DEA chief Michele M. Leonhart slammed President Obama’s recent comments comparing smoking marijuana to drinking alcohol at an annual meeting of the nation’s sheriffs this week, according to two sheriffs who said her remarks drew a standing ovation.

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said he was thrilled to hear the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration take her boss to task.

“She’s frustrated for the same reasons we are,” Hodgson said. “She said she felt the administration didn’t understand the science enough to make those statements. She was particularly frustrated with the fact that, according to her, the White House participated in a softball game with a pro-legalization group. … But she said her lowest point in 33 years in the DEA was when she learned they’d flown a hemp flag over the Capitol on July 4. The sheriffs were all shocked. This is the first time in 28 years I’ve ever heard anyone in her position be this candid.”

The American flag made of hemp was reportedly flown over the Capitol on Independence Day with the backing of a Colorado congressman.

DEA spokeswoman Dawn Deardon said she was not in the room and couldn’t discuss Leonhart’s comments to the sheriffs.

“It is not a surprise that the DEA is against the legalization of marijuana,” Deardon said. “As Jay Carney pointed out, the administration is not for legalization of marijuana. … I would just tell you that legalization is not a good idea.”

Kern County, Calif., Sheriff Donny Youngblood, president of the Major Counties Sheriffs’ Association, the group that sponsored Leonhart’s talk Tuesday at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C., said Leonhart called out Obama for what Youngblood described as “irresponsible” comments that were a “big slap in the face” to cops who have lost their lives keeping drugs off the street.

“This is a woman who has spent 33 years of her life fighting drug abuse in the DEA, her entire life. To have the president of the United States publicly say marijuana was a bad habit like alcohol was appalling to everyone in that room,” Youngblood said. “I think the way that she felt was that it was a betrayal of what she does for the American people in enforcing our drug laws. … She got a standing ovation.”

Hodgson said sheriffs see marijuana as a gateway drug that leads to harder narcotics. He said cops need leaders to help stop drug use before it starts, not brush off its dangers and give kids excuses.

“The last person we need saying this to kids is the president of the United States,” Hodgson said.

The president of the National Sheriffs’ Association said he didn’t hear the speech, but he heard about it from other sheriffs.

“She was honest,” said Sheriff Mike H. Leidholt of Hughes County, S.D. “She may get fired. But she was honest.”