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I think that Congress ultimately has to do that (reclassify marijuana). This is a topic that ultimately, I think ought to be engaged in by our nation, informed by the experiences that we see in Colorado, in Washington. There is, I think, a legitimate debate to be had on both sides of that question where marijuana ought to be in terms of its scheduling.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, National Press Club speech, Feb. 17, 2015

I am concerned, however, about your comments regarding the classification of marijuana As you know, you already have the statutory authority to reclassify marijuana.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), letterto Holder in response, Feb. 18, 2015

Holder was asked this questionat the National Press Club event about marijuana: Under the Controlled Substances Act, the administration has the power to reclassify marijuana with no further congressional action needed. Do you think that is something that the president should consider in the next couple years?

Legalization advocates pushed back to Holders answer after the event, especially after Cohen, a longtime advocate of rescheduling marijuana, sent his letter in response. Some advocates took to social media to criticize Holder for denying he has authority. They encouraged one another on Facebook and Twitter to flood Holders office with calls challenging his statement. They made another push asking him to reclassify marijuana, noting that President Obama has said that he does not believe marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol.

Marijuana remains a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, meaning it is classified as the most harmful category of drugs, with a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use. Advocates believe that if marijuana is taken out of that classification, it would clear the path for more research into the effects of marijuana and ultimately lead to legalization and regulation nationwide.

While Holders statement was an opinion, and something that cant easily be fact-checked, it is important to explore it, as well asCohens response. As more states look toward legalizing recreational marijuana, advocates are pushing back stronger on statements such as Holders. Twenty-three states have legalized medical marijuana. Alaska recentlybecame the third state to legalize marijuana, and D.C.s recreational marijuana law is set to take effect Feb. 26.

Can the attorney general change the drug classification of marijuana? What are underlying policy issues that lead to questions over exactly what authority he has?

Under federal law, the attorney general can move to add, reschedule or remove drugs on his own, at the request of the health and human services secretary or in response to a public petition. But the law also requires the attorney general to gather data and scientific and medical evaluation from the HHS secretary before doing so.

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Can Eric Holder change the federal drug classification of ...

I think that Congress ultimately has to do that (reclassify marijuana). This is a topic that ultimately, I think ought to be engaged in by our nation, informed by the experiences that we see in Colorado, in Washington. There is, I think, a legitimate debate to be had on both sides of that question where marijuana ought to be in terms of its scheduling.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, National Press Club speech, Feb. 17, 2015

I am concerned, however, about your comments regarding the classification of marijuana As you know, you already have the statutory authority to reclassify marijuana.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), letterto Holder in response, Feb. 18, 2015

Holder was asked this questionat the National Press Club event about marijuana: Under the Controlled Substances Act, the administration has the power to reclassify marijuana with no further congressional action needed. Do you think that is something that the president should consider in the next couple years?

Legalization advocates pushed back to Holders answer after the event, especially after Cohen, a longtime advocate of rescheduling marijuana, sent his letter in response. Some advocates took to social media to criticize Holder for denying he has authority. They encouraged one another on Facebook and Twitter to flood Holders office with calls challenging his statement. They made another push asking him to reclassify marijuana, noting that President Obama has said that he does not believe marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol.

Marijuana remains a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, meaning it is classified as the most harmful category of drugs, with a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use. Advocates believe that if marijuana is taken out of that classification, it would clear the path for more research into the effects of marijuana and ultimately lead to legalization and regulation nationwide.

While Holders statement was an opinion, and something that cant easily be fact-checked, it is important to explore it, as well asCohens response. As more states look toward legalizing recreational marijuana, advocates are pushing back stronger on statements such as Holders. Twenty-three states have legalized medical marijuana. Alaska recentlybecame the third state to legalize marijuana, and D.C.s recreational marijuana law is set to take effect Feb. 26.

Can the attorney general change the drug classification of marijuana? What are underlying policy issues that lead to questions over exactly what authority he has?

Under federal law, the attorney general can move to add, reschedule or remove drugs on his own, at the request of the health and human services secretary or in response to a public petition. But the law also requires the attorney general to gather data and scientific and medical evaluation from the HHS secretary before doing so.

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Fact Checker: Can Eric Holder change the federal drug classification of marijuana?

Dont be surprised if outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder looks a bit youthful in his official portrait, set to be unveiled Friday afternoon.

Thats because Holder, who apparently adheres to the Boy Scouts motto be prepared, began planning for the portrait in April 2009, three months after taking over the job. And the portrait these things run around $40,000 or so was completed about a year later. (Unclear where its been waiting these past few years.)

This seems a bit unusual, but its not unprecedented.

At the Justice Department, the time between departure and unveiling is shorter than, say, at the State Department. Portrait unveilings for former secretaries of state Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright have occurred six to eight years after their departures. Hillary Clinton hasnt had hers hung yet.

But Holder did the honors for his predecessor Michael Mukasey about nine months after Mukasey left office, and former attorney general Alberto Gonzales unveiled predecessor John Ashcrofts painting just shy of two years after he left.

Holders portrait is going to be unveiled while hes still attorney general, since nominee Loretta Lynch, though approved Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, isnt likely to be confirmed by the full Senate for a couple of weeks.

Like Holder, Janet Reno, the second-longest serving attorney general, was still in office though with only five days to go before the Clinton administration ended when her portrait was unveiled.

Justice folks were suspiciously hush-hush this week about whos going to be doing the presentation. Naturally, it turns out to be President Obama.

(We should note that Congress, on a year-to-year basis, started banning the use of federal funds for these portraits. But there is no permanent ban.)

In the tank

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In the Loop: In the Loop: Portrait of (a younger) Eric Holder

Paul Craig Roberts on Attorney General Eric Holder and his policy toward big

By: Doretta Patty

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Paul Craig Roberts on Attorney General Eric Holder and his policy toward big - Video

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Attorney General Holder seems determined to prove his chief critic, J. Christian Adams, right.

Adams is the former Justice Department lawyer who told Congress that the Attorney General treated cases of racial bias against white people with open contempt.

Most famously, Adams noted the case of electoral intimidation against two members of the New Black Panther Party who brandished weapons and issued threats at a Philadelphia polling booth the day Barack Obama was elected president.

This is the same New Black Panther Party that issued a $10,000 reward for the capture of George Zimmerman, dead or alive, for murder of Trayvon Martin. The same party leaders who said they wanted to mobilize 10,000 black men to bring Zimmerman to justice.

One of the 10,000 men, apparently, is Holder. Holder recently told several national news outlets he was still trying to figure out how to indict Zimmerman for hate crimes

Even though local, state and federal official have been trying to do just that for more than two years before and after Zimmemans acquittal.

Adams documented the racial bias at the Department of Justice with his best selling book, Injustice: Exposing the Racial Agenda of the Obama Justice Department.

If Holder really were interested in enforcing civil rights laws for all Americans, he would be able to produce cases that shows he is doing just that, Adams said. But he cannot. Because he is not.

There are plenty of recent cases of race-based violence that Holder can choose from. A sampling:

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Eric Holder, Hate Crimes and Double Standards | FrontPage ...