Addiction in Society

Actually, you want to bring the tobacco companies on board since they have the most to gain. The politicians will follow.

Right you are. I'm betting that the next virtual town hall will find the question at the top of every list. You capture the disbelief of many that Obama -- who openly and graciously admits to having smoked some herb back in the day -- would offer such a childish, uncharacteristically empty response to the question.

Of course, from a political perspective, he can't afford to lose any capital with a kerfluffle about drugs right now (or assault rifle bans); he's got too much to get done without getting lost in his own gays-in-the-military quicksand. He'll be smart about this, deal with the most immediately pressing issues first, then, when he's cemented his status as someone who makes smart decisions and gets things done, he'll turn to these second-tier issues.

Blog posts like this -- from authorities like you, no less -- are exactly what he needs to provide him cover to make that move when the time comes. Keep up the pressure!

It's about time the global economy embraces marijuana, rather than lose money fighting it. The "War on Drugs" is costing the government more money than it's worth and by legalizing and regularing a highly in-demand drug like marijuana, the government effectively cuts a large deficit caused by the drug wars, brings revenue into the economy and potentially reduce the violence caused by the illegality of the drug. I myself am not a smoker and absolutely abhor cigarettes yet they are effectively as bad for one's health or arguably worse, yet they have been legal for decades. The fact that marijuana research has shown neither here nor there in terms of absolute evidence that it is bas for you, should indicate that it is a drug by which science cannot really collectively condemn based on scientific methods. Cigarettes have now long been shown to be the cause of many health problems but their legality persists and the risks are only expressed in a small warning on the packets. I support Obama and enough of his policies to have had hope that he would have gained presidency over McCain, but his stand on the drug war seems very much conservative. I recognize his need to not offer opportunities to be chastised by endorsing a drug, however, great leaders have typically been controversial and Obama's attempt at bi-partisanship needs to come to an end.

I have long believed that marijuana could be treated like alcohol, maybe even stricter: enforce a legal age limit, enforce licensing by the government for the sale of the product, enforce licensing for businesses to allow marijuana to be smoked in their establishment, perhaps initially marijuana can only be consumed in certain designated areas of cities or towns, propose a small tax on the product. In essence, the feasibility of marijuana legalization comes down to how well can the government restrict marijuana so that it can be easily monitored and controlled while still being accessible for the general population to consume without jumping through too many hoops.