On Thursday, the President held his first online town hall. About half way through, a particular question came up that had received loads of attention (3 million+ votes actually): “With over 1 out of 30 Americans controlled by the penal system, why not legalize, control, and tax marijuana to change the failed war on drugs into a money making, money saving boost to the economy? Do we really need that many victimless criminals?”
Obama’s answer was brief: ”There was one question that voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation, and I don’t know what this says about the online audience, but … this was a popular question. We want to make sure it’s answered. The answer is no, I don’t think that’s a good strategy to grow our economy.”
I believe that was the wrong answer. In my opinion, he doesn’t know enough about the issue, or the plant at hand. I’m not an expert, so I won’t pretend to be one by preaching the experiences of one. I do however, know a lot about the issue and what one needs to know to make educated decisions about it. In short, the plant (and hemp) has tens of thousands of textile uses, hemp seeds provide surprising nutritional value, the plant is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet, releases more oxygen into the system than most other plants (therefore lowering C02 levels), and THC provides some medical patients with untold medical relief (live saving at times).
There are more stories than can be posted here on the subject, so take a look at these helpful few from credible sources:
