QUOTES:
"There was one question that was....uh...highly popular ....I don't know what this says about the online community..."

"The answer is 'no.' I don't think this ('would ... legalizing marijuana improve the economy and job creation') is a good strategy to grow the economy."

Facebook is buzzing with this one....

Obama is a huge hypocrite like all politicians. monkey fingered.

I agree that this is one issue--the War on Drugs--needs to be evaluated. It was Nixon who recriminalized pot on a level with heroin for control of the people who used it--war protesters. It is clearly a class war which has become an industry.
And it is number one on all the Obama internet sites asking for suggestions.

Theres a huge difference between being an economic stimulus, and whether marijuana should be legal. The hell with the stimulus. There are people suffering out there and need marijuana as a medicine. California, as usual, has the right idea.

I am very disappointed that he took te question as a joke. I fail to see how America's largest cash crop can be dismissed off hand.
I agree that legalization will not necessarily be a stimulus to the economy- all it does is take the money from under the table to above the table- but the net exchange of money is probably not going to change too much. BUT it will most definitely be a HUGE new revenue source for local and state governments. At a time when teachers are being laid off this is no laughing matter.

At least President Obama brought the question out in the open ~ Let the debate begin!

Rated

I am to say the least disappointed with this for Obama. But I do think it needs to stay at the top of the list in terms of reform and discussion here. Keep the 'buzz' going on this Chris. This issue is very important. Let the mail and calls flow.

There is nothing--NOTHING--to be gained by him going down that road at this very moment.

He's directed the federal authorities NOT to harrass legal clinics out here in CA--something his predecessor encouraged. That's the most I expect of him.

Were he to say anything else, he may as well just lie down on busy railroad tracks right now.

Verbal- I heartily disagree with- "There is nothing--NOTHING--to be gained by him going down that road at this very moment. "
We are discussing any and all options with the Mexico Border, we are scrambling to find any and all options for the economy....thousands of DC staffers are trying to solve healthcare and reduce the prison population.

Nothing to be gained?

Cannabis is the wrench in the works for many of the MOST important issues in America. The view of "nothing to gain" by addressing the issue head on ( and making a joke out of a serious topic) is exactly what has kept the failed policy of prohibition in place.

What if Lyndon Johnson saw nothing to gain in civil rights? Or if Gavin Newsome saw nothing to gain with gay marriage?

If politicians and elected officials never stand out on an issue nothing gets done. They could be, perhaps, half as courageous as millions of Americans who have already stood up for ending cannabis prohibition.

Far from laying down on the tracks....this issue puts a new locomotive on the rails.

gmgaston "Let the debate begin!"

Now that's the spirit!!!!!!!:)

I love how Obama-apologists think. St Obama will do the right thing, he just needs to be elected first. Now that he is elected Obama needs to save up his political capital for important things. Give it three years and they'll start saying Obama can't do the right thing this term because he needs to be re-elected. What will it take for you people to realize he isn't really liberal? The Democratic party is right of center and so is Obama.

It doesn't matter to them that the majority of Americans favor decriminalization for medical purposes. It doesn't matter to them that the majority of Americans want the troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. They don't care. There is money to be made in the war on drugs and the so called war on terror and that is all that matters. Not doing the right thing or what the American people want. And so Obama laughs and belittles the will of the people and their question about marijuana. What a hero.

incandescent- Baby steps: Done. How about 13 medical states and 38 states, municipalities or counties who have enacted marijuana liberalization measures? Or the Presidential Comission on Marijuana from 1972 that asked to decrim? Or how about the two federal bills introduced last year in Congress? Every baby step has been taken....but when will the President and federal officals take the adults steps to end Prohibition?

There is not issue that is more easily solved than Cannabis Prohibition. And no other opic would have quantified impact through all of our society.

Polticians and the government have been able to pick and choose.....and have made the eyes-open choice to not address marijuana prohibition for too long. Now there is no longer a luxury of time or resources to pick and choose....the issue must be addressed.

Thanks to Mission!

So right on O'Stephanie!

HEar you scanner- the forum asked for questions couched in certain terms....the marijuana one related to economy was fair game for sure!

Aaron - hear you on that too....ti was the model that ended Alchohol prohibition....

icedmilkcoffee- spot on! How we can laugh at all the $ cannabis + hemp could proide while tighteneing every belt just to keep teachers, firefighters and cops employed seems a great dichotomy...

And to all- I support Obama 110%, I voted for him, volunteered and even pegged him as a prez candidate on his second day as IL Senator on my radio show. I still wear my Obama campaign baseball hat almost every day....you will not find to many bigger supporters. But hat it why it is so important for me that the issue of ending Cannabis Prohibition be taken seriously.

The thing that disappointed me was not the answer....it was the delivery. Sure it would have been both landmark and a major surprise for him to fully embrace the issue in this forum...but to make it into a joke, a sad display for such a brilliant politician.

St Obama is a brilliant politician and he is laughing at this issue because to him it is one big joke. He knows people like you will volunteer your hearts out for him again in 2012 even though he will have done absolutely nothing on this issue. After all, it will either be him or some Republican and you'll still hope against all hope that he will do the right thing eventually - even though he has no intention of doing a damn thing. Pretty funny, eh?

I am disappointed too, but the momentum we've experienced the past 40 years must change slowly. He's been up front about his own drug use, unlike the last hypocrite in office. When the drug war began, 2% of Americans over 12 years old had used drugs in their lifetime. That number has increased to 46%, so there's many more hypocrites that are enforcing the law or spouting off like their shit don't stink - ugh, like Mr. Limbaugh, who got a good "Rush" by negating the "time release" by emptying his Oxycontin capsules!

I don't believe Obama prompted the announcement about the cease of DEA medical marijuana raids - it was Eric Holder who made it public by citing a 2007 Obama campaign promise. Yet, San Diego County intends to pursue cracking down on "illegal" dispensaries. Just yesterday, DEA busted a San Francisco dispensary that was giving it away free to poor people.

Here's a good laugh for you all. Last week, seems DEA & SDPD had an undercover deal they'd been working on 2 years go awry. A $250,000 undercover buy for 500 lbs of pot was thwarted by a San Diego cop who red lighted the suspects on the freeway during rush hour. The suspects threw all the money out the windows during the chase & DEA only recovered $40,000. The commuters thought Obama was showering "stimulus" money on them & stopped to grab what they could! Here's the story & accompanying video - It's a riot!
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/25/1m25cash002425-185000-still-gone-freeway-cash-toss/?zIndex=72185

Oh, Freedom, I was so disappointed with that lame response. "ranked among the top questions", my arse, it WAS the top vote-getter, and was was the top question in 4 out of 11 categories.

i don't suppose you would like to start a citizen initiative?

Politicians win by being the lesser of two evils.

Who makes money from the continued illegality of marijuana? Attorneys, for-profit prisons, law enforcement at every level...just for starters.