Michele Leonhart
Michele M. Leonhart was the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) under the Obama administration. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 22, 2010, by unanimous consent. She resigned in May 2015.[1] She was the first female career federal agent to direct a federal law enforcement agency.[1][2]
Leonhart began her career with the DEA in 1980 as a special agent.[3] Before starting with the DEA, she was a Baltimore City Police Officer.[4]
Biography
Leonhart was raised in Minnesota and earned a degree in criminal justice from Bemidji State University before beginning her career in law enforcement.[3]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Leonhart's academic, professional, and political career:[3][4]
- 2010-2015: Administrator of the DEA
- 2007-2010: Acting Administrator of the DEA
- 2004-2007: Deputy Administrator of the DEA
- 1998-2003: Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Division for the DEA
- 1997-1998: Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Division for the DEA
- 1996-1997: Recruiter for DEA Headquarters
- 1995-1996: Asst. Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Division for the DEA
- 1980-1995: Special Agent for the DEA
- 1978-1980: Baltimore City Police Officer
- 1978: Graduated from Bemidji State University in Minnesota
Confirmation vote
Leonhart was confirmed by the Senate on December 22, 2010, by unanimous consent.[1]
Issues
Views on marijuana
| Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) questions Leonhart at a congressional hearing in 2012. |
Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) questioned Leonhart in 2012 on the dangers of marijuana use compared to drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines, in part because Leonhart stated that she would not support the Obama administration's announcement that federal agencies would not target medical marijuana users and dispensaries operating legally under state and local laws.[5][6]
On January 22, 2014, Leonhart took issue with statements made by President Barack Obama about marijuana in an interview. Obama said, "I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol. ... We should not be locking up kids or individual users for long stretches of jail time when some of the folks who are writing those laws have probably done the same thing."[7][8] While speaking to a group of sheriffs at the Major County Sheriffs' Association in Washington, D.C., Leonhart condemned the president's remarks on marijuana. Following the event, the Marijuana Policy Project started an online petition to have Obama fire Leonhart from her position as DEA administrator.[7] Polis reiterated his frustrations with Leonhart, stating that he "found her to be completely incompetent and unknowledgeable." In a similar statement, Cohen suggested that "the honorable thing to do would be to assume a Japanese posture and resign."[7]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Leonhart is married with two children.[3]
Recent News
This section links to a Google news search for the term Michele + Leonhart + DEA + Administrator
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Drug Enforcement Agency, "Michele M. Leonhart Confirmed by Senate as DEA Administrator," December 22, 2010
- ↑ The New York Times, "Michele Leonhart, Head of D.E.A., to Retire Over Handling of Sex Scandal," accessed January 18, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Drug Enforcement Agency, "DEA Leadership," accessed February 25, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 NNDB, "Michele M. Leonhart," accessed February 25, 2014
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Michele Leonhart, DEA Chief, Won't Say Whether Crack, Heroin Are Worse For Health Than Marijuana," June 22, 2012
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Obama's DEA Nominee Pledges To Ignore Administration's Medical Marijuana Policy," November 19, 2010
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 U.S. News and World Report, "Congressmen: DEA Administrator 'Completely Incompetent,' Should 'Assume a Japanese Posture and Resign,'" January 29, 2014
- ↑ New Yorker, "Going the Distance," January 27, 2014
