And just for the record, yes, I think marijuana should be decriminalized, but, sweet jeebus, I don’t know how people (including a lot of A-list bloggers) can get upset about this.  The internet community made itself look foolish by ranking that question so highly with so many other much more important issues to be addressed out there right now. Of course Obama’s reaction would have been along the lines of “you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”  Hell, I guarantee I smoked a lot more of the stuff than he ever did back in the day and I would have had the exact same reaction if I had all he had to deal with on my plate.  Actually, my reaction would have been, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

But I guess that’s why I’ll never be president.

I thought Obama was the Messiah, and that he would instantly end all war, division, poverty and suffering; cure all STDs with an Executive Order; pay my utility bills; usher in a New Age of Cosmic Consciousness; and forgive me for all those poor, unsuspecting hitchhikers back in the ‘80s.

So far, so good. But I’m thinking I’m probably on my own with that hitchhiker thing. It just doesn’t seem to be a priority for him.

If Obama merely takes the step of allowing individual states to determine legality, then he will have done a great good.  I suspect either Oregon or California will be the first to issue a challenge.

You know, I suspect the day will come, down the road.

However—given the shit Obama’s taking over stem cells, diplomacy, deficit spending and “socialist” policy in general—I think we all need to recognize that legalizing marijuana is probably a bridge too far, at least at the moment.

However—given the shit Obama’s taking over stem cells, diplomacy, deficit spending and “socialist” policy in general—I think we all need to recognize that legalizing marijuana is probably a bridge too far, at least at the moment.

Obviously, I totally agree. Every morning when I listen to the news I’m stunned with how much bullshit he’s dealing with.  Seriously, have the last three (or even four) presidents combined had to deal with this much of a mess right out of the gate? I find it hard to believe that the “online audience” is crawling up his ass about this.

Well, except for the correntewhiners.  Fucking Obama could show up at Lambert’s place and fix every home repair issue he’s got and Strether would still give Obama the finger as he pulled out of the driveway.

Seriously, Kevin—he’s getting beaten-up for having a limousine, a Presidential jet and a swingset on his lawn.

No matter what he does, someone is poised to reframe it as evidence of Muslim influence, a “Saul Alinsky” move, Narcissistic Personality Disorder or Black Rage. It would be stupid to give them an easy, enormous target like legalizing drugs—which Republicans and PUMAs would instantly twist into a payback to ACORN and welfare mothers.

The whiners need to suck it up. There’ll be plenty of time to deal with marijuana laws once all the Conservatives and Women’s Rights types are cooling their heels in the FEMA camps.

I do think there is a good argument to be made that de-criminalizing and then regulating the sale of innocuous drugs would free up a lot of money which is being expended on the ridiculous “War on Drugs” plus generate a lot of tax revenues.  It would also put a huge cramp in the income of the Mexico drug lords who are causing so much havoc right now and also requiring some of Obama’s time.

But the political climate is not right for that - there are still too many people out there screaming that marijuana is a dangerous, hideous gateway drug that leads straight to mainlining heroin.

However I know several retired police officers (through an old college friend who went that route) and every one of them believes these drugs should be de-criminalized.  They feel it is an enormous drain on resources that could be better utilized elsewhere.

On the other hand, if the President could take a moment to loosen Bill Clinton’s restrictions on butylene glycol, I can say with confidence that he would turn the South blue overnight.

I find it hard to believe that the “online audience” is crawling up his ass about this.

If by “online audience” you mean the Pauliticks and assorted WATBs in the Youtube comments, believe it. However, in the grand scheme of things they’re less relevant than PUMAs and Teabaggers.

Loved the guy bemoaning the fact he wasted his first vote on Obama.

Umm, as one of those folks who knows just a leeeetle bit about this issue, it is indeed one great big dumbfuck distraction.

From my perch here in the Emerald Triangle, marijuana legalization is on its way by sheer momentum.

The weed is an integral part of the economy here, whether above ground or below, and millions of dollars are spent to grow, process and purchase the “gateway drug.”

Yeah right. If you want America’s most dangerous gateway drug look no further than your liquor cabinet.

I haven’t been covering a trial in which a young man got drunk with five of his friends, got behind the wheel and then killed four of them in a horrific crash because they smoked a few joints or toked their bongs, they were drunk.

There is no MAMS for the simple fact that folks who smoke some weed at the backyard barbecue don’t then get into their vehicles and cause death.

Our jail cells aren’t filled (and boy ours are always full) with guys who decided to hang out and watch the game, smoke righteous amounts of some fresh “Tom Cruise” mixed with some “Pink Diesel”, get in an argument and then beat the shit out of each other. You have to go to the local sports bar for that sort of action.

Another sidebar distraction.

That was very disrespectful and makes me really, really angry. The internet is a very serious place full of very serious people talking about very serious things.

Was this snark or does this person actually believe this?

Was this snark or does this person actually believe this?

That “person” was me and I was being really snarky.

Ahhhhh, now I get it. The quote box threw me off.  It’s getting to be late tax season and my brain is going wonky on me.

I don’t know, for such a serious guy he was awfully flip about the issue.

One of my closest friends has something similar to MS or Rheumatoid Arthritis (they can’t pin it down).  Since they cannot diagnose it they cannot treat it.  The only way she can get any relief is from pot.  She doesn’t think that having to choose between breaking the law and having a modicum of relief from her symptoms is very funny.

It think it is a much larger issue than y’all suspect.  And by mocking and scoffing Obama took a great opportunity to change the momentum on the issue and pissed it away.

But hey, the main reason millions of people are arrested and jailed in the most punitive country in the Industrialized world is just some joke to mock.

Sorry, Kevin, but it has a very real impact on a significant portion of our country.

Thanks for writing this Kevin. I, too, am sorry so many people’s preferred way of getting fucked up is illegal (I’m all for escapism), but the insistence on pot legalization every time Obama takes questions from the internet is embarrassing. It just goes to show, the internet, like society at large, is chock full of inane narcissists.

It just goes to show, the internet, like society at large, is chock full of inane narcissists.

Sorry, but I have to take exception to that characterization.  Toby made some very valid points about the absurd overreaction our government has to marijuana use, even in its very valid, and proven, medical capacity.

I made arguments based on the cost of trying to keep it illegal and the side consequences of funding the drug wars going on in Mexico.  None of that is narcissism.

“here in the Emerald Triangle”

I am SO on the wrong coast!

and right on with the rest of what you wrote HB.

Here’s the thing.

Obama maintains a remarkable amount of poise when he presents himself in public. With rare exception he appears thoughtful and in control.

So he is presented with an issue that is important to millions of Americans, and what does he do?  He openly scoffs.

I know many people think anything dealing with marijuana is a big joke ala Cheech and Chong.  Evidently so does our President.

I can’t think of another issue that affects as many people in this country that politicians almost without exception feel they can blow off and mock.

I don’t identify with scotch drinkers.  I don’t pound down bud lights on the weekends.  I’m not spending hundreds of dollars on wine. If I drink it is local microbrewery fare. But I prefer to smoke something that more often than not comes from my immediate vicinity, without financing multi-national corporations or sleazy lobbyists.  and for that my friends and I are the butt of a national joke.

The quote box threw me off.

Yeah, I was thinking that might confuse people. I guess it did.  D’oh!

toby, totally understand your point, but I’m on the same page with dmd76 about this. His last comment laid it out perfectly as to why I agree with him. I think the Obama admin will probably be the best chance we’ve had in a while to move in the direction you (and I) want, but I don’t think now is the right time.

dmd’s comment reminds me of when I was doing a late-night talk show with a few friends on WBAI here in the city.  A guy called up who claimed he was with NORML and he started pitching all of the reasons pot should be legalized.  We were all for it, but one of my co-hosts kept pressing him ... “but come on, you really want it legalized so you can get high without getting busted” and the guy just wouldn’t give that up.  It was a lot funnier than the way I’m recreating here, I swear, but the NORML guy just wouldn’t admit that was one of the reasons.

Well, considering where I live getting busted means you are a complete and utter asshole, went out and rented a house and then destroyed the place by turning someone else’s property into a pot farm, I don’t sweat the cops and they don’t sweat the likes of me.

That being said, prohibition of marijuana is the most absurd and easily rectifiable plank in the bullshit war on drugs this nation has fruitlessly waged for the past 40 years.

It may seem trite, but there is nothing narcissistic about it—people go to jail because of conflicting fed and state laws, particularly here in California, that make illegal a weed.

I smoke and the weed I smoke is fucking awesome, but I don’t worry about cops and getting busted. HumCo has a DA who won’t touch a marijuana case unless it involves pounds and the local cops are inured to marijuana and wouldn’t bat an eye if legalization came about.

Prohibition is a serious issue and I for one, voted for a Democrat, because, as Kevin pointed out, a Democrat is the best chance to get legalization through.

Is it as pressing an issue as our unemployment rate, our homeless problems? No. But it’s also not asking for the declaration and implementation of “cupcake Friday.” It’s a serious issue that deserves serious discussion.

I’m positive most of those rating these questions up just want to be able to get high without being hassled by the cops (most of the questions are a variation on: “wouldn’t it be great if marijuana was taxed like alcohol and cigarettes?”). Narcissism, pure and simple.

One more comment and then I’m done.  I don’t think that not wanting to be prosecuted like a criminal for getting high with a drug that is much less harmful than either alcohol or tobacco is narcissism.  Pure and simple.

I smoke and the weed I smoke is fucking awesome

That line is fucking genius.  I want someone to write that into a song.

Just wait, you’ll be getting some music in line with some of the vids I sent you. (didja get the last one?)

OK, I think I’m coming across as some kind of straight edge asshole, and nothing could be further from the truth (at least the straight edge part). I’m all for the legalization of marijuana, I think our drug laws are inhumane, and the war on drugs, in its current form, is an awful waste of lives and money. However, I would have the same response if, say, a group of skateboard activists had proposed the building of skate parks in every town and the legalization of skating in all public spaces as part of the solution to just about everything that ails us, and then legions on the internet had voted for these suggestions. Marijuana legalization is not the solution to any of the major problems we’re facing, and it is the fault of those who submitted and supported such ridiculous propositions that they are mocked.

I was gonna respond to D, but fuck it, it’s almost quittin’ time and I just know my bong is lonely.

I just caught this on the GOS ... pretty goddamned funny.

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…

Margaret and Helen speak for me

Margaret lives in Maine, Helen lives in Texas. They’re 80-something spitfires who maintain their own must-read blog and aren’t timid about letting loose with salty language. Here are a few of their “concepts we think most everyone could get behind if that fat ass Rush wasn’t blocking the view”:

  HELEN:  We want the best healthcare system in the world, but we don’t want it to be the most expensive.
  MARGARET:  When we say healthcare we mean Vision Care too.  Howard says if I turn the coffee maker on one more time without the pot in place he is going to trade me in.

  HELEN:  No child should go to bed hungry and no parent with a sick child should have to worry about not having health insurance.
  MARGARET: And no child should ever play with plastic wrap.  It is not a toy.

  HELEN:  The tax on cigarettes should be about $10… per cigarette.
  MARGARET:  I think smokers should have to smoke the entire cigarette…or eat their butts.

  HELEN:  Religion has no place in politics and politics has no place in the bedroom.
  MARGARET:  But a bedroom full of religious politicians is an Ass Hat Convention waiting to happen!

  HELEN: When I call an American company and ask to speak to the help desk, that desk should be in America damn it.
  MARGARET: When I call my neighbor Bernice even though her name is Lucille, she shouldn’t get all upset about it.  I’m old.  It happens.

  HELEN: If war is your answer, then you were obviously too stupid to answer the question.
  MARGARET: Stay in school.

  HELEN:  To all the young people out there.  The only way to guarantee that you won’t get pregnant is not to have sex.  But if you are going to have sex and don’t want to get pregnant, use protection.  Honestly, it’s not that difficult to understand.
  MARGARET:  Wear a seat belt even if you are just going to the store.  Most accidents happen within 5 miles of home.

  HELEN:  At the intersection of all the major world religions, you will find the Golden Rule.  It’s a place where you will never run into Limbaugh, Coulter or Palin.  We all should have directions to that intersection.

If you’ll adopt me as an honorary grandson, ladies, I promise to come over and massage your gams.

I’m dyin’ ovah heah ...

Sorry, forgot the link. Please make sure to scroll down and read Helen’s review of Coulter’s latest book. This is funnier than Wonkette.

I think I’m coming across as some kind of straight edge asshole

Damn, for a second there, I thought you were Ian MacKaye.