Presidential Cannabis

Participants in Obama’s Open for Questions website forum selected marijuana legalization as the number one issue for the incoming president.

A total of 7,300 questions were asked by 10,000 participators who voted over 600,000 times in a twenty four hour period. In addition to being the highest voted, there was another cannabis related question in the top ten, a total of six in the top twenty, and several other high ranking questions raising issues of legalization, decriminalization, policymaking, and medical use. The persistence of these questions reflect how important the issues raised are to a number of Americans who want to address marijuana reform as a means to positive change.

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Comments

It's nice to see people so

Submitted by Alan Scheurman on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 12:50.

It's nice to see people so actively involved. However, I can only hope that some of these folks are equally as passionate about other crucial causes to our survival in the country and on this planet. I realize that marijuana is a common ground for a lot of folks, but shouldn't the health of the planet, its animals, plants and people be as well?

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check out Jack Herer

Submitted by ugotstahwonder on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 13:27.

He's got a theory that hemp and the rest of our problems are intertwined, as in the one can fix the rest. That theory includes hemp for all its potential uses, not just the usual, and notes its history for those other uses which have been prohibited because it would create too much confusion for the police in attempting to thwart the one much condemned use. He is a man with a mission and makes many good points with respect to hemp.

Health

Submitted by Michel P. Anderson on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 18:34.

I hear you, Alan, I just don't see why these issues are seen as separate by a lot of people. The War on Drugs directly affects all of the issues you mentioned. Ending it is a tangible goal and would make seriously progress for the many other reforms that are needed. The US invades and brutalizes the people of other countries under the pretense of this war. And creates a violent black market that devours the poor in the 3rd world ghettos of our own country. Legalize pot, tax the hell out of it and put the money into health care and environmental concerns. We need to stop locking up non-violent users, and save those resources for treatment for the seriously addicted. Watch this trailer if you have a moment: Escape to Canada. It's an amazing film I just watched last night. It's a very moving documentary.

agreed

Submitted by greenrvolution on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 22:04.

I totally agree with both of you. While I think marijuana legalization is important, there is defenitely more important issues such as climate control/pollution/deforestation, economy, social justice, AIDS work, food crises etc. But I also feel that to start stimulating the economy is just what Michel advocated. To lock someone in jail it costs taxpayers about $20,000-25,000 dollars per inmate per year. Considering that about 90% of all drug charges stem from pot charges, and the US incarceration rate being the highest in the world, with about 1 in 105 people currently incarcerated, there is a lot of money that is lost and could be gained. If we ended the Drug War, we would save billions, gain billions more through taxes, and free up the overcrowded jail cells and also invest in more environmental actions such as the use of hemp instead of wood, and more research into hempoline.

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addicted to war

Submitted by irie member on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 22:04.

find a book(comic) called 'addicted to war'. it puts a lot in perspective.

grow your own.... everything

money sucks the real current out of transactions

that's why they're called trades(career? my rear)

bla bla bla

I just wanna

Submitted by terseword on Wed, 12/24/2008 - 02:56.

say how much I love this site! Each comment brings something tangible to the discussion. Well, except my own - more of a meta-comment.

When smashing monuments, save the pedestals. They always come in handy. - Stanislaw Lec

But wait...

Submitted by Michel P. Anderson on Wed, 12/24/2008 - 07:56.

No he is not. He was for decriminalization back when the strings weren't tugging on him so tight. But that reality, and his position, shouldn't quiet us from disscussing it loud and clear with people. And spreading the message around. All political power has to be thwarted by the common people . . . it's aways been that way. Canadians had a victory not so many years ago. The tide shifted again. But this to will pass.

the green

Submitted by ugotstahwonder on Mon, 12/29/2008 - 13:44.

What if the green that everyone is concerned with becomes the actual green instead of the manmade variety? Then, we might see a change in the approach to marijuana a la Jack Herer's campaign which walks us through all of the potential benefits of growing hemp which are blocked by the predominant agenda to keep people from smoking it.

True...

Submitted by J-Ogg on Thu, 12/25/2008 - 03:22.

From the government's perspective, it's more profitable to keep it illegal. Lots of ulterior motives can be masked by the convenient "war on drugs" excuse (much like the "war on terror" opens the door for misuse of power).

Not to mention that a large sector of the economy runs on the "slave labor" of prison inmates who help to manufacture basic goods for certain private industries. Not just license plates. :) Many corporations have a vested interest in the war on drugs to keep their cheap work force flowing.

While our mainstream culture remains fairly conservative and highly biased (we can't even keep discriminatory marriage acts from passing in California!), there is still hope for progress. It's definitely a good thing to get this out into the open for discussion and debate though. Just because legalization is unlikely in the near future does NOT mean we should keep quiet and remain apathetic.

Very True

Submitted by Michel P. Anderson on Thu, 12/25/2008 - 11:29.

It is quite scary when you start to see behind the curtain as to why this country is engaged in the War on Drugs. What's even scarier about it is that it is so covert-- few people even realize what is happening. I remain hopeful that the internet is bringing the issue into light.

war on drugs

Submitted by greenrvolution on Fri, 12/26/2008 - 13:46.

If you want to read about the real involvement of the US with the Drug War read The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia by Alfred W. McCoy

it talks about how after Vietnam, the CIA secretly funneled Heroin from Southeast Asia back to the US for profits. Also when crack was made illegal, it was prosecuted at a rate 10x more that of cocaine use/possession.