Obama Doesn't Know What to Say About Marijuana
Pete Guither points to yet another prominent example of the Obama administration's glaring inability to explain the president's position on legalizing marijuana:
When asked why Obama opposes legalization, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs literally said this:
It's a comical and precious moment, like when the teacher calls on that half-asleep kid who never has a clue. Except, as Paul Armentano points out, they knew perfectly well that this was a hot issue in their online forum and that the press would likely be asking about it. Clearly, they are badly boxed in, simultaneously reluctant to embrace reform, while equally hesitant to offend marijuana reform advocates with the typical anti-pot propaganda you'd expect from a guy who just said he opposes legalization.
The result is a ridiculous and failed effort to laugh the issue off, even as everyone stares at them expectantly. They're still working from the old rules which state that drug legalization questions are best handled by chuckling and mockery, followed by a quick pivot towards a more "serious" issue. That advice is no longer very good.
When asked why Obama opposes legalization, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs literally said this:
"Uh, he, he does not think that, uh, uh, that that is uh, uh, [pause] he opposes it, he doesn't think that that's the, the right plan for America."
It's a comical and precious moment, like when the teacher calls on that half-asleep kid who never has a clue. Except, as Paul Armentano points out, they knew perfectly well that this was a hot issue in their online forum and that the press would likely be asking about it. Clearly, they are badly boxed in, simultaneously reluctant to embrace reform, while equally hesitant to offend marijuana reform advocates with the typical anti-pot propaganda you'd expect from a guy who just said he opposes legalization.
The result is a ridiculous and failed effort to laugh the issue off, even as everyone stares at them expectantly. They're still working from the old rules which state that drug legalization questions are best handled by chuckling and mockery, followed by a quick pivot towards a more "serious" issue. That advice is no longer very good.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!
CEA analysis
For most people Gibs' quip about being "unaware of CEA analysis went over their heads as intended. Actually CEA stands for Cost-Effective analysis. What Gibs' is saying is that he is unaware of any economic benefits to to the legalization of cannabis. Because they don't exist? Likewise the whole press corps seemingly erupted in mirth when "Green Jobs" was discussed in the same breath as hemp. Clearly these people are behind the curve. Tim Leary used to call it "Washington B.C."
Why Not
Something that grows from the ground : ,Cannabis,Mushrooms,Mescal buttons etc... .Been around for ever,Natural,proven to work.Something cooked up in a lab: crack,meth,PRESCIPTION PILLS, side efffects, side effects, side effects etc... When will we finally grow up and realize that anything dreamed up in a lab, will NEVER be able to take the place of somthing from the Earth. Peace.
Empty suits
As long as those tight, right wing, bunch of empty suits are around it will never happen.
Orlando
Democrats are just as bad
if not worse, for instance, Biden created the ONDCP. This is NOT a partisan issue, there are prohibitionists on both sides of that coin, and reformers, too.
I'm pro-choice on EVERYTHING!
Change we can believe in
As the candidate of change in the last election he will compromise this distinction if he continues to ignore the will of the people. Based on his "chosen" means of feedback (on-line submission of question/issues) the present administration has chosen to poll the will of the people on line. The people spoke!!
If he advocates change that we can believe in, then we need to see changes that WE believe in. It is apparent that we need to keep the pressure on our elected officials to get the change that WE believe in.
Ignorant or Misinformed…
It’s possible Obama hasn’t focused on the issues surrounding the drug war to the extent that’s needed for him to reach a clear understanding of the basic problems. Understanding the drug war takes much more work than just listening to money-squandering prohibitionist claptrap on late-night TV commercials. For many people in the United States and around the world, the anti-drug propaganda is so thick and murky that uncovering any truths about illicit drug use is a lot like searching for sapphires in a mud puddle.
It’s also possible that Obama’s advisors on drug policy are little more than institutionalized pseudo-experts turned out by the usual Washington, DC idiot mills. Who one trusts in politics makes all the difference in determining which policies get implemented. If that’s the problem, then drug law reformers need to drive a wedge between Obama and his drug war apologists.
Giordano
Drug Warrior Obama
Will not do a damned thing to change the problem. Everything he is doing is escalating and and militarizing. The minimalist and contradictory things that he has done for medical pot and needle exchange have been done to drive a wedge and divide the reform community. Make it less effective.
There is only one solution to the war on drugs and it is not in the Oval Office. Americans need to get out in the streets of Washington, D.C. and our state capitals and scream at these politicians:
NO MORE DRUG WAR!
NO MORE DRUG WAR!
NO MORE DRUG WAR!
NO MORE DRUG WAR!
IMPEACH OBAMA, BIDEN & CLINTON!
MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD!!!
This all boils down to whether or not we the people are willing to take action. If you feel strongly about this issue then contact your local and state government officials and tell them so. Make a phone call if you can because a phone call counts for 10 times the representation as an email. So call your politicians and tell them. I SUPPORT THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA. I SUPPORT THE PURSUIT OF LIFE, LIBERTY, AND HAPPINESS.
Keep it illegal
If you ask me I think that it should stay illegal. I know that everyone says that it's natural so it's not bad for you. I don't care what anyone says, I know too many people who have done weed and now they are so relaxed and so addicted to it that now all that they do is smoke and think about weed. Thinking and doing only weed is not good for anyone.
re: Keep it illegal
Maybe if it were legal they would have gotten bored and done something with their lives by now.
Obviously, our marijuana laws didn't help those people. What makes you think they're helping anyone else?
your point?
Alcohol and cigarettes don't really do anyone any good, and in most cases causes harm, but they are legal. Why must we continue to hold ourselves to a double standard when it boils down to a civil rights issue. Its not about whether or not marijuana is going to be good for everyone, its about whether or not responsible individuals have the right to choose for themselves to indulge in something that may or may not be good for them. Do you not remember our rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?
Legalize the stuff already
C'mon who hasn't done it?!? And I mean it comes from mother earth so how is it bad?!? Cash Crop.
keep it illegal says "I know too many people who have done weed"
and, to summarize his point, are slackers.
Yeah, well I've read about way too many people who've done alcohol and killed or destroyed the lives of innocent victims, so slackers are the least of it when it comes to alcohol vs. cannabis. How about a sense of proportion, keep it illegal?
what's the sense?
The majority of marijuana users have a pre-existing condition called liberalism. Those of us that are not afflicted with the mental illness liberalism, know that liberalism, is in fact, a mental illness.So do you think legalizing marijuana will be a good idea?Oh c'mon!
SPREAD THIS LIKE WILD FIRE!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/watch-5-benefits-to-legal_b_... This is an amazing article on the huffington post that contains a 2 part video series that explains all the injustices of marijuana prohibition. SPREAD THIS LIKE WILDFIRE!!!
Really?
I am really disappointed with all this crap you spammers are putting on here! I am, also, disappointed that such a poor representation of a blog (YOURS), being one sentence long, was even put on there!
It obviously is trying to get someone to click on one of those links that will start sending all kinds of spam emails!
DON'T DO IT PEOPLE!! IT IS A TRAP!!
jesus
Man what a crazy video. This dude can't even answer the question without giggling every 3 seconds. He needs to be fired and immediately replaced with somebody who can articulate something intellectual... what a retarded video.
He's NOT right about that
Drug users come from all sides of the political spectrum, as do prohibitionists.
I'm pro-choice on EVERYTHING!
the point is...
There are certain attributes of marijuana that appear to be medicinal. For some instance, it is used in reducing pain and muscular spasticity right?
I did not mean that marijuana should be legalized, what I' m trying to point out is that, it must be thoroughly evaluated scientifically if what will be the effect of this to all of us.
After all, it will be still our own decision if we will use marijuana in a good or destructive way.
NO CEA? Bull!
Economists Jeffrey Miron has been doing just such analysis for a decade.
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