Thinking Clearly

White House responds on pot

 With non-response, Obama continues war on weed 

By David Sirota - at SALON

 

 Basically, this would be Washington’s latest way of proudly — almost cheerily — giving Americans the big middle finger, expecting us to somehow not notice that we just got flipped off.

  

Just as important, though, is what we may be getting flipped off about. According to polls, somewhere between 51 percent and 68 percent of Americans believe states — and not the feds — should have marijuana enforcement authority.

 ...   The war on marijuana is not merely about your right to smoke a joint — it is about everything from wasteful deficit-expanding spending on prisons and police to inhumane incarceration policies to racist drug enforcement policies to a culture that effectively encourages law-abiding citizens to choose more toxic drugs (alcohol) over safer ones (marijuana).

The president — who was once a serious marijuana user — needs to better enunciate where he stands not just on the issue of legalization in general, but on the issue of whether states should have the right to make their own decisions about marijuana policy. Here’s hoping he stands on the right side of that fight — or at least clarifies where he stands so that an honest “national conversation” can continue.