Thursday, March 26, 2009

Obama ridicules marijuana question At today's Town Hall, Obama acknowledged that a whole lot of folks voted marijuana questions to the top (once again). The query, which received more than three million votes, was: "With over 1 out of 30 Americans controlled by the penal system, why not legalize, control, and tax marijuana to change the failed war on drugs into a money making, money saving boost to the economy? Do we really need that many victimless criminals?" Obama actually interrupted the M.C of the event -- Jared Bernstein, chief economist to the Vice President -- in order to tackle the topic. He kept his answer brief. "There was one question that voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation," he said. "And I don't know what this says about the online audience, but ... this was a popular question. We want to make sure it's answered. The answer is no, I don't think that's a good strategy to grow our economy. All right." Responded Bernstein: "Thank you for clearing that up." This approach is, of course, the traditional political approach -- don't want to actually dignify the legalization question or you'll be considered fringe. But times are changing. Perhaps we can make that no longer true. Wouldn't it be great if we could make enough people care about this subject that when a President denigrated a popular viewpoint in this way, the uproar would require him to apologize the next day? We need to continue increasing our power from the ground up. 5:41:11 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

More progress for medical marijuana bills Illinois: Approved yesterday by the Senate Public Health Committee. It'll be debated next week in the full Senate. Minnesota Approved by the House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee on Tuesday, which sends it to the Finance Committee. New Hampshire Passed by the New Hampshire House (234-138). It goes to the Senate next. 9:00:17 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Suspected drunk driver rams home, exposes pot farm Link Authorities said a 63-year-old man suspected of drunken driving crashed his pickup truck into a neighbor's house, leaving a gaping hole and revealing a small marijuana farm inside. San Diego police got a search warrant after the Sunday afternoon crash and confiscated more than 20 pot plants from the house. Sad in so many ways. The story gives no details, but I'd like to know who got in more trouble with the authorities: The drunk driver who ruined someone's house. The peaceful homeowner who didn't hurt anyone, but had his house ruined. And one nit to pick. Pot farm? Really? 20 tomato plants isn't a tomato farm. It's a garden. 20 trees isn't a tree farm. 8:43:58 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []