Obama adviser: the administration opposes marijuana legalization and isnt big on medical marijuana

[Mefistofeles]

Source: Billings Gazette (Montana)

Friday, September 24, 2010

HELENA -- The Obama administration adamantly opposes legalizing marijuana and has a dubious view of medical marijuana, a top White House drug policy adviser said here Thursday night.

Kevin Sabet, special adviser for policy at the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, said marijuana is a dangerous drug that causes documented health and social problems, and should not be subject to voter approval for its use.

"Marijuana cannot be the one exception in history of the world that doesn’t go through a scientific process to be approved as medicine," he told the Montana Supreme Court Administrator’s annual drug court conference in Helena. "It doesn't make any sense.

"How can we imagine that a dangerous, illegal drug like marijuana should be voted on by the people? That's not how we do medicine in this country."

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_21fcbb0a-c831-11df-ad35-001cc4c03286.html

---

Meanwhile, "Eight in 10 Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical use and nearly half favor decriminalizing the drug more generally, both far higher than a decade ago." http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/Politics/medical-marijuana-abc-news-poll-analysis/story?id=9586503

[IndianaJoe]

1. In this time of belt-tightening, we can't have too many out there

with the munchies.

[JuniperLea]

2. And in this time of increasing violence...

We could use a little stoner pacifism.

[IndianaJoe]

11. That's the flip side, I guess. :-)

So many tough decisions. No wonder Obama's going gray.

[bitchkitty]

63. I know you're not trying to be mean

but I use marijuana as medicine, and it saved my life. I should have gotten used to being lumped in with the tie dyed sector, but it's kind of hard sometimes.

Marijuana's image needs improving. It's not just for stoners. It's medicine.

[IndianaJoe]

72. You're right. I was just kidding around.

You should have it for medical reasons.

[ibegurpard]

3. tough shit

[Newsjock]

4. Could this administration possibly be any more tone-deaf?

One winning issue after another, so easy to win over the electorate ... and time and time again, they screw it up.

[Dawgs]

9. +1.

His response to this question early on in his Presidency was the first time I started getting concerned about his judgement. Sadly it wasn't the last.

[rhett o rick]

12. Please dont make your judgement by this piece of shit article. nm

[mitchtv]

20. you got a better take on it?

We've seen him on tv mocking the issue

[rhett o rick]

60. I am just saying that I wouldnt put my trust in this particular article. I think it is poorly

written. I would like to see more evidence. I am not doubting the truth, just want to see better evidence.

[laconicsax]

15. Yes. n/t

[blue sky at night]

19. I was going to say.....

thanks for saying it for me! growing tired of how conservative they are! WTF?

[ooglymoogly]

68. +1 This is an issue many folks and particularly those who live in pain, vote on.

"Dangerous Drug" Could this be any more delusional and just down right mean spirited. Obama skeptical on medical benefits while swigging a beer; Alcohol, which statistics prove beyond a shadow is one of the most dangerous drugs on the market; While the oposite has been proven about M....So now he is a physician? Good grief this delusion is a sad, sad revelation; But then there have been so many. Change for the worse you just can't even begin to believe.

Marijuana is dangerous to the drug industry for whom this administration appears to work.

It is time for a change!!!!!!!!!

For some real common sense;

Grayson 2012

[msongs]

5. how we do medicine in this country? by gouging and cheating people lol nt

[Grinchie]

42. Actually, Medicine is done by hiding the nasty side effects and inserting Operatives in the FDA.

[mithnanthy]

76. You're right, Grinchie

The FDA has no problem giving the "OK" to poorly tested toxic drugs, using the public as guinea pigs, yet pot is a 'dangerous drug?.....what bullshit they're trying to sell us.

[MisterP]

6. yeah and 70% of Americans were for public option; see where that went nt

[Grinchie]

43. Thats the Tone Deaf reference made up above.

The citizens are simply not qualified to say anything that the Corporate lobbiests haven't sanctioned.

[Downwinder]

7. Have they run tests on willow bark? n/t

[Lance_Boyle]

86. Do you mean Pacific Yew bark? Paclitaxel?

Many thousands of tests, for many, many years.

Something the right hand of the Fed govt has prevented the left hand from doing with cannabis.

[davidhilton]

8. What a joke, I hope they're celebrating with a nice alcoholic beverage.

Progressive? Guess not.

[Adsos Letter]

10. "How can we imagine that a dangerous, illegal drug like marijuana should be voted on by the people?

Sounds like the people are already voting; action is the clearest form of politics.

[nosmokes]

13. Still think Obama is on your side?

[SammyWinstonJack]

83. hee hee

:evilgrin:

[glitch]

14. This does not match the campaign rhetoric -- hopefully Sabat is speaking out of turn.

We'll know if he's reigned in or not.

[davidinalameda]

18. you still believe anything he said during the campaign?

[EFerrari]

22. Remember when the WH solicited suggestions for topics for a townhall

and legalizing pot was the most popular one and they ignored it except for a joke Obama made about it?

Tone deaf is a good, low key description for it.

[Bobbieo]

16. Send Sabet to Ciudad Juarez , Mexico on a vacation trip!

[DeSwiss]

17. K&R

- Ironically, being stone outta their gourd is probably the only way some people would ever vote for these asshats again........

[NorthCarolina]

21. Having so many people incarcerated for simple possession helps keep unemployment numbers low.

I believe it was the brain child of the DLC, and was implemented during the Clinton years. Being a DLC'er himself, I would suppose that Obama would seek to continue this agenda.

Black incarceration rates tripled during Clinton era http://www.finalcall.com/national/incarceration03-06-2001.htm

[RainDog]

23. It's going to happen anyway.

The article wants to point out (tho it waits till the last paragraph) that the administration favors harm reduction rather than imprisonment.

This is a good thing - for problems like meth or heroin - but it's just more propaganda in the case of cannabis.

The American people simply have to force their government to do the right thing - and it's great to see people across the nation in state after state vote for sanity rather than drug war lies.

The government has decided to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

Too bad.

[CountAllVotes]

24. gee and to think his father-in-law died of MS

Perhaps Fraser Robinson III might still be around if he had been using medical marijuana. It is said that medical marijuana slows and/or halts the progression of this horrid disease.

:dem:

[RainDog]

25. this was proven in 2000

from the BBC in 2000:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/662254.stm

"UK scientists have shown that a compound in cannabis can prevent muscle tremor and spasticity caused by MS.

Researcher Dr David Baker said: "The effect was really startling. It was a question of now you see the tremor, now you don't."

The compounds work by binding with two types of receptor found in the brain and spinal cord. In normal circumstances, the body produces natural cannabinoids, which bind to the receptors.

The scientists believe this mechanism controls body movement, and is disrupted in MS sufferers."

iow - the statement by Sabet is an outright lie because this study and 17,000 others done in the last decade indicate the medical value of cannabis. Canada already produces Sativex, which is liquid cannabis that is sprayed into the mouth to treat problems with MS.

This is what I honestly do not get. Do they really think the American people are so stupid that they don't read about the medical advances that have already taken place? 70% of the American public supports legalized cannabis for medicinal use. That's an incredible number that transcends politics.

The DEA needs to stop lying and start looking at a way to save face by rescheduling cannabis. It's amazing to see them so entrenched in these lies that they look irrelevant.

[glitch]

54. So entrenched they are irrelevant, and scrambling to justify their existence.

I'd feel sorry for them if they weren't directly responsible for so much pain.

[kurtzapril4]

77. I have MS.

And no, marijuana does not slow the progress of the disease. It CAN help mitigate the symptoms for some people. For this reason alone, it should be legal. However, the only things that have been positively shown to slow the progress of the disease are Beta Interferons(Avonex, Beta Seron, Tysabri, et. al)at this time. Whether these drugs work or not depends on the type of MS. There are a few different types. Relapsing/Remitting (the kind I have), Progressive, Chronic Progressive I, Chronic Progressive II.

I am a fan of legalising marijuana. For medicinal and recreational use. Anecdotal evidence shows that it does have medicinal uses in MS, in that it can relieve anxiety, and reduce muscle spasticity. Other studies have shown it can help restore appetite to people undergoing chemo-therapy. It is not per se a pain killer, in my experience. But that's anecdotal.

http://tinyurl.com/33dnrtg

Some people with MS go with Bee-stings to mitigate their symptoms. Yes, they seek out apiarists and go get stung a few times a week. In the end...we do what we need to do in order to feel better.

As for it's usefulness in slowing the progression of MS, I'll wait until there are peer reviewed studies showing a positive result to that end. Marijuana's psychoactive properties make it difficult to conduct "blind" studies, which is a benchmark for testing drugs. Ascribing marijuana as a cure-all for everything(NOT saying you did...but some people really do)is just silly, IMO.

I rely on the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for info on MS Stuff. They have the most current info. That's their job.

[CountAllVotes]

79. more on this here

“Cannabinoids may not only offer symptom control but may also slow … disease progression”

London, United Kingdom: Cannabinoids possess neuroprotective properties and may modify the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review published in the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design.

Investigators at the London School of Medicine, Neuroscience Center reported that cannabinoids likely hold therapeutic value for MS patients beyond providing temporary symptomatic relief.

“Recent clinical trials may indeed suggest that cannabis has some potential to relieve, pain, spasms and spasticity in MS,” authors wrote. “In addition, CB(1) and CB(2) cannabinoid receptor stimulation may also have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective potential. Therefore cannabinoids may not only offer symptom control but may also slow the neurodegenerative disease progression that ultimately leads to the accumulation of disability.”

A recent expert opinion paper published by the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society concluded that cannabis possesses the potential to treat MS symptoms as well as moderate disease progression, but stopped short of recommending that patients use it therapeutically.

Survey data indicates that an estimated one in four patients with MS use medicinal cannabis.

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7704

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[truthisfreedom]

28. What???

Look, he's got to maintain positions that keep him from looking like a total radical during a campaign season. Imagine if the trend toward legalization was embraced by the administration! The rethugs would run with that calling him a lefty-liberal druggie.

[Xicano]

47. What next the Bogeyman?

:P

[bitchkitty]

64. That's my problem with him.

He cares too much that the Republicans like him. They are not going to like him no matter what he does.

I don't think that policy should be made based on what people might think. But in this case, more people believe marijuana has a place in this society, than not.

Mean Girls and Mean Boys running the high school? I don't think so...

[RainDog]

29. oh please.

Clinton sent more people to prison for mj than Bush Sr. Clinton colluded with republicans to kill the working class with nafta. Clinton repealed financial regulations. Clinton was such a egoist he thought he could get away with saying, "It depends upon what your definition of is is." He should've told the panty sniffers to mind their own business - but he didn't. He lied under oath.

LBJ used the Gulf of Tonkin to escalate the war in Vietnam. I think the chant back then was "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today."

The lesson to learn from all of this is that American politicians aren't really worth much of anything, as far as the everyday American citizen goes.

Anything good that you want to happen in this nation - you have to organize with like-minded people and create that change.

The American govt at this point reminds me of the Catholic church who, only 500 years after the fact, admitted that Galileo was right. It's the same sort of entrenched and corrupt power that cannot admit when it has lied and tries to save face by continuing with the same lies.

[Bennyboy]

27. Lame. Test it and then get back to us...

Thats the thing, as a schedule 1 narcotic, it is not allowed to be tested or tried as medicine. So all the bullshit about it is just that. BULLSHIT. It is not dangerous.

[Canuckistanian]

30. Fuck 'em, then

Let's make this a state-by-state issue. Starting with California.

Let's make this a REAL "state's rights issue".

And if it PASSES, let there be a USSC ruling that ALL feds must KEEP OUT of marijuana regulation where it conflicts with state law.

[RainDog]

31. this is how women won the right to vote

and it barely passed when it did - and only did because one guy from Tennessee had a family member (his mom) tell him to stop being an asshole (tho not in quite those words.)

same thing now. same thing for so many issues.

The lesson I learned from the 2008 election is that politicians are the problem, not the solution. Not Obama per se. The political class as a whole.

[Canuckistanian]

35. I don't blame Obama personally

I lay most of the blame on Eric Holder. He said even before he was appointed that that he would fight legalization or even normalization.

[dflprincess]

49. Not quite

You're correct that it was one legislator in Tennessee (Harry Burn) who listened to his mother and cast his vote for the 19th Amendment. And Tennessee was the last state needed to ratifty the amendment but there were still a few other states that had yet to vote on it so it may have passed without Tennessee - not that suffragettes weren't worried about its passage.

I love the story about Harry Burn and his mother Febb Ensminger Burn .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_T._Burn

Burn had originally planned to make clear his intention to vote "nay" in any session. However, a letter from his mother asking him to vote in favor of the amendment helped to change his mind. Mrs. J. L. Burn (Febb Ensminger) of Niota, Tennessee, had written a long letter to her son, a copy of which he held during the voting session on August 18, 1920. The letter contained the following:

Dear Son: Hurrah and vote for suffrage! Don't keep them in doubt! I notice some of the speeches against. They were bitter. I have been watching to see how you stood, but have not noticed anything yet. Don't forget to be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt put the "rat" in ratification. Your mother<4>

After much debating and argument, the result of the vote was 48-48. Burn's vote broke the tie in favor of ratifying the amendment. He asked to speak to the House the next day and told them he changed his vote because his mother asked him to and that she had always taught him that "a good boy always does what his mother asks him to do."

[Yeahyeah]

32. Massive massive surprise.

[Tunkamerica]

33. Because it has ALWAYS been illegal...

It should be worded as repealing the ban on marijuana. Or ending the prohibition. Or restoring the legality of.

Besides, there is a long history of products being sold with no FDA studies, even things that were used as medicine. This is not "the one exception in the history of the world". That's ridiculous.

[RainDog]

57. sounds like a Harry Anslinger zombie

oh, interesting factoid.

Anslinger was appointed to head the Bureau of Narcotics by Andrew Mellon, his wife's uncle, who was treasury secretary in the Herbert Hoover administration.

The Mellon family continues to create havoc in American life - this is the family that spawned Richard Mellon Scaife.

"Richard Mellon Scaife is the best-known living member of Pittsburgh’s storied Mellon clan, whose eponymous bank made the family a 19th-century fortune, which grew steadily with diversified investments, including major coal, steel, and real-estate interests, and Gulf Oil Corporation. Scaife, who owns several newspapers, is a major backer of conservative causes; his political donations fueled the rise of the New Right and its moral crusade against Bill Clinton, making Scaife the central figure in Hillary Clinton’s “vast right-wing conspiracy.” In the 1990s, his gift of $1.8 million to The American Spectator funded investigations into Whitewater and Bill Clinton’s personal life, including David Brock’s notorious “Troopergate” exposé, which led to Paula Jones’s sexual-harassment suit against the president."

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/02/scaife200802

This is one of those families in America whose very existence has made life worse for the majority of us.

[Bobbieo]

34. Again - Break the backbone of the drug cartels!

The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy … says that more than 60 percent of the profits reaped by Mexican drug lords are derived from the exportation and sale of cannabis to the American market. … (By comparison, only about 28 percent of their profits are derived from the distribution of cocaine, and less than 1 percent comes from trafficking methamphetamine.) … Government officials estimate that approximately half the marijuana consumed in the United States originates from outside its borders, and they have identified Mexico as far and away America’s largest pot provider.

[Mnpaul]

36. documented health and social problems?

Where are they documented? In the movie Reefer Madness?

Someone needs to call him on this crap.

[RainDog]

58. Prohibition of cannabis was based upon racism

If you read the testimony, (which you can do if you go to the Drug Policy forum and find the post that contains a link to the Marihuana Act of 1937) you see that the entire basis for Congress passing legislation against cannabis was based upon racist lies and stereotypes.

Now the govt cannot continue with these outright racist screeds in polite society - but they do continue this racism via the application of the law - this prohibition is used as a way to harass and arrest African-Americans TO THIS DAY. This is exactly what has gone on in NYC during the last two decades, for instance - which, again, is easily demonstrated if you look at arrests for marijuana compared to usage.

By refusing to address the lie of cannabis scheduling, by continuing the lies about cannabis as a drug, the Obama administration continues to support racism in American society.

This is the sad truth whether anyone will admit it or not.

[kristopher]

37. This Kevin Sabet character is a real antidrug warrior, it's literally his entire identity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Sabet

http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2008/feb/07/80_drug_policy_experts_oppose_dr

http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2008/feb/09/kevin_sabet_responds

I really don't get the politics of opposing legalization.

[ooglymoogly]

69. +1 good links....thanx nt

[notesdev]

38. Let's be real

The administration opposes legalization because of the dependence of the party on pharmaceutical industry money.

Same reason it opposes any serious prosecution of Wall Street or any credible rules to rein in the rampant piracy.

Same reason it has no plan to either win or leave two expensive overseas wars.

Same reason it does EVERYTHING.

Time to update my sig.

[dflprincess]

50. Bingo!

[ixion]

53. Big Pharma, the Alcohol industry, and privatized prison industry

are primarily the folks who keep this crap alive, in my opinion.

[Zephie]

39. Not like you've ever smoked up, right Mr. President?

Oh... Right, forgive my stoner memory. :eyes:

[davepc]

40. And the Change just keeps on comming!

I wish somebody told me that change meant Center-Left status quo!

[TBF]

82. Where do you see center-left?

Because all I see is conformity with the last administration. And after the raids on anti-war protestor's homes this weekend I'm expecting even worse to come ...

[damonm]

41. Well, add ANOTHER thing on which Obama and I disagree...

with NASA funding, the Public Option, and gay marriage, that now makes 4.

[rayofreason]

44. Legalize drugs...

...and lots of other things too. Let individuals decide what to do with their bodies unless there is a compelling societal interest. Prohibition of alcohol caused more social problems than it solved. Same with drugs.

[Tsiyu]

45. Politically, this is a no-brainer

From left to right, Americans support legalization. This is the one issue that "unites."

Too many people from both sides of the political spectrum have had sick family members who needed and could not obtain cannabis or who used cannabis when ill.

Too many people on both sides of the spectrum don't want to drink alcohol but do enjoy smoking a bit of cannabis to relax, soothe aches and pains, etc.

If the administration came out on the side of common sense, it would be the savior of the American voter, sick of the $$$ wasted and harrassment endured.


But no, act ignorant, authoritarian and judgmental and see how many votes the common man doesn't come up with. (See, Obama, the common man and woman are fed up with being legislated and heckled to death by these harsh laws for petty things while the rich get away with murder. We're not stupid, just really patient.)

So I guess if this is all true, i can say with all certainty that Obama isn't a Muslin, a Christian, A Pagan or a Jew. He worships $$$$$$$ above even the will of the people he leads....

[Bobbieo]

48. Arizona's Prop 203 is the question on the legalization of medical marijuana for the state.

The voice of the people on Prop 203 has been strangely silent. This may be one amendment that might pass - with the majority voting in favor of legalizing MM.

[GReedDiamond]

46. Sad and pathetic...

...hysterical hyperbole based on willful ignorance/anti-cannabis propaganda.

Another Obama Admin needless public policy FAIL.

Edited for clarity.

[krispos42]

51. Arresting people also caused documented health and social problems.

And people self-medicate all the time. And isn't the government actively preventing research in to the medicinal effects of THC?

[ixion]

52. Ah, so the folks who push the 'war' on (some) drugs have done their job

way to support the Police State, Obama. :puke:

[_ed_]

55. Obama is a vicious hypocrite

Vicious because he would deny suffering patients the painkilling effects of marijuana, a hypocrite because he has admitted to smoking weed as a teen. If pot is so bad, will he offer himself for prosecution for using illegal drugs?

[democracy1st]

61. he's a corp sponsored politician,there's no way anyone could be this awful!

[ShamelessHussy]

56. "in history of the world" - lol

[CrownPrinceBandar]

59. "...should not be subject to voter approval for its use".....

What the fuck are they so afraid of that they want to DENY us a choice? And whatever happened to Obama saying that he was going to be hands-off of MM? This gets curiouser and curiouser.

[Blue Owl]

62. It's a fucking PLANT for fuck's sake

JFC

:mad:

[JonLP24]

65. Meanwhile there are photos of the President

drinking beer which has documented health and social problems. Whatever. I imagine it will be 20 years or so before a President takes this issue seriously.

[shanti]

74. AND smokes ciggies

a proven health danger. he is a fecking hypocrite!! :grr: soooo disappointing!

[ooglymoogly]

66. There are no other words for this crap; Totally delusional.

fuk'n more reasons.

We have another Reagan, Meese or Bennet or any combination thereof, on our hands.

Why vote for a pug when you can have a pug with a D after his name?

Change my ass.

For a real change + some common sense;

Grayson for president 2012.

[indepat]

67. A continuation of one of the disastrous policies of the past decade?

:shrug:

[davepc]

70. More like past century plus

[Taverner]

71. Tough shit, Barack and co...

You'll have my greenage when you take my guns - from my cold dead hands

[less lee]

73. Maybe he should listen to this song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bE3UOn5jgM

[Bluenorthwest]

75. What vicious lies, such towering hypocrisy

Backward, stupid, uninformed, attacks on a medicine vital to millions of Americans. Shame on this administration, yet again, for ignorance and hindering the lives of the people.
Getting close to done with Barack. He has little going for him, and we need a good candidate for 2012. This level of stupidity is not something I can offer so much as a vote to. More superstion and stupidity. Fuck them.

[SocialistJan]

78. Hypocrite!

[EC]

80. This guy is a schedule C employee - meaning he's on his

way out...he's a left-over...so the hell with his opinion...

[tavalon]

81. Color me surprised

[AngryAmish]

84. Why? Really, why?

Many people say MM works for them. I am not convinced that is scientifically true, but it does no harm, so who cares?

It is not just the people in jail for pot. It is the people put in the system for pot. Simple possession is a felony many places. That means this person cannot vote, work as a hairdresser, just simple stupid shit. No student loans, too. It ruins lives for a minor offense.

I was drinking regularly since age 13. Somehow I got through college and graduate school. I tried pot but it wasn't for me. I got busted a few times with beer but the consequences were minor. Getting caught with pot would have been catastrophic. It is just silly and mean to outlaw pot.

[Tesha]

87. Billions of dollars per year in law enforcement and prison funds...

...depend on Marijuana remaining illegal.

That's all you need to know about the reasons why.

Tesha

[MindPilot]

85. Far be it from this administration to give a flying rat's ass what the PEOPLE want

"How can we imagine that a dangerous, illegal drug like marijuana should be voted on by the people? That's not how we do medicine in this country."

The people using the ballot box to tell the government what they want?! That's not the way we do things here in AMERICA!

Nanny-state shit like this is turning me into a Libertarian.

[TK421]

88. I have a friend who is Libertarian...the first time he was telling me about it

I just shook my head and thought he was being deliberately narrow-minded

Now? not so much

[Name removed]

89. Deleted message

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[gulfcoastliberal]

90. However, the administration does favor continued production of heroine & cocaine

thus, the missions in Afghanistan & Colombia (&mexico) continue unchanged. Please refer operational and other questions to the CIA.