Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
President Obama tells Barbara Walters that 'we've got bigger fish to fry' than to make recreational users of marijuana in Colorado and Washington a top priority for prosecution, in an interview that will be aired today. Voters in Colorado and Washington voted to legalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, on November 7, however possession and use remains illegal under federal law.
"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," he said, invoking the same approach taken toward users of medicinal marijuana in 18 states where it's legal. ...
"This is a tough problem, because Congress has not yet changed the law," Obama said. "I head up the executive branch; we're supposed to be carrying out laws. And so what we're going to need to have is a conversation about, How do you reconcile a federal law that still says marijuana is a federal offense and state laws that say that it's legal?"
The President has asked Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to look into the murky legal dilemmas created by conflicting state and federal laws. Last week, leaks about possible DOJ challenges to new state laws, and recent more aggressive prosecution of state licensed dispensaries of medicinal marijuana has created controversy.
While President Obama described his regular pot use with high school buddies, called the "Choom Gang," in his 1995 memoir, "Dreams from My Father," as President, he has discouraged illegal drug use.
"There are a bunch of things I did that I regret when I was a kid," Obama told Walters. "My attitude is, substance abuse generally is not good for our kids, not good for our society.
"I want to discourage drug use," he added.
I agree with President Obama's desire to discourage illegal drug use, and would like to add that he could find new ideas for how to better help young drug users by reading recent reports from California and Portugal. Last week, I reported Decriminalization of marijuana in California reduces youth crime rate to record low, and before that, that Portugal has reported greatly improved outcomes on all measures a decade after switching to a social service and mental health "harm reduction" model for dealing with drug use instead of a military and criminal justice approach that we still use here in the U.S.
The devastating impact that our drug laws are having on our young people is tragic. Experts increasingly agree that our young people are harmed more from our drugs laws than the drugs themselves. Those that need mental and social service help should get it through our health care system not criminal justice system, which has a different purpose.
Once young people have a criminal record they lose their eligibility for all federal aid including Pell Grants. Imagine three of our Presidents, Bush, Clinton, and Obama, all of whom smoked dope, being at the wrong place at the wrong time and unable to finish college, or rotting in prison. But, this happens every day poor, black, and Hispanic youth.
President Obama should pardon all those incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses, in federal prisons, and give them a chance to restart they lives already damaged by our unjust, racist, and classist criminal justice system. Governors should be encouraged to do the same for state prisoners, which apparently hold the majority of non-violent drug offenders.
Back to today's story, the Denver Post seems to report the story with slightly different details, with Jay Carney summarizing the President remarks to Barbara Walter's with the phrase "we've got bigger fish to fry." Perhaps, they both used this phrase.
In an interview scheduled for airing today on ABC, Barbara Walters reportedly asks the President if he would support legalizing marijuana use, as voters have in Colorado, and Nevada. He reponds:
"I wouldn't go that far," Obama replied. "But what I think is that, at this point, Washington and Colorado, you've seen the voters speak on this issue."
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday the president believes there are "bigger fish to fry" in prioritizing law enforcement goals. Carney noted Obama's comments were similar to his remarks about the use of medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
John Walsh, U.S. Attorney for Colorado, warns that the federal Controlled Substance Act "remains unchanged," and it is his departments responsibility to enforce the law, adding,
"Members of the public are also advised to remember that it remains against federal law to bring any amount of marijuana onto federal property, including all federal buildings, national parks and forests, military installations, and courthouses."
Its a good thing Attorney Walsh reminds folks not to bring dope into the courthouse. We can only imagine how awkward it would be to have to arrest a jury, judges, or attorneys, during marijuana trails, if they were to light up joints to get high in the court.
I'm encouraged to read this news as I've been concerned that the libertarians are making hay in western states due to heavy handed intervention by the DEA and DOJ in states that have state licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.
Readers may also enjoy my humorous account of over-exuberance in the thriving new "marijuana sector" stocks I describe in Marijuana company's stock gets too high after election, management says investors should chill out.
It's high time we get smarter and more compassionate about our nation's obsolete and harmful war on American drug users. For those that have mental health and addiction problems we can better deploy precious finite resources with our mental health and social service systems.