Wow, just watch this video of former drug czar Barry McCaffrey denying that a federal war on medical marijuana ever took place:
Literally every word that leaves McCaffrey's mouth throughout the segment is wildly and demonstrably false as illustrated here[3] by Cato's Tim Lynch. Such staggering dishonesty from a former drug czar shouldn’t surprise me, I know, but there's something about the intensity and specificity of McCaffery's claims that just chills the blood. I feel like he crossed a line here, in that even drug czars typically attempt to cloak their fabrications within some sort of contrived fact-like narrative.
Really though, what we're seeing here is the emergence of an interesting and increasingly common phenomenon: the once proud drug war cheerleader who now has no recollection of any drug war ever taking place. The closer we get to finally banishing this colossal mess into the bowels of history where it belongs, the harder it will be to find anyone who admits having been involved in any of it.
The federal war on medical marijuana was McCaffrey's legacy, so it's perfectly fitting that he would come unhinged after a week of listening to the whole country celebrate its collapse. As galling as his denials may feel to those who've born the brunt of this brutal crusade, we could instead interpret this bizarre behavior as a tacit acknowledgment that what he did was wrong. It's probably the best we're ever going to get.
