The more than 92,000 people who responded either have Cheech and Chong senses of humor or there is a deep concern in America — undetected by the media — about the decriminalization of marijuana, its possible use for medicinal purposes and its potential as a new source of tax revenue.
Given the opportunity to say what’s really on their minds without going through the filter of the mainstream media, people “buzzed up” a series of questions that seemed to suggest broad interest in legalizing marijuana and taxing it.
In this moment of national economic crisis, the top four questions under the heading of “Financial security” concerned marijuana; on the budget, people voted up questions about marijuana to positions 1-4; marijuana was in the first and third positions under “jobs”; people boosted a plug for legalizing marijuana to No. 2 under “health care reform.” And questions about decriminalizing pot occupied spots 1 and 2 under “green jobs and energy.”
After taking questions lower on the list, Obama addressed the pot issue head on, noting the huge number of questions about marijuana legalization and remarking with a chuckle, “I don’t know what that says about the online audience.”
“The answer is no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy,” he said, as the audience in the room applauded and joined him in a laugh.
Yeah, it’s only $41,000,000,000 a year we’re talking about. That’s only less than 1/4th of a taxpayer-funded AIG bailout, so it’s not like we’re talking about real money here. And there is something funny about the online community… we were a large part of your electoral success. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Whether legalizing marijuana would grow our economy is an added benefit, but a moot point. The question is whether the next eighteen-year-old Barry Obama smoking pot with his buddies should be arrested and have to carry a drug conviction for life. The question is whether the next twenty-one-year-old Barry Obama should’ve gone to community college instead of Harvard because the government wouldn’t give him student loans because of his pot conviction. The question is whether the next thirty-four-year-old Barry Obama watching his mother die of cancer should have to risk arrest to get her the medical marijuana her doctor recommends.
Call President Obama at 202-456-1111 and tell him you don’t think this issue is a joke and you resent him treating it as if it were. Thirty years ago, he could’ve been just as busted as any of us.
[...] We asked him via Open for Questions II: in March 2009, where he mocked the number one idea of legalization helping the economy; [...]
[...] We asked him via Open for Questions II in March 2009, where he mocked the number one idea of legalization helping the economy; [...]
[...] We asked him via Open for Questions II in March 2009, where he mocked the number one idea of legalization helping the economy; [...]
[...] users are treated as a laughingstock, even by a president that publicly claimed to be one of [...]
[...] users are treated as a laughingstock, even by a president that publicly claimed to be one of [...]
[...] Marijuana users are treated as a laughingstock, even by a president that publicly claimed to be one of us. [...]
[...] Marijuana users are treated as a laughingstock, even by a president that publicly claimed to be one of us. [...]
[...] Marijuana users are treated as a laughingstock, even by a president that publicly claimed to be one of us. [...]
[...] they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Gandhi [...]
41+ billion? No but I can see the sales reaching upto 10-20 billion a year. Its, another chapteer of that fairy tale, The American Dream, to see this stuff legal. If it hever happens, I suggest that is should not be sold as strrt value, butlest than half of the price-Somewhere around 40-50 bucks an ounce with a tax scale like $10 federal, $10 State, $5 county, $5 city and the cultivator whom I suggest should not be people like me or you, but big businesses like Phil Morris would get like $10-15 per sale with no extra taxes so that one could open jobs and pay people properly for cultivation and security! It would be a bad idea to import this stuff from places like China, just as Wal-Mart would do, because it would defeat the purpose of supporting the American economy, for you see, there would be only sale, and not many jobs produced other that transporting. DC needs to get thier heads out of thier butts and put the marijuana plan in motion. But passing this law in DC cant happen by the politicians. The American People has to decide rather if we want this stuff around or not. 300+ million people in the U.S.-More or less than a third are adults over 21.We can only ask Washington to ask The People to vote on legalization. And there must be rules with hefty fines and severe, yet humane punishments for abusing the stuff such as driving while you’re high. I also suggest that there should be no home cultivation and in home sale, because that is not safe not to mention tax evasion. Yes, I like to have this stuff, but the game must be played fair. I really don’t want Obama to be the one to pass this. Well, its just the fact that we Americans have turned into a buch of big fat babies and like to point fingers, and Obama as a blackman…well, you figure that one out, but to make it clear, one would praise him, while the next will speculate the legalization caused by a blackman. His presidency was marked with crisis. I only wish he didn’t do all that spending, which is not a good image for someone who is suppose to be bugeting. All the man can do is what he is doing now…Nothing, because there is nothing he can do to save the economy from what took some 30 years to come to this state we are in. Now, back to marijuana…Bottom line and speaking of nothing, thats one thing that canbe done…Taking marijuana(Nothing) and turning it into something to support and please us to have the privilage, not a right, to consume Marijuana.
Read about Ken Unger story about medicinal marijuana……………….and is facing time in prison…………….
another gentleman HE gets off Kenneth R. Wells, WTF……
You do relize that Obama won’t do anything about marijuana until his second term if he wins right? It makes complete sense and it only takes a stoner to understand it, here’s just a few things to remember:
1. Obama’s black(nothing wrong with that at all, I voted for him), but it would show negativity since most Americans have their heads up their own asses with prejudice visuals and thoughts and Republicans would say its because he’s black.
2. He’s trying things his way right now to see what the hell Bush left him with, which isn’t much
3. Second term means he must have done something right, or the people are going to push harder next election for legalization rallies, which full blown legalization is rediculous to think of in the corrupt country we live in now.
4. Second term also means continue with your list of ideas on how to make living in America better which could involve decriminalizing THC products and bud all over to an extent about the 2nd year of second term.
It really all does make sense no matter how you look at it, your all just too impatient like the rest of us