Why Mr. Obama?

When I first heard about Obama's online town hall I knew that some of the most popular question(s) would be related to the legalization of marijuana as it had been on the change.gov website when Obama called for ordinary citizens to voice their opinions and concerns. I was correct in this assumption but the sheer number of questions surprised even me.

Let's break it down:
A search of the questions for the phrase 'marijuana' returns 2,138 results.
Drugs, 2,233.
That's only 2% of the 104,000+ questions submitted to the website.
However...

• Under the category of 'Health Care Reform' questions related to the topic are the second and ninth most popular.

• Under 'Green Jobs and Energy' decriminalization are the 1st and 2nd biggest issues.

• 'Financial Stability's' first 4 questions all say legalize marijuana in one way or another.

• In 'Jobs' ending the war on drugs is the first and third most popular concern.

• Finally, under the heading 'Budget' the first 7 (#'s 1-7) most voted on questions for the president were related to the decriminalization/legalization of marijuana.7!

34% of the top 50 questions in these 5 categories were all basically asking the same thing. Does President Obama support the legalization and taxation of cannabis to not only save money but to make it? This speaks volumes about the scope of this issue, how much it effects, and how many people it relates to.

When the actual event came around I was sure at least one version of this questions would be brought forward. I was deeply disturbed when it wasn't. The topic would not have been acknowledged at all had Obama not stopped questioner Jared Bernstein to comment on the issue. And the comment was basically a big "fuck you very much". It felt like he was Bill O'Rielly insulting Jon Stewarts auidence.



He laughed off the question with his audience in the White House's East Room like it was some kind of a joke. After stating he thought it was "not a good strategy to grow [the] economy," the audience applauded him. I couldn't help but think "Did that really just happen?" I have always been and will continue to be a supporter of Obama but this is just not what I would expect from him. He's a self confessed (former) pot smoker yet he seems to show no sympathy towards the cause. How would he feel about the issue if he had been caught with some reefer? The racist laws he's (seemingly) trying to protect most certainly would have seen him receive, at the very least a large fine had he been caught with the drug; however he more likely would have received jail time. I can't see him making cracks about the "online audience" had this happened to him.

Why is this what people decide to applaud him on anyways? He's talking about sweeping health care reform and education reform, all of which are more worthy of applause than a dismissive comment about marijuana. These people, including Obama, need to do a little bit of research. The calls for decriminalization in recent days have been getting louder and more numerous. It seems to be the only thing that makes sense in many more ways than one. This is the quickest fix to solving the problem along the US-Mexico border because it would cripple the drug cartels that are the source of all the violence there. Demand for dirty Mexican weed falls significantly if home-grown Cali pot is made easily and readily accessible. Legalization would free up an IMMENSE amount of resource in the police force and in the prison system. It costs over a billion an estimated 33 billion dollars (source) a year to continue this fight. It would create hundreds of millions (more than a billion?) dollars a year in taxes alone. That's already, at the very least, an additional 1.5 33.5 billion (with a b) dollars annually for the government to play with. Wouldn't that be nice to have to overhaul health care or pay down the debt? Not to mention the jobs that would be created to grow and supply this plant which can be used as a recreational substance, a medicinal drug, or as a manufacturing product. It grows as fast as weeds (there's a reason it's got the nickname) and has almost limitless potential to create everything from paper to (good) hand cream. The amount of new business' that could open is an unpredictably large number. The city of Los Angeles alone currently has 180 medical marijuana dispensaries. Imagine this on a nationwide scale. The weed friendly cafe's and clubs, head shops and candy stores that would open in every town of every county in every state is unimaginable.

I also support this decision as a Canadian. If Obama legalizes weed, Canada would not be far behind, I'm sure. We almost had it before the Conservatives took over, and once they're out of office the only thing holding us back will be the fact that the U.S. wouldn't like it. For all the other reasons I cited above would be a good reason to legalize weed her in Canada. Canadians smoke more weed than any other country in the whole world and it's a miracle it's not already legalized. An estimated 44.5% of Canadians over the age of 15 have smoked pot (just ahead of the US with 42.4%), so this means even more tax dollars per capita. A shift away from the policies of yesteryear would do wonders for our economy and our provide much needed police officers across the country.

I will close with this: One expert estimated that weed, if legalized, would cost as much as tea costs gram per gram. Tea costs 0.5 cents/gram. (I read this in an old article in Macleans magazine).

Thanks for reading.

Image credit:
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Where does Alex Castellanos get off?

In a recent article published on CNN's website columnist Alex Castellanos offers up his feelings about Barack Obama; suggesting he will be a 'one term President'. For the sake of the planet I hope he's wrong. His article is thick with sarcasm, rhetoric, and finger pointing, yet offers no solutions, compromises, or suggestions, other than his closing comment about Obama needing to grow up (more on this later).

He says:

Washington was doing such a great job making things work before the meltdown that we should give it more to do, like running health care, the energy industry, banks, Wall Street and the car business.

Sounds like a little bit of sarcasm there Alex. Funny though, that when Washington was doing a "great job" it was being run by your much loved Republican Party and the "great" President George W. Bush! The Obama administration's priorities are a little different than Bush's. While he (they?) were focused on making money for themselves, their friends, and the corporations which they represented, and bringing "peace" and "democracy" to other nations, Obama (and other Dems) are more focused on resolving issues at home that effect people other than the mega rich. Issues it seems the Bush administration didn't care about (black people, if you listen to Kanye West, also fall in this category).

You knew it was coming. From the start of the article you felt it. That deep and scary chill, a fear you couldn't quite place but knew was there. THE HAMMER AND SICKLE. That's right; the reds are back, but now they're black. Obama is an "...experiment in European-style socialism" says Castellanos. SOCIALISM! COMMUNISM! MARXISM! What's next? Building a wall through the center of Washington D.C.? I certainly think so.

I'm sick of hearing this from critics of Obama, of Democrats, of the left side of the political spectrum in general. It is nothing more than fear mongering, a ploy at conjuring up images of mustachioed men and bread lines. Having a government funded medical system is nothing to be ashamed of or to fear. It is something to wear as a badge of honour. Having one of the highest infant mortality rates and lowest life expectancies for a developed nation is not.

One of the most grinding things about this article for me, and what makes me beg the question that is the title of this article, is the following quote:

Having a president who belongs to the Harvard elite and the community-organizer streets is not the same as having a president who has lived a long life among middle-class Americans and understands them.

Where does Alex Castellanos get off? When he was writing that sentence how did he not realize the overwhelming irony. This is not a valid complaint if you supported George Bush (which I'm assuming Alex did). Bush was the son of the 41st President of the United States and attended not only Harvard but Yale as well! If that is not "elite" I don't know what is.

His closing comment is another gem:

Obama is looking a little older. There would be nothing wrong with acting like it.

What does this even mean? In what ways can he "act a little older"? Obama is one of the most humble, polite, intelligent men I have ever seen or heard of. He is thoughtful and calculating and willing to compromise. If he grows up much more he would be Dr. Manhattan.

Actually that doesn't sound to bad...

Special thanks to Peter Stemmler at Quick Honey for letting me use his fantastic image of Dr. Obama in this article.