A younger Barack Obama on the War on Drugs and marijuana

25 Comments

1. valu777
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   You shall not murder You shall not commit adultery You shall not steal deserve heven or hell? it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the JUDGEMENT: whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,but by me that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord SHAL BE SAVED
2. sacralith
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   2parse.. I know. I left the question marks because I know its nothing conclusive and that I didn’t really have faith in him doing anything about this but I still feel misled a bit. I think a majority knew about him saying the thing about inhaling was the point and hoped, as I did, that he may change something even if they knew better.
3. nicks28
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   people are seriously fucking stupid. dont decriminalize it…legalize it. the government could make so much money if they controlled the sale of weed and we wouldnt have to worry about the “war on drugs” because we wouldnt rely on other countries to import it into our country. Its so simple we grow it in the USA the government sells it, makes money and has a happier general public. It’s facts, marijuana is much safer and alot less detrimental to society than alcohol. The decision is too easy!!!
4. 2parse
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   @sacralith – You could argue this point – and I have not seen the poll numbers which show what % of Americans believed Obama would legalize marijuana. But I would wager that are very small – as this was not a big campaign issue. This presumption on my part is buttressed by the fact that the great majority of those who voted for him in exit polls said they were concerned about the economy and national security – not marijuana.
5. sacralith
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   Since he has no interest in changing the law. I would love to know what % of people voted for him that had seen comments like this. Looking at other youtube vids, marijuana law showed up as the #1 question on this online thing he did and that CNN did a poll that was 95% for. Doesn’t this mean Obama led people to believe(lied?) change would happen for the people in order to use them on at least 1 issue that the majority finds important in order to get elected? The mark of a good lawyer?
6. freelancehero
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   Very nice retort. Anyone who thinks decriminilization/legalization would cause more crime needs to re-evaluate the war on drugs right now. Legalization will take power away from any drug kingpins or what have you. If anybody can access it, then why the hell would people go to any drug warlord? You could get it from your neighbor and smoke in your backyard. People who don’t want to smoke will continue to not smoke. Legalization/decriminilization will only better our current situation.
7. dtolab
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   Please safe the palestinians from the Terror-state called ISRAEL This is a call out of desperation. Please help unveal israeli lies to the world about the crimes it does in palestine and occupying it. (copy this comment and paste it to spread the help-call)
8. leevi1234
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   I don’t know why all the Americans are so excited about having a black president, Zimbabwe have had one for years and he’s fucking shit.
9. Swansen03
   Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
   um…. again, what???? your not reading what i’m writing. Legalization=Awesome Decriminalization=horrible mess
10. Hard2LogOn
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    dont insult my intelligence! i have a very, very, high IQ. i went to college! marijuana should be and will be legal before i die. i bet my life on that.
11. Swansen03
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    you aahh….. are REALLY confused, like entirely, before you start throwing names around, and start showing your intelligence, think about what i wrote… better yet, get a dictionary. DECRIMINALIZATION IS NOT THE SAME AS LEGALIZATION, they are VERY different. Dammit man, read books or something. If it were “legalized” i couldn’t be happier, and it should be, decriminalization would be REALLY bad, specifically in the US, it just wouldn’t help anything here, it would only hurt.
12. Hard2LogOn
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    you are a moron. when alcohol was illegal, Al Capone (he was a true gangster in chicago) was making a lot of money by bootlegging. now that alcohol is legal, it got rid of gangsters like Al Capone. oh and by the way, even though alcohol is legal i do not enjoy drinking alcohol. it makes me feel like shit. marijuana should be legal. just because something is legal dosnt mean every single american will use the product. use common sense.
13. Swansen03
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    decriminalization would be REALLY bad… it would only give gangs more money and more power. Illegal drug smuggling would also increase exponentially.
14. jibbi4one
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    What would you call bars, taverns, pubs establishments with licence to serve liquor for responsible social drinking? The same is not true for pot smoking because it’s a criminal offence that carries fine and imprisonment. BIG DIFFERENCE… Reduce a massive burden on a strained legal system if it were legal. So more resources could be put to ferret out financial fraud from banks & gov’t bilking the public out of trillions of dollars!
15. andretheking86
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    dont get your hopes up on marijuana people… obama laughed it off when he talked about it recently…
16. stadsmh94
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    oh. ok, sorry for being a douchenozzle
17. silverbullets89
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    nothing is going to change yet, he’s only been in office what, 4 months?? You’re not going to see the effects of any changes he makes for at least 4 years. It’s impossible to see change that quickly, especially with how badly the bush administration fucked up. just remember he’s cleaning up someone ELSE’s mess, it’s going to take time. That should reflect on the people who fucked it up, not the one trying to fix it.
18. livingshangrila
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    cicampbe is right. decriminalize means that if you are caught with pot, you will get a fine, legalize means you can possess weed. decriminalize basically is making it a city ordinance fine not a misdemeanor. some people are indeed idiots. cicampbe, maybe you should let jobrien think decriminalize mean he can smoke weed publically and have to pay the 115 dollar fine… or whatever it is in your city.
19. cicampbe
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    You’re telling me to learn the language??! Do me a favor… grab that little dictionary and look up the word “decriminalize” and “legalize.” There’s a huge difference. Once you’ve done so, feel free to apologize.
20. LostRiot
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    In the UK cannabis was de-criminalised (it has since been re-criminalised) but it was always illegal. In the UK the law was that having a small amount on you for personal consumption was fine, as long as you weren’t outside a school or something. However dealing still gave you a hefty fine or jail time so basically you’re not just throwing people who like to get stoned in jail. It was a complete failure in the UK, both sides hated it.
21. sentazar
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    All tickets are considered arrests. But Benmcmahen explained it well enough
22. jobrien2001
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    Are you serious? There is no difference. Learn the language. Crime – an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is LEGALLY prohibited.
23. caveatemp
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    Decriminalize but not legalize. Hmmmm… Oh yeah, that’s doublethink.
24. vicacyus
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    shutup hes the best for your country right now. who would you have instead mcain not eveeen.!!!! and he cant just go out and punish and arrest george bush
25. vicacyus
    Posted May 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm | Permalink
    his opinion hasn’t changed