NORML: President Obama: What Is So Funny About Taxing And Regulating Marijuana?

Speaking live moments ago President Barack Obama pledged “to open up the White House to the American people.”
Well, to some of the American people that is.
As for those tens of millions of you who believe that cannabis should be legally regulated like alcohol — and the tens of thousands of you who voted to make this subject the most popular question in today’s online Presidential Town Hall — well, your voice doesn’t really matter.
Asked this morning whether he “would … support the bill currently going through the California legislation to legalize and tax marijuana, boosting the economy and reducing drug cartel related violence,” the President [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtBl0KNKha4"]responded with derision[/ame].
“There was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation, and I don’t know what this says about the online audience,” he laughed.
“The answer is no, I don’t think that [is] a good strategy.”
Obama’s cynical rebuff was short-sighted and disrespectful to a large percentage of his supporters. After all, was it not this very same “online audience” that donated heavily to Obama’s Presidential campaign and ultimately carried him to the White House?
Second, as I’ve written previously in The Hill and elsewhere, the overwhelming popularity of the marijuana law reform issue — as manifested in this and in similar forums — illustrates that there is a significant, vocal, and identifiable segment of our society that wants to see an end to America’s archaic and overly punitive marijuana laws.
The Obama administration should be embracing this constituency, not mocking it.
Third, will somebody please ask the President: “What is it that you think is so funny about the subject of marijuana law reform?”
Since 1965, police have arrested over 20 million Americans for violating marijuana laws, yet nearly 90 percent of teenagers say that pot is “very easy” or “fairly easy” to obtain. That’s funny?
According to this very administration, there is an unprecedented level of violence occurring at the Mexico/US border — much of which is allegedly caused by the trafficking of marijuana to the United States by drug cartels. America’s stringent enforcement of pot prohibition, which artificially inflates black market pot prices and ensures that only criminal enterprises will be involved in the production and sale of this commodity, is helping to fuel this violence. Wow, funny stuff!
Finally, two recent polls indicate that a strong majority of regional voters support ending marijuana prohibition and treating the drug’s sale, use, and distribution like alcohol. A February 2009 Zogby telephone poll reported that nearly six out of ten of voters on the west coast think that cannabis should be “taxed and legally regulated like alcohol and cigarettes.” A just-released California Field Poll reports similar results, finding that 58 percent of statewide votes believe that regulations for cannabis should be the same or less strict than those for alcohol.
Does the President really think that all of these voters are worthy of his ridicule?
Let the White House laugh for now, but the public knows that this issue is no laughing matter. This week alone, legislators in Illinois, Minnesota, and New Hampshire voted to legalize the use of marijuana for authorized individuals. Politicians in three additional states heard testimony this week in favor of eliminating criminal penalties for all adults who possess and use cannabis. And lawmakers in Massachusetts and California are now debating legally regulating marijuana outright.
The American public is ready and willing to engage in a serious and objective political debate regarding the merits of legalizing the use of cannabis by adults. And all over this nation, whether Capitol Hill wants to acknowledge it or not, they are engaging in this debate as we speak.
Sorry Obama, this time the joke’s on you.



EDIT: I would hope that it's okay that I created a separate topic with NORMLs response, seeing as how they are pretty important, I'm not just spamming the video.

Edited by Broosh, 26 March 2009 - 07:40 PM.

What a bitch. You're going to get a heart attack Obama... Because you are not listening.

make arnold pres. and it will be legal

Ahhh nold 4 president

Wait...on second thought, considering that budget crisis in cali, maybe not lol

If the govenator was even able to be president, him in office would be dangerous for this country, he's a puppet.

I am so incredibly outraged right now. The libertarian party is seeming more and more enticing each day.

Man shit like this pisses me off, You notice how he said "The top question was uh ya legalizing marijuana" (People laugh in the background) Like Seriously what is this man This is the SECOND time around that this has been voted as the top Important thing and the fucking goverment of america laughs at it?

Revolutionary way to fix the economy according to Peter E. on CNN.com:

"If these pot users put that pot down and got up from their computer and started actually working THAT would stimulate the economy!"

Yeah, scapegoat a community of millions!

"and I don’t know what this says about the online audience" Really? You don't know? It says we're pretty fucking serious about it. Don't get discouraged guys, we may have lost this battle but the war if FAR from over. We'll get the last laugh.

That REALLY fucking pisses me off. I wouldn't have been so mad if he said no, after all, he has done some good to marijuana laws.

But mocking us and laughing at us? Seriously?

"and I don’t know what this says about the online audience" Really? You don't know? It says we're pretty fucking serious about it. Don't get discouraged guys, we may have lost this battle but the war if FAR from over. We'll get the last laugh.

Someone's going to smoke a joint in Obama's face someday.

So fitting.

Even he'll be laughing with that low-ass tolerance he's got.

He didn't even read the question how it was written. At least read the damn question instead of paraphrasing it. What a fuck face. He should have enough respect for the people who took time to vote to explain why he doesn't think it is a probable solution. It is obvious a new cash crop would help our economy a great deal. There were so many popular mj related questions and he only briefly mentioned one before laughing it off.

The great communicator didn't even give us the time of day. . .

All I'm going to say is hes lost ALOT of votes.

What does this question say about the online community? To me it says that they're politically active and dedicated to working on reforming and repealing unjust laws and a prohibition which damages families and leads to the felonization and disenfranchisement of millions of Americans.

I could respect Obama far more for his stance if he had provided some justification for his viewpoint, and then perhaps used the question for a discussion about his previously stated support for decriminalization and reform of drug enforcement laws. To simply laugh off the question was disrespectful and cowardly.

Even if he believes his former use to be a mistake, I can't see where he would support the continued criminalization. He was lucky, his use did not result in an arrest and a misdemeanor or felony that would follow him for the rest of his life. How many doors would have been shut for him had he been arrested? It's not marijuana that would have closed those doors, as is evidenced by the fact that he used and still managed to rise to the highest office, it is prohibition and criminalization which strips the civil liberties of those unfortunate enough to go through the legal system, denies them opportunity and relegates them to the status of second class citizens.

The community of marijuana users in this country should rightly be outraged by the response the question received today. More than the answer itself, the tone of it did a great deal more damage to attempts to have meaningful discourse and debate on the subject. I'm severely disappointed, but more resolved than ever before to get involved, support the MPP, and become engaged with local and state initiatives to bring this issue to the forefront. I hope others can channel the energy they feel and write their representatives, make a donation, or otherwise join the fight against prohibition.

When all of those people would diss obama saying hes just like bush I disagreed hoping to see difference. Well this clip sure made my respect for him drop to 0.
Why does the audience applaud when he says no?

He just keeps ignoring that we keep getting the top issue. What the hell is the point of his damn site votes if he just picks and chooses which to actually take seriously.

I can see Obama promising to legalize marijuana to get re-elected into another term, but let this be a reminder for everyone. When marijuana gets legalized, DO NOT make Obama our savior. Remember how he laughed at the cause.