how many DUers would NOT SUPPORT President Obama if he changed his position on medical marijuana?

[mike_c]

In the recent deluge of dialog over Obama's reversal of his promise to honor state laws regarding cultivation and sale of medical marijuana, one justification that keeps coming up is that he can't honor his pledge because it's politically untenable, especially during an election year (notwithstanding that his administration's crackdown on medical marijuana began well before this year). However, when you think about it, all such political prognostication depends on one of two things: 1) guessing what other people are likely to do; and 2) stating your own opinion. In the former instance, folks say that Obama can't honor his pledge on medical marijuana because hordes of people would shift their support for him to someone else, but of course that's just a guess, and the history of political prediction is sketchy at best. In fact, a majority of Americans opposes the war on drugs, favors legal medical marijuana, and if I'm not mistaken a majority or near majority now favor outright decriminalization and taxation of marijuana. The second reason stands on firmer ground-- if someone knows that they would change their support for Obama's reelection if he went soft on pot, then they're not guessing any longer, nor are they predicting trends that run counter to nationwide opinion polling.

So this poll question is simple: Would Obama "going soft on pot," i.e. honoring his pledge that his administration would not persecute medical marijuana providers and patients that are legal under state laws, diminish your support for his reelection?

5 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes, my support for Obama would diminish if his administration dials back its fight against medical marijuana.
	0 (0%)
	No, my support for Obama would not diminish if he goes soft on pot.
	4 (80%)
	I don't know.
	0 (0%)
	I like polls.
	1 (20%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Vincardog]

1. Add option to INCREASE support

[Go Vols]

3. agree

[yesphan]

4. Agreed

to agree.

[mike_c]

5. I chose not to do that because that's not the question I'm seeking an anwer to....

I KNOW many here would applaud such a decision and increase their support-- I certainly would. But I keep hearing the argument that Obama's stance against medical marijuana is political pragmatism necessary to prevent appearing "soft on drugs," a view that's founded upon the notion that being perceived as soft on drugs would shift support AWAY from Obama.

Personally, I think that's a lame excuse given the broad and growing support for decriminalization, legalization, and taxation of marijuana, whether for medicinal or recreational use. I'd hoped this poll might demonstrate some of that lameness by showing how little support that argument actually has, albeit among a liberal community like DU.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Flypaper post.

[treestar]

6. Did he really blanket promise not to enforce federal regulations at all against state legal dispensa

I mean I have seen enough exaggeration on DU to be skeptical. Why can't the federal government still enforce their regulations while they are not enforcing the absolute prohibition that comes from the federal end? Sometimes it appears the President cannot win for losing. People are just using this to find another "betrayal" is my default position on DU outrages. If the POTUS does a good thing, they find a way to make it a bad thing, just like Republicans (could lower gas prices be a bad thing? Is it worth getting rid of DADT if it's not done by executive order? Inherent here is, should the Administration prosecute under federal laws as a thing better to do than to leave off prosecuting them but still go after failures in regulations?).