Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly on Sunday said if the Justice Department legalized marijuana it would have no effect on current problems with illegal drug importation over the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Marijuana is not a factor in the drug war,” Kelly told NBC “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd.
Instead, the former head of U.S. Southern Command said cocaine from South America and Mexican methamphetamines and opiates are his department’s focus.
While keeping drugs out of the U.S. is a central concern for DHS, the bigger one for traffickers and cartels is exporting money they make in the U.S., which is where DHS can intervene.
“The trafficker’s biggest problem is not getting drugs, till now, into the United States. The biggest problem they had was laundering the money,” Kelly said.
What is the definition of "criminal" in the Trump administration? DHS Secretary John Kelly explains on #MTP pic.twitter.com/5NtKsJcDBh— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 16, 2017
On the other hand, America’s greatest problem is drug consumption, according to Kelly, who offered a solution.
“The solution is not arresting a lot of users. The solution is a comprehensive drug demand reduction program in the United States that involves every man and woman of goodwill. And then rehabilitation. And then law enforcement. And then getting at the poppy fields and the coca fields in the south,” Kelly said.
The DHS chief said his interest in fighting the drug cartels and improving Americans’ lives is not newfound, but it is a long-standing passion.
“When I was in the Marine Corps people would often say to me, ‘Marine four-star, why are you so involved in this drug thing?’ And my answer is ‘because no one else is,'” Kelly said. “I get almost no interest from the last administration, as much as I railed about it.”
