TIME Magazine: What Is President Obama’s Problem With Medical Marijuana?

[mike_c]

3. Obama's leadership has been weak in the face of entrenched interests...

...especially monied interests. He failed to significantly reform banking and Wall Street because he surrounded himself with advisers who have deep interests in maintaining the current system. He failed to fundamentally overhaul health care, settling for half measures that ultimately profit the industry most responsible for the current problems because he left the deal making to folks who had significant interests in maintaining the present system and constraining reforms to avoid fundamental change. Most of his efforts at "bipartisanship" begin with giving away some aspect of the farm to demonstrate his willingness to deal, which I think is a weak negotiating position. His education ideas have largely followed the lead of for-profit edu-business. He has expanded the drone war and other aspects of global U.S. militarism-- which greatly profits the MIC-- during a time of economic weakness when investment in economic stimulus and broad growth at home is needed, not more foreign misadventures.

Marijuana prohibition is one the biggest cash cows for the prison industrial complex. Whole federal agencies depend upon it to justify much of their budget. Big pharma likes prohibition just fine, just like the chemical manufacturing industry likes the ban on industrial hemp. Obama lets these sorts of monied interests influence public policy way too much, IMO.