Young Turks (Penn Jillette rant) Obama's Hypocrisy About Marijuana

[RainDog]

Cenk Uygur: "We magically hit a tipping point in marijuana... the country is done with it... the war on drugs, making marijuana illegal.. we've hit the tipping point and we're done with it."

As I've said here before - no, this is not the number one issue for many people - but it is an issue for people who have a need for medical marijuana, for young people who don't want to face consequences that Jillette mentions, and for those who do not find any constitutional, scientific, or rational reason for this prohibition.

Obama needs to evolve on this issue. He doesn't need to look like one of the privileged who got away with something who is now callous to the damage current laws can do to others.

[90-percent]

1. Wrong Side of History

Obama's stance on the drug war on pot is on the extreme wrong side of history.

For what purpose?

If Al Capone were alive today, he'd be dealing pot and supporting Obama's prohibition drug policies.

-90% Jimmy

[RainDog]

2. Perception

Too many pols live in a conservative "gated community" of power. (Not really talking about Obama here.)

What has created this moment - this "tipping point" related to marijuana is the same thing that created the Arab Spring - information via technology.

Via the net, people have been able to - catapult the propaganda, share experiences of people who have had medical "miracles" from the use of mj as a substance to make chemo, for instance, more life saving - the visible improvement of people's lives with MS, CP and epilepsy - the increasing knowledge that not all people who use cannabis are stereotypical stoners - open access to research, open access to the history of prohibition - open discussion about cost/benefit in relation to mj - the passing of one era - the knowledge that the last three presidents smoked cannabis -

I mean, just look at the change from the Clinton era to now. He had to hedge on this issue - or felt he had to - but the change that has come about since he was in office is also due to state-level policy changes that he felt he also had to oppose in order to placate the right wing in this nation.

The right wing is a smaller and smaller faction regarding this issue when you have judges, doctors, lawyers, former law enforcement, economists, and the leaders of nations around the world asking the U.S. why they insist on stubbornly maintaining failed policies.

Obama is reacting to the inertia among the political class - but the people out there in the day-to-day world do not want to maintain the status quo, ESPECIALLY regarding medical marijuana.

The other will follow b/c information and education reveal the prohibition arguments are based upon lies and ignorance.

[Iliyah]

3. Pres O will probably evolve

but to trash him is not the right way to go. Vote the "Rs" and regression will be bountiful. As to privileged, Pres O was not privileged, and as many upon many American tried pot, and so fucking what. This type of shit will probably fuel the nutso to do a video about him smoking pot which will not make a dent. Medical pot will survive.

[RainDog]

4. Well, Penn Jillette speaks for Penn Jillette

I don't think the Young Turks crew was trashing Obama at all. Jillette positions himself as an outsider who will criticize all sorts of positions, whether they're held by Democrats, Republicans or those who don't i.d. with any party.

The point the Young Turks made was that libertarians and young people and people within the medical marijuana movement all have a stake in this one and they can be swayed by a more enlightened pov.

They also noted this is not the make or break for most people - but, for some, as noted above, it is. It's an issue in states that are trying to break the back of the federal prohibitionists. If you notice - I didn't post the Jillette rant - I posted the analysis related to the issue.

I don't think the nutsos need any help to come up with stupid attacks - they do those on their own - and the information about Obama smoking when he was younger is no secret - so if they wanted to use that, they already could have.

Honestly, this Maraniss book does more harm than good to the cause of ending prohibition, imo, because it will make Obama more defensive. But, over time, maybe it will make this even more of a non-issue, which would be a good thing.

Medical pot will most definitely survive - and I hope the President will evolve on this issue sooner, rather than later - which is why people bring up the issue. If people did not say anything, the issue would remain static.

[Iliyah]

5. Well Libertarians in general

only care about themselves and their immediate family and poo on everyone else. Legalize pot, but take away safety nets such as civil rights, and a great many of them have no stomach for gays to boot.

Young people, in my opinion, in most part only think of today.

Maryjane is a natural substance and will become legal, and will probably help ecomony, but when, I dunno. Lets send VP Biden back to Meet the Press!

[RainDog]

6. I know. I'd rather have them vote with Democrats b/c of this

or at least some of them -- and take away some votes from Republicans by doing so.

I wish Biden would speak out - Democrats in various states whose elections might be impacted by the blowback from raids have had to speak out to avoid political backlash (such as Pelosi.)

But, since Biden put the whole Drug Czar bureau in place - I don't think I'm gonna hold my breath for that one. What Biden, then Obama, then the NAACP did recently was undermine the Af-American conservative pastors who were aligning with white right wingers who hoped to divide the Af-Am vote over the issue of gay civil rights in three states during this election year.

That push back against the regressive "Alveda King" faction was spectacularly effective, as we see in polls.

Alveda King had the gall to claim she, more than Coretta, was a spokesperson for MLK.

Alveda is a rabid right winger who lies her ass off about many things. Have no idea what her stance is on the war on drugs, however.

[Jamaal510]

9. I always thought that Libertarians support gay rights and civil rights.

Isn't their platform supposed to be fiscally conservative, but socially liberal?

[kitt6]

7. Go on out and get some

and wait until after this troublesome election. Goddam! Rome was not built in a day.

[RainDog]

8. I don't think that's exactly the point

where I live, even w/o any legal sanction in any way, anyone I know who wanted to find some very decent cannabis could.

This election also deals with state-level issues. States with med mj laws are sort of upset about the fed raids - and the threat by the Attns. General that anyone could be a target.

If this wasn't an issue for pols at the state level - we wouldn't have seen the recent attempt to amend a bill to stop the AG office from using funds for raids - that was sponsored by 3 pols from CA on both sides of the aisle, plus another pol in NY.

We wouldn't have seen Pelosi making a statement on this.

Legal cannabis is on the ballot in two states: Colorado and Washington.

The best thing voters can do is go to the polls and vote to legalize and vote to keep right wingers from undoing such legislation.

That's building a movement.

[Mkap]

10. Democrat party needs to legalize it

They need to legalize it now...at least for medical purposes

Think of all the young libertarians we could get on your side voting for us, we are already supportive of woman's rights and gay marriage so legalization of Marijuana is the next step. We would have young voters for democrat for the next 20 years! Not only that we will KILL OFF THE GREEN PARTY if we legalize it...no more vote stealing

Put the GOP on the hotseat! Force them in debates to explain that they are fiscal conservative party but want to maintain the expensive war on drugs and forcing taxpayers to pay thousands for drug and overcrowded prisons

Sometime in the 1980's LBJ's war against the poor was morphed into war against the poor, and
we have nothing to fear" was morphed into "we have everything to fear"...The war on drugs is another weapon that the GOP use to get the middle class fighting with the poor cause as long as white america continues to fear the hooded black man lurking in the shadows, the more fearful they can make americans, the more likely they are to win elections. Thats how the GOP wins elections...soley on FEAR! The private prison industry pays congressmen a lot of money to maintain their wealthy industry, if they could have every man woman and child in prison THEY WOULD...they want profit before people.


PLEASE DNC, Obama, Biden.....make legalization of marijuana on the party platform

[RainDog]

11. I do think the public is at that tipping point

and public opinion on this is not going to go back to what it was pre-legal mmj in various states.

now it's just a matter of the politicians coming around to accept they cannot continue biz as usual, even if it makes some of their contributors unhappy.

you know what I would REALLY love?

I would love it if the claim that Congress legalized medical marijuana all over the nation because it voted on funds to make it possible for D.C. to enact the mmj laws that people there voted for. I don't know what, if anything, will happen with that claim, but wouldn't it be great to have the courts say - well, yes, this action means that medical marijuana is legal in all 50 states.

If one prominent attorney is right about the legal ramifications of the District of Columbia's marijuana law -- specifically, that it was approved by the U.S. Congress -- then it could be a game-changer nationwide.

D.C.'s medical marijuana law was the first time that the United States Congress had ever given its explicit assent to any state or local law that permits the medicinal use of marijuana -- and, according to a California attorney who specializes in health care compliance, that is enormously significant under the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

​In 2009, noting that it was "allowing" the voters of Washington, D.C., to vote on and implement that city's Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment law, Congress approved medicinal cannabis in the federal District of Columbia, over which it has all governmental power.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1170242

[Canuckistanian]

12. "I find it odd that Teller has said... nothing"

[RainDog]

13. I loved that one too. n/t