adam914

Do you guys really think he'll do anything? it's not like he doesn't have his hands full, and BTW I'd be surprised if he can fulfill half of his promises. After all, there were a ton of 'em...

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ITG

I highly doubt that he'll get around to decriminalization. It's way down the list of priorities that need to be taken care of.

Though he could probably quickly and easily tell the DEA to stop raiding MMJ dispensaries and patients in MMJ states. That's something well within his power, and in my opinion is actually more important than decrim anyway.

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It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.

Molly23

That when you got a seeming majority of Americans in favor of medical and decriminalized pot, and Barney Frank's bill in the process of being introduced to congress already, it doesn't seem like such a time consuming task. What major legislation could they make that bill a part of? You know, like slide it in there with some other bill?

Also, I think the idea of legalizing and regulating and taxing marijuana dovetails nicely with the issues of the economy, health care and crime. Think about it==fiscally, there's potential for an amazing amount of tax revenue coming from legalized weed. Also, if mj were legalized, employers would have a lot less ground to fire someone based simply on testing positive for marijuana regardless of performance. The majority of people that fail drug tests for their employers test positive for marijuana, and despite government lies, there is no solid evidence that marijuana users perform any worse than other employees.

healthwise, there's potentially a lot of health benefits from pot smoking in terms of not just the serious illnesses that med mj is geared to now, but things like arthritis, ADHD, some other psychiatric disorders, to name a few. There is recent recearch suggesting that long term use of marijuana actually protects against aging diseases of the brain like alzheimer's and other forms of dimentia. On another note, regulating it would reduce access for minors, which is what everyone wants (except the minors but they'll become adults someday and have their turn anyway). Legalizing marijuana for adults reinforces the message that some activities are the exclusive privilege of adults and I think this ups the credibility of the message we want to send to young people, that they are better off staying drug and alcohol free until adulthood then they are free to decide.

On a crime note, regulating it and restricting trade only to licensed dealers would give consumers the opportunity to buy it in a safer more accountable setting, and I bet that people would prefer to go to a store and be given a selection rather than just whatever kind their dealer happens to have at the time. Also it would take marijuana users away from the environment that also deals in hard drugs like crack and meth, thereby safeguarding consumers from marijuana that may be laced with something or putting themselves in a situation where criminals may be involved.

All round, a sensible approach to marijuana is long overdue, and this may be the best climate we've had in decades to get it legalized.

Especially now, nobody has the right to complain about the laws, or even to be smoking pot, unless you are contributing financially to at least one legalization organization, and actively campaigining through letters and e-mails to your representatives on every issue that comes to your attention.

Stoners need to put down the remote and get up off the couch and get as active as the NRA and AARP. Let's blast the antimotivational stereotype right out of the water and show the whole country how active we can be!!

Zocalo

I wish he could wave a magic wand and make everyone everywhere not care if you consume MJ. And every town has a garden where MJ grows free...you can go and pick it, just like apples off a tree.

Hey, that rhymed...lol.

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sk3y

Amen Brother!

Cal Bong Rip-ken

hahahahahhahahahahahahahah. so stoned. hahahahahhaha.

Zocalo

You wanna know the really sad part?

I've been sober for the past 5 days..

Auralis

Just eliminating the federal penalties and allowing the states to really do what they want is a BIG step IMO. I've got my fingers crossed for across-the-board decriminalization. We'll see how that goes. Maybe legalization sometime in the next few decades?

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Was kann man ohne Liebe tun? - Was kann man außer lieben tun? - Und was machst DU?
Philosophie ist ganz Scheiße. Literatur ist Scheiße. Denken Sie nicht über Existentialismus nach - es ist wichtiger etwas echt, etwas neu zu machen.
Wahrheit und Fortschritt ist alles. Mitgefühl und Vergebung für jede Kerl.

ITG

The thing is, though, he doesn't have the power to decriminalize marijuana. That's a legislative duty, and so relegated to Congress.

He CAN tell the DEA to stop enforcing it, but without legal changes, such would be an unwise political move, as it would make it look like he was usurping legisltive power. However, if he simply told the DEA to not pursue MMJ facilities in users where MMJ programs have been put in place, it would give the impression that a) he is trying to control unnecessary costs, b) that he is for state's rights and respecting them, and c) that he cares about helping people get their medicine instead of punishing them for it.

Telling the DEA to stop prosecuting MMJ would be a great political move, it's one that he can do, and it's one that he can do fairly simply and easily.

runamukk

he could however, not veto HR5843.....the bill introduced by Ron Paul and Barney Frank that ends Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults. Also with a democratic majority this now has a real chance of passing!!!!!