Obama's Snicker is Shameful

Granted, President Obama has stated that under his watch the Feds will ease up on going after medical marijuana patients and shops in states that have laws allowing for it. That is progress. But it is just a first step of what is needed: federal decriminalization.

Recently pro-medical marijuana and pro-decriminalization folks jammed the online question queue at the White House website, suggesting that decriminalization -- replaced by regulation and taxing marijuana -- could be a good economic move (as it would bring more revenue for the government in these tough times). That is a rather weak argument for their cause, but leaving that aside, it was disheartening to see Obama snicker at this suggestion. He could have instead simply noted that the money this would bring in is minor in the grand scheme of the federal budget, and that the issue of legalization of marijuana shouldn't be decided on purely economic grounds. He could have said that and safely (politically speaking) not hinted one way or the other at his wider views on the matter. But no, he chose to laugh it off -- yeah, real funny Mr. Obama. The War on Drugs is a horrible disaster for countless reasons, we've got a huge problem brewing in Mexico and spilling over into the US, and you get a few laughs at the expense of serious people raising a serious issue. Nice move.

For a great read on this topic, see Will Wilkinson's excellent (and in the end, brave) posting on this: I smoke pot, and I like it.