Obama Favors Marijuana
It’s not a secret anymore that Obama has smoked marijuana in the past. Surely, it’s not something that he gloats about every day since the press already had their fun with that particular topic. A couple of days ago, Obama gave a couple of statements to the New Yorker Magazine regarding the use and legalization of marijuana. It is also well known that the majority of the American people endorse the use of marijuana today so it’s not really all that surprising that Obama jumped on the bandwagon. He believes that weed is no more dangerous than alcohol and that people shouldn’t be jailed for it. At the same time, he doesn’t consider the consumption of the plant to be a healthy decision but doesn’t consider it to be a gateway drug either.
Moderation Is Key
Other than marijuana, Barack Obamapursued another vice during his adulthood – cigarettes. He doesn’t smoke anymore but thinks he would have been better off had he not smoked cigarettes in the past. Even though he’s not that proud of his puffing habits, he thinks the “impact (of marijuana) on the individual consumer” is not that harmful as it was once propagated. Besides being the U.S. President, Obama is also a father of two and he advises his daughters to steer away from marijuana because it’s a “bad idea, a waste of time”. In some aspects, that is true. If you’re a stoned out of your mind couch potato, marijuana can have a very bad and limiting effect on your life. It narrows your perspective, changes your value system and doesn’t allow you to reach your full potential. Everyone should be aware of that, teenagers especially. Therefore, even though Obama endorses marijuana, he doesn’t necessarily encourage its use.
Schedule I Problem
By now, you probably know that marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance and theDEA doesn’t feel like budging from that classification. The Schedule I class is a group of highly potent drugs that include marijuana, LSD and ecstasy, all of which can cause severe psychological issues and heavy dependence. That’s why Obama wants to focus on reforming the manner in which the law treats drug users, especially in regards to racial issues in drug arrests. He does pose an interesting question: “I also think that, when it comes to harder drugs, the harm done to the user is profound and the social costs are profound. And you do start getting into some difficult line-drawing issues. If marijuana is fully legalized and at some point folks say, Well, we can come up with a negotiated dose of cocaine that we can show is not any more harmful than vodka, are we open to that? If somebody says, We’ve got a finely calibrated dose of meth, it isn’t going to kill you or rot your teeth, are we O.K. with that?”
Colorado & Washington’s Bright Future
Even though a number of California dispensaries were shut down during the reign of the Obama administration, it was decided that Colorado and Washington should be trusted for the time being. Obviously, prohibition as a concept doesn’t work either so it was only a matter of time before lobbying groups got the upper hand. Now, when the majority of Americans are in favor of marijuana, it seems that legalization on a national level is just around the corner.
Related Posts
Canada To Legalize Recreational Marijuana Come 2018 →
Legalizing marijuana for its health benefits →
Will Bernie Sanders Put An End To Marijuana Prohibition? →
Hello, my name is Katarina. I am doing a report for my English class at HF-L high school. I personally believe that marijuana should be legal. I would be honored to get your opinion on this. thank you!
This is the very first thing that I have heard Obama say that makes any sense. Legalize, but discourage the use of marijuana seems to me to be a policy which should be pursued.