest problems, then bring it,” he said.

When policy contradicts scientific evidence

It’s curious that the head of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency would tell the public that marijuana is “dangerous” and “not good for you” when almost all the scientific evidence points to the opposite being true.

Numerous scientific studies suggest marijuana may be somewhat of a wonder plant. It’s a powerful anti-inflammatory; it appears to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease; and it has negative associations with cancer — marijuana appears to prevent cancer as well as killing existing cancer cells.

Even the National Cancer Institute, a government run institution, recently admitted that marijuana kills cancer cells in numerous studies.

One has to wonder why the U.S. DEA chief would be setting drug policy, and promoting that policy to the public, based on personal opinions, rather than scientific evidence.

Source http://extract.suntimes.com/news/10/153/2647/new-dea-head-reaffirms-opposition-marijuana-legalization