Obama says marijuana ‘no more dangerous than alcohol’

[RainDog]

164. He is saying it because it has to be said

Last edited Mon Jan 20, 2014, 01:45 AM - Edit history (2)

for mothers. This group is the one group, under the age of retirement, that is most likely to oppose legalization. The reason, of course, is the idea that they're protecting their children.

The reality, tho, is that it's easier to get pot than alcohol for teenagers.

So, I saw this as a response as a parent, and a president - surely we can all see that the nation's leader cannot ignore concerns of important constituencies, right?

[center]-------------------------------[/center]

November 2012 - CO and WA become the first states to fully legalize marijuana.

Polis and Blumenauer introduce federal legislation to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol and it gets ignored by the House, even with 16 co-sponsors. Later, Leahy calls on Congress to address the issue.

July 2013 - Uruguay becomes the first nation to fully legalize marijuana, despite the U.S-led UN single convention that prohibits this. They cite the example of CO and WA.

In August 2013, DC finally funded/implemented the mmj law that voters had passed more than a decade before (the federal Congress implements the law for DC) and opened the first mmj dispensary there. A lawyer posed a question about this issue. If Congress funded the DC medical marijuana law as a federal entity, then is it unequal application of the law (or a constitutional violation) to make mmj illegal in any state, at least at the federal level? I'm not a lawyer, but I would like to know the answer.

Also in August 2013, Sanjay Gupta, on CNN, publicly disputed the claim of the DEA, FDA, NIDA, and so on that marijuana does not have medicinal value. He presented that staggering story of the child with Dravet syndrome - a form of epilepsy. People saw for themselves that the claims that have been made for things like MS, CP, epilepsy, and so on were not just pie-in-the-sky claims. What mother would not move heaven and earth to provide relief from a life-threatening disorder.

The DEA has to look the American people in the eye and tell them their budget is more important than children whose lives could be changed for the better.

In Oct. 2013, the FDA approved the first clinical trial for marijuana as treatment for Dravet syndrome. That was fast tracked, if you know the history that NO studies that showed any positive value for cannabis were ever likely to get funded. Even PTSD treatment studies for Vets couldn't get funded as of last year.

Winter 2013 - Documents are leaked from the UN committee forming drug policy for the next 10 years. Quite a few nations are no longer willing to participate in a failed "war on drugs" that is making criminals rich and law-abiding citizens at risk. That was a RARE moment to see the consensus was not there for a UN statement. Argentina announced it will reconsider its marijuana laws, after Uruguay's legalization vote.

Israel and Canada announce they will negotiate with Uruguay to grow cannabis for medicine in their nations.

Jan. 2014 - CO opens the first recreational cannabis shops. No hell breaks loose.

- At least 6 state legislatures introduce various marijuana reform bills in the houses in their states.

- Harry Reid indicates support for medical marijuana.

The ground has shifted.

Everybody has to get their balance - and I think this is what Obama is doing...assuaging the fears of some constituents. I'm not gonna complain when good stuff starts happening that it wasn't soon enough.