Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2013
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: David Nakamura

AT WHITE HOUSE, QUESTIONS GO TO POT

Obama Repeatedly Asked About His Stance Since 2 States Legalized 
Marijuana Last Year

Of the pressing policy questions facing the White House this week - 
Syria, the National Security Agency, Egypt - it was another that 
administration officials feared would create the biggest buzz.

"Given the reported medical benefits of marijuana, does the president 
believe the government should reconsider?" a CNN correspondent asked 
about the federally banned substance during the White House briefing Wednesday.

No, spokesman Josh Earnest answered, President Obama isn't high on 
such a change "at this point." With a chuckle, he added: "I have the 
sneaking suspicion that this is going to draw me all kinds of traffic 
on Twitter."

The issue may seem superfluous, but consider this: Since Obama took 
office in 2009, questions about whether he would support legalizing 
marijuana - for medical or recreational use - have been among the 
most popular among the public. He has been asked at townhall 
meetings, in online petitions on the White House's Web site, and in 
an interview with ABC News's Barbara Walters in December.

"It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after 
recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal," 
Obama told Walters a month after voters in Colorado and Washington 
supported initiatives to legalize marijuana, even though it remains 
illegal under federal statutes.

When the White House created an online petition program in 2011, 
marijuana-related petitions were so popular that the administration 
issued four separate responses to 13 petitions with hundreds of 
thousands of total signatories.

But for all the public pressure, legalization advocates said the 
president has disappointed them. Though candidate Obama spoke 
convincingly about his open-mindedness on the issue in 2008, they 
said, President Obama has largely failed to rein in a Justice 
Department accused of running roughshod over state-approved medical 
marijuana clinics during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Under Obama, the advocates said, federal enforcement has increased. 
In a June study, Americans for Safe Access asserted that the Drug 
Enforcement Administration raided 270 medical marijuana clinics in 4 
1/2 years, compared with 260 during Bush's eight years. The report 
also concluded that the Obama administration has spent nearly $300 
million on enforcement, $100 million more than the Bush administration.

Advocates acknowledge that the number of state-approved marijuana 
clinics has multiplied rapidly But they are pressing for a stronger 
endorsement of the state laws from the White House than a 2011 memo 
from Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole that says that federal 
agents are focused on large-scale traffickers.

"It sounds nice for it not to be a priority for us to go after 
individual marijuana users, but that statement is virtually 
meaningless," said Tom Angell, founder of Marijuana Majority. "The 
real question is whether the president wants to allow voter-approved 
systems in these states or whether he wants to intervene and force 
users to continue buying marijuana on the black market from violent gangs."

The Justice Department has been mum in the nine months since the 
ballot initiatives were ratified in Colorado and Washington. Attorney 
General Eric H. Holder Jr. has promised a position paper, but 
officials said the review isn't finished.

Advocates were encouraged that Obama openly admitted his personal 
history of smoking pot as a teenager in his 1995 memoir "Dreams From 
My Father." Author David Maraniss reported in his book "Barack Obama: 
The Story" that high school friends considered Obama an enthusiastic 
leader of a group called the "Choom Gang," slang for marijuana smoking.

But Obama's tone changed soon after he was sworn in. In March 2009, 
amid the global financial crisis, the White House solicited questions 
online for a town hall-style meeting and was overwhelmed by 
contributors suggesting that legalizing pot would boost the economy.

During the forum, Obama interrupted the moderator to address the 
"most burning" question, as one YouTube video called it.

"I don't know what this says about the online audience," Obama 
quipped, drawing laughs, "but this was a fairly popular question and 
we want to make sure it was answered. The answer is no, I don't think 
that is a good strategy to grow our economy."

Christian Sederberg, an attorney who helped lead the push in 
Colorado, said public officials play down the seriousness of the 
debate by joking about stoners.

This month, Holder gave legalization advocates hope when he announced 
that low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with no ties to gangs or 
large-scale drug organizations will no longer face severe mandatory 
sentences. And CNN's medical analyst, Sanjay Gupta, once considered 
by Obama to become surgeon general, produced a report this week about 
why he endorses marijuana for medical use.

Gupta's about-face is what prompted the question during Wednesday's 
briefing. As Earnest spoke, Twitter lit up with reaction, mostly pot 
gags and mostly from reporters. ("Choom Gang to roll out plan," one 
scribe quipped.)

Hesitant to get into the weeds on pot policy, Earnest promised to 
follow up later.

"Maybe I'll bring you some Doritos later," the reporter replied.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom