cannabisnews.com: Obama Predicts Bright Future For Legal Weed

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  Obama Predicts Bright Future For Legal Weed

Posted by CN Staff on January 23, 2015 at 09:28:41 PT
By Matt Ferner 
Source: Huffington Post 

Washington, D.C. -- President Barack Obama said during a YouTube interview Thursday that he believes more states will consider legalizing recreational marijuana, citing his administration's hands-off approach to prohibition-ending cannabis laws in Colorado and Washington state.“What you’re seeing now is Colorado, Washington, through state referenda, they’re experimenting with legal marijuana," Obama said in response to host Hank Green. "The position of my administration has been that we still have federal laws that classify marijuana as an illegal substance, but we’re not going to spend a lot of resources trying to turn back decisions that have been made at the state level on this issue. My suspicion is that you’re gonna see other states start looking at this."
Obama went on to say that he has asked his Department of Justice to examine how nonviolent drug offenders are being treated by the justice system. "What we have done is instead of focusing on treatment -- the same way we focused, say, with tobacco or drunk driving or other problems where we treat it as public health problem -- we’ve treated this exclusively as a criminal problem," Obama said. "I think that it’s been counterproductive, and it’s been devastating in a lot of minority communities. It presents the possibility at least of unequal application of the law, and that has to be changed.”Recreational use of marijuana is legal in Colorado and Washington, and will soon be allowed in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. Federal law, however, continues to declare all uses of marijuana illegal. Department of Justice guidance urges federal prosecutors to refrain from targeting state-legal marijuana operations.The United States, home to 5 percent of the world’s population, has 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Harsh sentences for nonviolent drug crimes have bolstered that figure. A 2013 American Civil Liberties Union report found that blacks were nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites.Marijuana Majority's Tom Angell told The Huffington Post that Obama's prediction affirms what legalization in Colorado and Washington has demonstrated "about generating tax revenue, reducing crime and freeing up limited police resources." Legislatures in Vermont and Rhode Island are considering legalizing recreational marijuana this year. Even if that doesn't happen, one or both states are "very likely" to do so in 2016, said Mason Tvert, communications director for Marijuana Policy Project.Nevada, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada are all expected to have ballot initiatives that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults next year, with regulatory frameworks similar to Colorado's. Tvert said Ohio and Missouri also are considering putting legalization measures on the ballot in 2016.Kevin Sabet, co-founder of anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said he saw Obama's statements as "two steps back for the legalization movement.""What is interesting to me is that the president did not take the opportunity to endorse legalization -- though he could have," Sabet told HuffPost. "The president is right that we need a balanced public health and public safety strategy for drugs. Indeed, as he says, we need to focus on treatment. Legalization advocates would rather just focus on letting people use drugs."Source: Huffington Post (NY)Author: Matt FernerPublished: January 22, 2015Copyright: 2015 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/LrEej9UbCannabisNews   -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml

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Comment #4 posted by Oleg the Tumor on January 25, 2015 at 13:08:12 PT

When in doubt, point at the nearest hypocrisy…
"What is interesting to me is that the president did not take the opportunity to endorse legalization -- though he could have," Sabet told HuffPost.This hopeless liar shouldn't even get a copy of the lousy home game. He sees two disconnected ends and assumes that there is a middle to be played against. He is wrong. Like Wile E Coyote, he is too far over the edge to be reasonably supported and will make a nice crater in the valley far below.FREE THE PRISONER OF SCHEDULE 1!
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Comment #3 posted by Gentle Giant on January 25, 2015 at 10:36:29 PT:

What a Fool.
All Sabet is doing is collecting his salary. Its a shame he has to lie and distort the facts acting like he has the pulse of our nation Prohibitionist's like Sabet's days are numbered.Praise the Lord.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on January 24, 2015 at 22:02:34 PT

I am offended.
"Legalization advocates would rather just focus on letting people use drugs."What? That doesn't even make sense.As far as I'm concerned, resisting you and your overbearing policy ideas is not about letting anyone do anything. My focus has always been on stopping prohibitionists such as yourself, Kevin Sabet, from doing and causing more harm to others in pursuit of stopping what you think are their bad habits. You and other prohibitionists cause so much more harm than nearly anyone's bad habits could possibly ever cause. Why do you feel that you should be the one to choose for everyone in the matter of consuming cannabis? I want to, and do, focus on stopping the bullies, the killers, the thieves, the way overstepping authorities... those who demonize people for what they consume, like yourself, Kevin Sabet, from harming others outright in your misplaced zeal and fervor for stopping people from consuming "drugs" you don't like.You're a professional busybody, Kevin Sabet. You are trying to protect people from them selves. I'm a hero. All of us resisting you are. We're trying to save people from you and your policies.That's the focus. Do you see it? At all?
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on January 24, 2015 at 05:42:10 PT

Ken Sabet is proof...
Morons should have their mouths removed!
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