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Obama: Congress May Change Federal Law
Posted by CN Staff on March 16, 2015 at 20:50:50 PT
By Matt Ferner, The Huffington Post 
Source: Huffington Post
Washington, D.C. -- President Barack Obama said if enough states reform their marijuana laws, Congress may change federal law that continues to make the drug illegal. Obama, during an interview with Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith released in full on Monday, said he's encouraged that liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans seem to agree that current U.S. marijuana laws don't make sense. "We may be able to make some progress on the decriminalization side," Obama said. "At a certain point, if enough states end up decriminalizing, then Congress may then reschedule marijuana."
Last week, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill that would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug, which has high potential for abuse and no medical value, to a Schedule II drug, which has lower potential danger and recognized medical benefits. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Twenty-three states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Four states, as well as D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana."I'd separate out the issue of criminalization of marijuana from encouraging its use," Obama said. "I think there's no doubt that our criminal justice system, generally, is so heavily skewed towards cracking down on non-violent drug offenders that it has not just had a terrible effect on many communities -- particularly communities of color -- rendering a lot of folks unemployable because they got felony records, disproportionate prison sentences. It costs a huge amount of money to states and a lot of states are figuring that out. "But what I'm encouraged by is you're starting to see not just liberal Democrats, but also some very conservative Republicans recognize this doesn't make sense -- including the libertarian wing of the Republican Party." Obama cautioned that legalization or decriminalization of marijuana, or any other substance, isn't a panacea."I think there is a legitimate concern about the overall effects this has on society, particularly vulnerable parts of our society," Obama said. "Substance abuse generally, legal and illegal substances, is a problem. Locking somebody up for 20 years is probably not the best strategy, and that is something we have to rethink as a society as a whole."Smith told Obama marijuana was the most popular topic that Vice readers wanted the president to address in the interview, parts of which were released last week. Obama said he understands the interest in the drug, but said the issue of marijuana "shouldn't be young people's biggest priority." Young people should care about "climate change, the economy, jobs, war and peace," Obama said. Maybe at the bottom of that list, the president said, "you should be thinking about marijuana."According to a recent study from the American Civil Liberties Union, blacks were nearly four times as likely than whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010, even though usage was about the same for both groups. In Washington, D.C., Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois, blacks were 7.5 to 8.5 times more likely than whites to be arrested for possessing pot.The United States is home to just 5 percent of the world’s population, but a full 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. The harsh and lengthy sentences for nonviolent drug crimes have helped bolster that figure. In 1980, there were roughly 40,000 drug offenders in U.S. prisons, according to the Sentencing Project, a prison reform group. By 2011, the number of drug offenders serving prison sentences had ballooned to more than 500,000 -- most low-level operators with no prior criminal records. While relaxed state marijuana laws have begun to affect incarceration rates, an average one person is arrested for marijuana possession every minute in the U.S., according to FBI statistics.Source: Huffington Post (NY)Author: Matt Ferner, The Huffington Post  Published: March 16, 2015Copyright: 2015 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/tx61kh8KCannabisNews  -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #18 posted by Hope on March 28, 2015 at 03:43:25 PT
"Young people"
We, "Young people", of all ages... are ready to get this show on the road, the road to freedom and to releasing every prisoner locked in a cage because of cannabis prohibition. We can't get back the lives prohibition took... but we can keep it from taking anymore.
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Comment #17 posted by keninsj on March 18, 2015 at 18:11:42 PT:
Young people's priority.
"Young people should care about "climate change, the economy, jobs, war and peace,"I think the president misses the correlation between marijuana and the issues above. Marijuana fits in to every one of these issues and has solutions for all. Maybe not war so much, but if all the others are solved, people will not feel the need for war. This needs to happen all over the planet and sooner than later.
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Comment #16 posted by Bullhead on March 18, 2015 at 01:09:57 PT:
Young people should care about
You know when you have a state trooper following you little too close and your getting that funny feeling he`s just about to flash some lights and he may just bust your head by the time it`s over.... When your thinking this stuff.. this wonderful plant that really would change everything we do on this earth. How it could fix so much corruption, pollution. How one small step could do so much for all. It`s hard to think that this is anything but the key, the first step to a new and better country. A new respect for law enforcement. A new respect for government. I say the ball is in your court Mr President. It sickens me every time I hear about another youth pulled over and has his life changed just for a few dollars and a few jobs when so much more could be achieved by a free thinking nation.
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Comment #15 posted by The GCW on March 17, 2015 at 18:38:43 PT
One of the most important issues of our time.
I believe it should be one of young people's biggest priorities.When We realize how cannabis prohibition contributes to so many problems We face, it becomes clear: "Ending cannabis prohibition is one of the most important issues of our time."-0-Along with devastated communities, climate change, the economy, jobs and war and peace, cannabis prohibition is responsible for thriving underground markets, cartels, increased hard drug addiction rates, contempt for drug laws, eroded constitutional rights, loss of freedom, escalated prison populations, corrupt politicians, environmental pollution, prohibition of free American farmers from growing hemp (even though communist Chinese farmers grow it), trillions of dollars in wasted taxes, deceiving citizens and this is just a partial list and the list is growing faster than the plant itself.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on March 17, 2015 at 18:14:02 PT
Obama Said
Obama said he understands the interest in the drug, but said the issue of marijuana "shouldn't be young people's biggest priority." Marijuana shouldn't be young people's biggest priority but when getting arrested and losing a job for testing hot for Pot it stifles the more important priorities that they should be thinking about. Get rid of the bad law and then young people can breath and focus on more important issues instead of living in fear.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on March 17, 2015 at 18:08:45 PT
My 2 Cents
I think President Obama is very smart. He knows how to say things at the right time. I am hoping the way he said it is the right way. 
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Comment #12 posted by The GCW on March 17, 2015 at 17:11:49 PT
I like this title in Seattle Times article.
US: Obama Closer To Backing Legal Pot, But With Caveatshttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n157/a04.html?397
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Comment #11 posted by rchandar on March 17, 2015 at 16:15:57 PT:
Barry And Priorities
Common sense. Paine would have written about MJ prohibition. It would have seemed absurd to him.'So this crumpled up joint could land you in prison for two years".Tell me, how do you justify taking away my freedom and lumping me with violent criminals because you found a piece of rolled paper in my pocket with some dirt inside it?He would have had a field day.rchandar
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Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on March 17, 2015 at 14:17:38 PT
Obama
It's not like Obama's coming to the rescue or anything, but it's a clear indication that the prohibs are in full retreat at this moment - rhetorically, if nothing elsethey are realizing that the tide has turned, everyone knows the emperor has no clothes.  You don't want to be the one walking around naked when the people wake up! 
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on March 17, 2015 at 12:57:41 PT
Sam Adams, you're so right about that.
Never have there been such positive words from a sitting President ever before. Nothing ever even came close."We may be able to make some progress on the decriminalization side," Obama said. "At a certain point, if enough states end up decriminalizing, then Congress may then reschedule marijuana." That blew me away. Then of course, I went all critical on him. What he's saying, though... and this time in history, is remarkable. I just get peeved about those swerves I perceive in his thinking, where I feel all misunderstood and frustrated.
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Comment #8 posted by Knowhemp on March 17, 2015 at 12:19:20 PT:
i found the problem with your engine....
...there's a monkey wrench in it. Okay so let's focus on war. How about the one in our collective backyard? The domestic 'war on drugs' aka war on your freedoms and war for control of the current energy paradigm? Climate change? Okay, let's bring up domestic hemp and drastically cut back on trees for paper and building materials. What of the economy and jobs? Seems like growing hemp all over the corn belt could create a huge amount of green jobs that support local economies and family farms (what's left of them) while the legalization of rec herb could drastically cut down on the economic costs of alcohol abuse and violence. That's without even taxing it. US cannabis policy largely informs world cannabis policy. Think of the positive impact and impression we could leave by no longer insuring that prisons for profit and prohibition continue to bolster the worlds largest prison population. 
I don't take what the president says at face value. He's a puppet. He's the guy who says what the machine has deduced is the best possible thing to say. This man does not think or speak for himself at all. 
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Comment #7 posted by Sam Adams on March 17, 2015 at 09:26:02 PT
he's sounding better
my expectations are pretty low, but he's sounding better than ever before on this. Unjust laws - are you kidding - he's African-American, NYC has been rounding up hundreds of thousands of black men and sending them to prison, ruining their lives, and he wants to tell his black brother and sisters to go work on the economy and war and peace.Kind of hard to do political activism when you're locked in a cage, or dodging gunfire from the drug gangs in your neighborhood playgrounds and schools.
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Comment #6 posted by runruff on March 17, 2015 at 08:50:47 PT
It is all tied together!
Climate change, jobs, affordable medical, ect. ect. It is all tied together in the big picture. He is so missing the point. Is he blind to it or selectively stupid? Just leave or freedoms alone and we will do the rest!
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on March 17, 2015 at 08:41:46 PT
Comment 2 Observer
I remember so well when the cover started creeping off the racial profiling crap. I'm thinking the New Jersey Turnpike figured in the early public revelations. Like there needed to be one. Anyone could see it. But when the information about the racial aspects of it all started coming to public light and scrutiny, I knew what the ones responsible for it would do. Arrest more white people. Sure enough, there was a great uptick in young white boys in the hoosegow, everywhere, immediately after the proof in reports and audits started coming in that it sure looked like some serious racial profiling and arresting going on.Yep... that's how they would fix that.The ungodly and unjust laws must be changed. I like Rep. David Simpson's plan. Just wipe the word "Marihuana" from the books... and start over... with some sanity.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on March 17, 2015 at 08:23:31 PT
Mr. President.
Respectfully... but GOOD GRIEF! "Young people, I understand this is important to you, but you should be thinking about climate change, the economy, jobs, war and peace, maybe way at the bottom you should be thinking about marijuana."It's not about the freaking marijuana! Sir! It's about the freaking law! There is no shortage of marijuana. It's the law! It's wrong! It's dangerous! It's hurting people's lives! It's not the marijuana! It's the freaking UNJUST LAWS!!!Take your dented and demented prohibition thinking caps off! We... and the young people are not "Thinking" about marijuana. We... and they, are thinking about the injustice... the wrong headed laws associated with marijuana that do great harm and no good whatsoever!!"There's a man with a gun over there...."What does it take to get through to people with these big ass "specks" in their eyes?It's not the marijuana! It's the God Awful, misconceived laws about marijuana! The laws!They don't even know what we're talking about... much less what we, and they, are thinking about.
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on March 17, 2015 at 07:06:02 PT:
The Dems may have lost 2016 with this
Here's the full quote from the article:“Let’s put it in perspective,” Obama said in response. “Young people, I understand this is important to you, but you should be thinking about climate change, the economy, jobs, war and peace, maybe way at the bottom you should be thinking about marijuana. I’d separate out the issue of the criminalization of marijuana from encouraging its use.”Now, just why do you think he feels free in insulting his base?Because, in his eyes, young people are not his 'base'. Google June 6 2008 Chantilly Virginia to see who that is. 
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Comment #2 posted by observer on March 16, 2015 at 22:55:29 PT
The President May Change Federal Law
re: "particularly communities of color -- rendering a lot of folks unemployable because they got felony records, disproportionate prison sentences."So, lemme get this straight, he's saying that if government tweaks the racial ratio of marijuana arrests and imprisonments, then all is well? Arresting people for pot -- imprisoning people for marijuana -- itself is wrong, no matter the racial mixtures of the people punished by government, using pot as an excuse.If El Presidente were not essentially a puppet, he could prepare and sign the executive orders to release all federal, state, and local marijuana "offenders" with the stroke of a pen. He's obfuscating and prevaricating. He has the power (legally, on paper). But we know how often they obey their own laws. Laws aren't for our Sun Kings, Pharaohs, Fuehrers, and other mammon-anointed gauleiters and Napoleons, seen and unseen. No, the "law" they pretend to hold higher than the Highest, is something they make for you chumps to obey (or die). When you're a special Sun King Chieftain: You're the law. What you do is law. You're the government. L'État, c'est moi. All their courtiers, courtesans, and bought priesthood agree.El Presidente is ever-so quick to renew and create myriad Executive Orders which all claim an "emergency", some renewed each year back to 1933, all of which are as blatantly unconstitutional and dictatorial as can be.That such lukewarm presidential acceptance of ceasing to jail (some racial ratios) of people for pot is hailed as some amazing great leap forward toward freedom, speaks volume as to just what a fascist cesspool U.S. Federal policy is. 
http://drugnewsbot.org
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 16, 2015 at 20:53:47 PT
Related Article
Obama: States Decriminalizing Pot Could Pressure Congress To Reschedule The DrugURL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/03/16/obama-states-decriminalizing-pot-could-pressure-congress-to-reschedule-the-drug/
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