Obama & Pot:
[YOUTUBE]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wQr9ezr8UeA[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cpBzQI_7ez8[/YOUTUBE]
Obama on medical marijuana
Source:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/deadlineusa/2008/may/15/obamaonmedicalmarijuana
In a little-noticed remark in the Willamette Week, a Portland, Oregon weekly, Barack Obama indicates he's open to allowing medical marijuana in the several states that have voted to permit it.
The paper asks if he would stop federal Drug Enforcement Agency raids on the state's medical marijuana growers. His response:
I would because I think our federal agents have better things to do, like catching criminals and preventing terrorism. The way I want to approach the issue of medical marijuana is to base it on science, and if there is sound science that supports the use of medical marijuana and if it is controlled and prescribed in a way that other medicine is prescribed, then it's something that I think we should consider.
RNC director Danny Diaz responds to Obama's remarks:
Barack Obama's pledge to stop executive agencies from implementing laws passed by Congress raises serious doubts about his understanding of what the job of the President of the United States actually is. His refusal to enforce the law reveals that Barack Obama doesn't have the experience necessary to do the job of President, or that he fundamentally lacks the judgment to carry out the most basic functions of the Executive Branch. What other laws would Barack Obama direct federal agents not to enforce?
I'll note that Obama neither pledged nor refused to do anything. He merely said he would review the science. I'm looking forward to debate on this issue, and hope it can be done maturely, without hyperbole or stale war-on-drugs rhetoric.
OBAMA OPEN TO LIMITED LEGALIZATION
Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2007 9:33 AM
source:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/25/479649.aspx
OBAMA WEEKEND CAMPAIGN NOTEBOOK
AUDUBON, IA -- Obama can't seem to escape the smoke of his youthful indiscretions wafting after him on the campaign trail. Just four days after he told a group of high school students that he had experimented with drugs in high school, Obama had to admit to it again at a town hall here.
When a voter asked Obama if he was for the legalization of medical marijuana, Obama said that he wasn't in favor of legalization without scientific evidence and tight controls. Citing his mother who died from cancer young, Obama compared marijuana to morphine saying there was little difference between the two.
"My attitude is if the science and the doctors suggest that the best palliative care and the way to relieve pain and suffering is medical marijuana then that's something I'm open to because there's no difference between that and morphine when it comes to just giving people relief from pain,” Obama said. “But I want to do it under strict guidelines. I want it prescribed in the same way that other painkillers or palliative drugs are prescribed.”
But he added that he was concerned that the reasons for the use of marijuana would grow and create a "slippery slope."
"I was feeling really tense, so I needed a joint," Obama joked with the crowd of those who might try and undermine that type of system.
The question was followed up by another voter asking him, "Unlike other presidents, did you inhale?"
"I did," Obama said to loud applause and laughter. "It's not something that I'm proud of. It was a mistake … But you know, I'm not going to. I never understood that line. The point was to inhale. That was the point."
Obama Supports Marijuana Decriminalization
Jacob Sullum | January 31, 2008, 2:19pm
Source:
The Washington Times reports that Barack Obama, who told an audience of college students when he was running for the U.S. Senate in 2004 that he favored decriminalizing marijuana, still holds that position, although he opposes complete legalization. According to his campaign, Obama mistakenly raised his hand during a presidential debate last fall when the candidates were asked which of them opposed marijuana decriminalization:
When asked by The Times about decriminalizing marijuana, the Obama campaign reiterated the candidate's opposition to legalization. "Senator Obama does not believe in legalization of marijuana, but agrees with President Bush that long minimum sentences for first-time drug users may not be the best way to occupy jail space or heal people from their disease," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
The campaign went on to say that, as president, Mr. Obama "will review drug sentences to see where we can be smarter on crime and reduce the blind and counterproductive sentencing of non-violent offenders, and revisit instances where drug rehabilitation may be more appropriate." His campaign later stated that Mr. Obama "always" has supported decriminalizing marijuana.
Given what Obama seems to mean by decriminalization, this position is not exactly radical. About a dozen states are said to have decriminalized marijuana, which generally means that possession of small amounts for personal use does not result in arrest and can be punished by a modest fine at worst. Possession is still illegal in almost all of those states, the conspicuous exception being Alaska, where possession of a few ounces in one's home does not trigger any penalty at all. Possessing more than the limit (usually an ounce), growing marijuana, or selling it remain crimes even in so call decrim states. Still, this news gives me one more reason for preferring Obama to Clinton, a position that until now was based more on my distaste for her than any attraction to him.
Addendum: This was the question that confused Obama at the presidential debate:
Sen. Dodd, you went on the Bill Maher show last month and said that you were for decriminalizing marijuana. Is there anyone here who disagrees with Sen. Dodd in decriminalizing marijuana?
As I noted last month, Christopher Dodd's position regarding marijuana, which has been applauded by drug policy reformers, may not be as bold as it was made out to be. He said states should be allowed to set their own policies regarding medical use, a point on which all the Democratic candidates (including Clinton) agreed, and he expressed opposition to "statutes that would incarcerate or severely penalize people for using marijuana." But no state, whether it has "decriminalized" marijuana or not, makes a practice of locking up pot smokers, and neither does the federal government, so Dodd's preferred policy in this area may be pretty close to the status quo.
