Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Will Obama Legalize Pot?



(image via michigandaily)

Drudgie-Poo just twittered -- tweeted? Twunk? -- this link to a story in Esky by John Richardson titled "Why Obama Might Decriminalize Marijuana." Okay; that got our attention. Would that it were as easy as the title suggests. The article notes that even within the President-elect's kitchen cabinet there would be dissent. From the article:

" ... (A)las, the answer from Camp Obama was -- as it has been for years -- a flat one-liner: 'President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.' And at least two of Obama's top people are drug-war supporters: Rahm Emanuel has been a long-time enemy of reform, and Joe Biden is a drug-war mainstay who helped create the position of 'drug czar.'

"... Nevertheless, the marijuana community is guardedly optimistic. 'Reformers will probably be disappointed that Obama is not going to go as far as they want, but we're probably not going to continue this mindless path of prohibition,' NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre tells me.

"Some of Obama's biggest financial donors are friends of the legalization movement, St. Pierre notes. 'Frankly, George Soros, Peter Lewis, and John Sperling -- this triumvirate of billionaires -- if those three men, who put up $50 to $60 million to get Democrats and Obama elected, can't pick up the phone and actually get a one-to-one meeting on where this drug policy is going, then maybe it's true that when you give money, you don't expect favors.'"


Still, an interesting read to go along with the munchies. The full story here.

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