President Obama Avoids Medical Marijuana, War On Drugs Questions In Reddit AMA

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The format is basically a digital townhall style interview with anonymous people online, and lots of celebrities have shown up at one time or another, including comedians Louis CK and Stephen Colbert, as well as various other famous types (and many not-famous types.)

The President has shown up on The Daily Show, appeared in Google Hangout townhalls, and made enormous use of social media and the internet in his campaigns. We're well into the heady days of campaign season at this point so it's only natural to see the president reach out to the internet this way.

(I do wonder, however, if the Romney camp blew all this off as another meeting between the President and the American Medical Association.)

This is one of those moments where my past beat — covering the prisons and the War on Drugs — and my current beat, covering technology, collide head-on.

In any case, it's no more surprising that Obama avoided answering questions about medical marijuana, the role that the federal government plays in enforcing drug laws, or the broader conundrum of the War on Drugs.


President Obama has never really given off the impression that he takes these issues seriously.

Pressed on the matter in the past, the president has said it was a "legitimate topic for debate" but maintained his position against legalization.

While his view that the War on Drugs is fundamentally a question of public health is commendable, the Obama administration's policies have not reflected this.

I'm not a libertarian, but watching Obama's responses over the years to the question of marijuana legalization has resulted in a long string of disappointments. Compare this to Ron Paul or Gary Johnson, or even members of the Democratic party who have come out against the War on Drugs

Around the 2:40 mark in the below video, Obama makes it pretty clear that the issue is a joke, and that the "online audience" is as well. Maybe his views have changed now that he's showing up on the "Front Page" of the internet.

I disagree with lots of things Ron Paul believes in, but on this issue I find his stance a welcome breath of fresh air. I especially like his response to Stephen Baldwin. (Why on earth is Baldwin even being asked these questions, though?)

Personally, I think we need an AMA with Herman Cain. I know he's irrelevant now, and pretty much always was, but his work with Colbert was just adorable. Let's ask him obscure questions about the nitty-gritty of foreign policy and just watch what happens.

Obama_Answers_Questions.jpg


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Source: forbes.com
Author: Erik Kain
Contact: Forbes.com About Us
Website: President Obama Avoids Medical Marijuana, War On Drugs Questions In Reddit AMA - Forbes
 
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