the hypocrisy of presidents regarding marijuana

[Syrinx]

Our two most recent presidents have admitted to smoking marijuana. Obama and Clinton.

And Reagan smoked it too, though I'm not sure if he ever "admitted" it.

I don't know if Bush 41 ever toked, but I'm pretty sure he was involved in some cocaine smuggling operations.

Jimmy Carter was for legalization, but wimped out after Hamilton Jordan was said to enjoy some cocaine at Studio 54.

I'm still on Obama's team, but I think it is hypocritical that we still have presidents that tacitly, or explicitly, still endorse sending people to prison for the very same actions that they have committed.

Shouldn't Clinton and Obama turn themselves in to law enforcement authorities, so that they can pay for their "crimes?"

[Life Long Dem]

1. I think someone just littered DU with garbage.

I think they should turn themself in.

[Syrinx]

2. want to try a serious reply?

[Life Long Dem]

5. I thought I did.

[reggie the dog]

30. When do we have to wait until?

Things will always be fucked up, Obama should undo the prohibition put in place by FDR.

[zeemike]

3. All I can say is get real

he is embroiled in some deep caca that bush left us and you want him to put his balls on the line and come out for decriminalization of pot?
Just what do you think the right wing would do with that if they make a big deal about a TelePrompter?
He i playing in the big league now and he had damn well better play it smart.

[tuckessee]

15. It is real.

Especially for those who must suffer through chronic pain & discomfort or those whose victimless crime gets them put in prison for years & years.

[zeemike]

29. Agreed it is very real

But so is the political reality that this country is ruled by powers that want very much to destroy any hope we have for change.
And the war on drugs is big business and big business has a whole lot more power that Obama.

[Why Syzygy]

4. If they admitted in in NC

the sheriff would be after them. I get your point entirely. They are admitted criminals! Others are in prison for doing the very same thing.

[ellisD]

6. Marijuana won't be legal until

Monsanto has a line of GM terminator pot seeds ready to roll out and lobbyist start throwing buckets of money at congress... then maybe it will be legal to grow, provided you buy "government approved seeds"

lol who knows maybe they will modify it to grow some crazy color so cops can easily tell apart "approved" taxed corporate weed vs that illegal untaxed natural weed :smoke:

[tridim]

24. Except that there are already many seed banks in operation that have nothing to do with Monsanto

And everything to do with the ingenuity and patience of real people who love the Cannabis plant.

I'm not going to post links here, but if you do a google search you'll see what I mean.

[reggie the dog]

31. lots of us have our own private personal seed banks too

[martymar64]

7. All Obama has to do is get out of the way of the states

Some states are already moving towards legalization. All Obama needs to do is announce that he will not let the Federal govt (DEA) interfere with the states that wish to legalize. Then it will just be a matter of time as more and more states legalize.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

13. It would be nice if it was that easy..........

As MadHound rightly pointed out to me yesterday, Obama would have to overturn an act of Congress to make pot legal. Otherewise we'd still have DEA enforcing federal law, despite state rulings. So anyway it goes, it sits with the Feds.

[shanti]

19. holder

has already announced that the DEA is not going after cali dispensaries. that's a start right there.

[tridim]

17. And that's exactly what he has said, and already done.

Now we have Sen. Webb taking up the cause and using prison overpopulation as the catalyst for real research.

I'm extremely happy how this issue is evolving since Obama took over.

[shanti]

20. yes

little bit at a time.

[Luminous Animal]

27. Webb has been working on this for nearly two years.

It has fuck all to do with Obama.

[Fresh_Start]

8. I don't see hypocrisy

I see someone who used drugs in his youth and stopped.
Apparently he sees life after drugs as way more rewarding than life on drugs.
He might actually want the best for you and believe that the best excludes drugs

[CrownPrinceBandar]

9. Wow. I didn't know Obama was my parent!...........

His job is to enforce and uphold the Constitution, not to teach me life lessons.

edit: But I agree there is no hypocrisy. He tried it, doesn't do it any more. But all Obama said was that legalizing pot was not the way to grow our economy. He didn't even touch the moral issue - which is where most of the wrangling seems to be right now.

[dem629]

11. But don't some want him to be, on other issues?

[CrownPrinceBandar]

12. Maybe. But that's not his job.

Parents and family have that responsibility.

[Fresh_Start]

14. agree, he answered a specific question

and showed his amusement that the top three questions about the economy were all related to legalizing drugs.

I have to say that his online audience must be doing pretty well if they didn't need to worry about housing, food, medicine, employment, paying our bills to keep the lights on.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

16. Its not so much that they don't have to worry about the essentials.......

Its a social justice and common sense question. And this coming up so highly on his online questions is hardly surprising when you consider a few things:

1) There have been huge amounts of people arrested and jailed for pot that the feeling of "the punishment does not fit the crime" has hit critical mass. Alot of folks are becoming aware of violent criminals being released from jail, while non-violent drug-offenders continue to languish due to mandatory minimums.

2) The internet has debunked alot of the "reefer madness" claims out there. Many reports, cited here on DU, have outlined scientific studies on the potential boon of medical pot and the hemp industry. Hemp oil, not foreign oil.

3) Finally, we have a Dem in Office. The left has been given a voice. Legal weed has always been popular issue for some of us on the left. People are going to pipe up about it.

edit: grammar

[immoderate]

23. Oh? It reeks of hypocrisy.

He did it, now he wants others punished for doing what he got away with. He knows that the penalties are way more harmful than the "offense." This crime is still a felony in many states. What other felony could he admit to and still be president?

--imm

[Fumesucker]

26. Unless you are a teetotaler then you have no room to speak..

And the odds are against it, about 75% of American adults consume alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol is a "drug", a much "harder" one than pot, you can die from alcohol withdrawal.

[reggie the dog]

33. I am a teetotaler

I have not had a drop of alcohol in over 8 years.

[reggie the dog]

32. do you think people should be punished for using the drugs you used?

Also Obama still uses drugs, alcohol and tobacco so he is not having a "life after drugs" he just changed the drugs he uses. Some of us do not smoke tobacco and never drink alcohol but like growing and smoking our own grass.

[dem629]

10. I bet they all drank underage, too. And probably exceeded the speed limit.

Make everything legal NOW!

[Uncle Joe]

28. Except the prisons haven't been filled to overflowing with speeders and underage drinkers.

If you look for a job, the, the vast majority don't screen you for speeding or having consumed alcohol.

[dysfunctional press]

18. don't count on the first black president wanting to have pot legalization as part of his legacy...

it won't happen until the next guy/gal- at the earliest.

[philly_bob]

21. For Obama's second-term to-do list. n/t

[marshall]

22. This is shaping up to be a real wedge issue

The right wing is going to see the crack and stick their foot in the door.

People can't expect Obama to go for every issue at once. He is having to work overtime just to do what he's doing now. It can't all be done at once.

[reggie the dog]

34. lots of Republicans smoke grass

it is a bipartisan hobby.

[robdogbucky]

25. Not so fast

on that not raiding claim, my friend.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/26/BA5B16N9LR.DTL&hw=sf+medical+marijuana&sn=001&sc=1000

"...Saying the specific reason for the raid is under court seal, the DEA would only say the dispensary is suspected of violating federal and state law.

Emmalyn's had been providing free marijuana to the poor on Wednesdays..."


Seems someone has not gotten the message about Holder, or one last bite of the apple, or can't have them giving it away, OMG! Etc., etc., etc.


And then there is Tom:

...As far as the feds, it's not my nature and it's not in California's history to wait around for the feds. We have domestic partnerships and the federal government doesn't have it, we have our own immigration policy, the federal government doesn't have it. There's a host of things like that..."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/01/BA00165VB9.DTL&hw=tom+ammiano+marijuana&sn=003&sc=597


Hmmmmm.


robdogbucky

[panzerfaust]

35. Decriminalize ALL drugs ... It worked for Portugal

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ongoing/portugal.html

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/03/14/portugal/