Many rumors have been circulating regarding President Obama’s stance on illegal drug use.
Some drug reform advocates hope the president will legalize marijuana; some critics think he will continue the failed policies of the Bush administration in Latin America.
The President’s actual stance on drug policy falls somewhere in between. On Whitehouse.gov, Obama states:
With escalating violence along our Southwest border and far too many suffering from the disease of addiction here at home, never has it been more important to have a national drug control strategy guided by sound principles of public safety and public health. We must demonstrate to our international partners, the criminal organizations threatening to undermine stability and the rule of law in those nations, and the American people, that we take seriously our responsibility to reduce drug use in the United States.
The Obama administration has dropped usage of the term “War on Drugs” in favor of “harm reduction” signaling a shift from prohibition to prevention. The President wants to establish a policy that focuses on public health needs and plans to federally fund needle exchanges; however, the ’09-’10 federal budget continues the longstanding ban on needle exchange programs. The selection of Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske as drug czar could signal a shift in drug policy, but the jury is still out on. Kerlikowske’s state of Washington has needle exchange programs, medical marijuana rights, and made marijuana a low priority for law enforcement. Ethan Nadelmann, the executive director of the Drugs Policy Alliance, explains:
These statements really indicate a significant shift. It’s not just a repudiation of the Bush administration, it’s a repudiation of the Clinton administration. This signals a new direction in US drug policy. This is about all the leading scientists and all the public health people pushing in the same direction and Obama saying he’s putting science above politics.
But is this really true? What about the US financial support of Mexico’s war on organized crime and drug-trafficking? In the Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Request, Obama requests funding for “counterdrug/anti-crime assistance for Mexico”, although the $0.5 billion is to be shared other economic development projects in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Burma; nuclear dismantling in North Korea; and security assistance for Lebanon. According to the Committee on Appropriations, this amount has been increased to “$470 million to address growing violence along the United States-Mexico border by supporting the
Government of Mexico’s war against organized crime and drug-trafficking.” Combined with the Merida Initiative, the supplemental could double US funding for the Mexican war on drugs, although it is unclear how the two fundings will be combined. Kristin Bricker of Narcosphere writes:
This new money, along with February’s $410 million for the Merida Initiative ($300 million of which is destined for Mexico), is being pledged despite the fact that Mexico has failed to meet the human rights conditions laid out in the Merida Initiative. Less than 15% of overall Merida Initiative funds are subject to human rights conditions. While the US government is withholding the required 15%, it seems to be more than making up for this loss by appropriating new money to Mexico’s war on drugs.
If the Appropriations Committee’s new supplemental really does appropriate $400 million more to Mexico than Obama requested, and if it is all destined for the Mexican government, then this supplemental would bring fiscal year 2009 funding for Mexico’s war on drugs to $770 million–that is, nearly double last year’s funding and over 50% more than former President George W. Bush had originally requested when he proposed the Merida Initiative.
US Drug War funding policies are accused of increasing the level of violence in Mexico, and 60 to 70 percent of drug trafficking and cartel activities involve marijuana. Radley Balko, senior editor of Reason thinks that “lifting prohibitions on it in the United States would eradicate a major source of funds for the cartels.” Balko accuses Obama of changing ““from a thoughtful drug-war critic to a typical Beltway drug warrior.” He notes Obama has never been in favor of legalization.
The Drug War began in the Nixon administration and is responsible for half of the 200,000 Federal prison inmates. From the sale of Afghan child brides to the murder of more than 10,000 Mexicans, the Drug War has had far reaching consequences around the globe. It has also put a strain on our economy. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron explains:
Prohibition is a drain on the public purse. Federal, state and local governments spend roughly $44 billion per year to enforce drug prohibition. These same governments forego roughly $33 billion per year in tax revenue they could collect from legalized drugs, assuming these were taxed at rates similar to those on alcohol and tobacco. Under prohibition, these revenues accrue to traffickers as increased profits.
In addition, taxpayers spend $68 billion annually on prisons. Obama has proposed reforming crack and cocaine laws to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences.
Other political leaders think legalization of marijuana should be explored. Arianna Huffington writes:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for “an open debate” and careful study of proposals to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has also urged renewing the debate, saying that he isn’t convinced taxing and regulating drugs is the answer but “why not discuss it?” Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, pointing to evidence that Mexican drug cartels draw 60 to 80 percent of their revenue from pot, suggested legalization might be an effective tool to combat Mexican drug traffickers and American gangs.
The Obama administration does represent some change in drug policies. Kerlikowske has called the nation’s drug problem one of “human suffering”, and Obama campaigned on allowing non-violent drug offenders “a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.” The administration has stated that legalization of marijuana is off the table. When asked if legalization was realistic, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano responded, “No, it is not.”
Image: wantedarrest on Flickr under a Creative Commons License
I think it's scary that Obama has turned out the exact same as all politicians do. He had me hopeful, but it seems he's just a ripple in the splash of jfk coming to shore. How much more will we put up with is going to be interesting to see. It doesn't matter how you label it if you keep locking people up behind marijuana, it's a war on drugs, yes you have the benifit of this game called politics now, but don't think that it will last much longer at this rate.
Why isn't legalization realistic? Huh? It would save lives,money, and stop the creation of criminals from otherwise law abiding citizens. It would also help make it harder for our kids to get. SO WHY ISN'T IT AN OPTION MR OBAMA, HUH???????????????? ITS BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE, SO WHY SAY NO???????? ITS OBVIOUS THE FEDERAL GOV IS HIDING SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too many people are being ignored in this country. Too many people are asking the few people that run this country to legalize marijuana and are being flatly told "no, it'll never happen".
But the people that run this country aren't the people being killed by the cartels, nor are they the kids that have to go to schools frequented by drug dealers. The prohibition has failed to reduce marijuana use, instead it's empowered the cartels, made marijuana easily available to our children and was responsible for more than 6,000 cartel murders last year and almost 3,000 so far this year.
There is no argument that can justify our inaction on this issue! Save a life, end the cartel killings. Tell your legislators to legalize the production and sale of marijuana to adults!!
I too dared to believe in Obama and the great change he would bring. Now I'm just sick. And for him to turn around and give all that money that so needs to be spent here to Mexico down the drain on another failed War On Drugs. WTF is wrong with this picture
As a "retired" dealer, I have an insiders' perspective. In fact I come from a family of black marketeers. My father smuggled, my uncles smuggled, I smuggled. The damage I have seen as a result of "hard drugs" (cocaine, heroine, prescribed pills, alcohol) use vastly over shadows the effects of regular marijuana use. Even the most serious side effects of heavy, long term use fade or reverse entirely within a very short period of abstinance.
"Children" should not be exposed to any mind altering subtance including nicotine. That being said, adults should be able to indulge in marijuana recreationally. I prefer mine "vaporized". This removes any potetial
harm caused by "smoking" it.
What message do we want to send to youth? We have a rainbow of regulated substances that children are educated to abstain from or "use responsibly" when they reach legal age. On the other hand we have marijuana. Relatvely benign and entirely un-regulated. This drug is by all accounts far more easy to obtain by kids than alcohol or cigarettes. I never carded anyone, ever.
Which drugs do you want you kids to have access to from dealers like I was?
Keep those drugs unregulated and on the black market. "
The Obama administration has said it will only pursue marijuana cases in which both state and federal law is being violated. This gives us an opening to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
If you want marijuana to be legalized, taxed, and regulated for adults, YOU can make it happen. Tell your legislators to support California Assembly Bill 390. It's easy. Visit yes390.org
Real-world experience with rehabilitation vs imprisonment for strong drugs (not marijuana) should be a guideline for how we should proceed. As for marijuana, something does need to change. I am not sure that plain legalization is the answer either, but it should certainly be considered. When the posturing about who is tougher on drugs is eliminated from the discussion, we may come up with far better answers. We can look at the experience of The Netherlands, for example. Medical information on the effects of marijuana should be reviewed. Probably it should be prohibited up to age 21, when growth is still a major factor. Last fact that should be remembered: the United States has one of the most violent societies in the world, both internally through crimes and in foreign policy, and we have the highest percentage of incarcerated individuals in the world. Something is wrong with this outcome. The punitive mindset needs to be overshadowed by a preventive and rehabilitative approach to drugs as well as crime, whenever possible.
Legalize it. Treat it like alcohol plain and simple. End black market and violence.
I’m so sick of the Gateway Drug Argument. Alcohol is the ULTIMATE GATEWAY DRUG. It’s probably 90% of people’s first buzz. And if they like it, the want more. None of my successful friends that smoke got into heavy drugs like coke.
It's a shame that the people who get addicted and kill themselves with crack & cocaine get wrapped in the same category as an adult that want to smoke a joint on a Friday night….. What a weird world.
Once it’s legal it will be exciting for the first 3 months. After that, the people who smoke now, will probably smoke the same amount. And the people who won’t, simply won’t. Not much will change.
And if treated like alcohol. Kids will have as much access to it as a 6 pack of beer. In otherwords, if regulated, kids can’t get it.
So legalize it. And to the folks that say NO and that have never done it, what right do they have to judge it?
As a nonsmoker, I am completely in favor of legalization. I have seen no evidence where marijuana has caused any deaths. Gateway theory is as valid as saying, milk is a gateway to cocaine. Hemp is an invaluable resource. So what’s the holdup?
I definitely think Marijuana should be legalized. It is so much less harmful than Most prescribed medications. Of course it is habbit forming, so is alcohol, ciggs, and even watching to much television is bad for you. SO?
LEGALIZE MARIJUANA & STOP THE VIOLENCE!!!
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