Obama: Legalizing Pot Won't Grow Economy

(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

President Obama today held an online town hall meeting in which he answered questions submitted to the White House web site.

As CBS News' Chief Political Correspondent Marc Ambinder points out, the top-rated questions in the "budget" and "fiscal stability" sections of the submissions page concerned the legalization of marijuana.

(Here's one: "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?")

Hotsheet did not expect President Obama to address the pot questions during the town hall, particularly after the event opened with a pair of relatively straightforward questions. But we were wrong: the president interrupted the event midway through to address the issue.

"…we took votes about which questions were going to be asked, and I think 3 million people voted or 3.5 million people voted," he said. "I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation."

The president then joked that "I don't know what this says about the online audience," prompting laughter from the roughly 100 people gathered in the White House East Room for the event.

"…but I just want -- I don't want people to think that -- this was a fairly popular question," he continued. "We want to make sure that it was answered."

(DEA)

And then he answered it in a way that must come as a disappointment to legalization advocates – though they could at least take solace in the fact that he did not flatly state that he opposes legalization.

"The answer is, no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy," the president said. His answer prompted applause from the audience.

(White House press secretary Robert Gibbs later clarified Mr. Obama's position: "The president opposes the legalization of marijuana…he does not think that's the right plan for America." Pressed by CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller, Gibbs declined to discuss the president's position on medical marijuana.)

Here's the video of the president:



The online town hall was something of an odd affair: It was designed to show that the president is bypassing the media in order to directly address the concerns of the American people, and yet the White House itself selected the questions – which meant that, potentially, the president could simply field a series of softballs and avoid questions he didn't like.

So the president's decision to address the pot issue is commendable – after all, ignoring it would have gone against the very spirit of the event. (Though it should be noted that he didn't seem to take it very seriously.) A White House spokesman told Ambinder that the president was shown the popular online questions, but he wasn't told the specific questions that would be asked. Clearly, the president noted that the pot question was high on the list, and he decided he should address it even if questioner Jared Bernstein might have been planning to ignore it.

The pot legalization issue is not a frivolous one. California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced a bill calling for legalizing the drug and regulating it in much the same way alcohol is regulated. The California Board of Equalization, which collects taxes, estimates California's possible revenue from doing so at $1.3 billion per year. (Here are pro and con editorials on the use of medical marijuana, which is also debated in the video at left.)


A CBS News poll last week showed that 38 percent of Americans favor legalizing and taxing marijuana, while 58 percent want it kept illegal.

UPDATE: Jack Cole, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, emails this statement: "Despite the president's flippant comments today, the grievous harms of marijuana prohibition are no laughing matter. Certainly, the 800,000 people arrested last year on marijuana charges find nothing funny about it, nor do the millions of Americans struggling in this sluggish economy. It would be an enormous economic stimulus if we stopped wasting so much money arresting and locking people up for nonviolent drug offenses and instead brought in new tax revenue from legal sales, just as we did when ended alcohol prohibition 75 years ago during the Great Depression."

More than 90,000 people submitted in excess of 104,000 questions and cast more than 3,600,000 votes for the town hall event. The White House said that 64,000 people watched it online.

Other topics addressed by the president included education, unemployment and the mortgage crisis. He said jobs would come from investing in clean energy technologies and that it will take time before jobs are more widely available.

Mr. Obama pressed for more early childhood education, and noted that the current school calendar is a holdover from a time when America was a more farm-based society. He said the educational system had to do a better job removing bad teachers from their jobs.

The president also spoke kindly of nurses, noting that "it was the nurses who were there when [daughter Sasha] had to get a spinal tap and all the things that were bringing me to tears."

[Joshua_C]

The government spends between 80,000 to 120,000 per year to keep someone incarcerated, and 95% of the people in jail are non-violent drug users. The only "crime" that they committed was doing drugs and minding their own damn business. So in my honest opinion, the federal government needs to take a huge step back, stop locking up nonviolent people, allow people to choose and pursue what they think is right (As long as it doesn't infringe upon the rights of others) and to be able to make those choices.

[Wes-420]

I am sorry but president Obama is dumber than I thought if he thinks legalizing marijuana won't grow the economy, billions of dollars worth of marijuana is brought from Mexico and sold in the US every year because it is illegal here. If we legalized it American farmers could grow it and sell it for profit for America, it could even be taxed like alcohol if they wished to do so. If we were to legal marijuana it would create at least a million jobs in the U.S. from growers, to the curers to the people who haul it to the dispensaries. So the truth is we stand to gain a lot from legalizing marijuana, the people who smoke it or however they choose to use it are going to use it either way... so instead of letting all of the drug lords and Mexicans profit from it, we should be!

[dragon30561]

I don't see why they just don't get it over with and make it legal, everyone's going to do it rather the government likes it or not its just more money they could be making by taxing it. but yet they let drug deals go on the streets over something stupid that could be changed.How hard is it to give it a try to see how it goes.

They never made alcohol illegal that is way more harmful,yet they want to care about us american people and the effects of weed which isn't half as harmful for us as alcohol/poison atleast when you smoke you don't throw up your lungs or walk out of a bar like you have something rammed up your rear cause you cant walk or stand straight.

How many deaths are caused by drunk driving a year/alcohol poisoning? I have yet to found alot of deaths caused by the smoking of a plant that was naturally grown on gods earth. Yes it effects people diffently,but so does alcohol I am not saying you should be able to smoke and drive but you should have the right to smoke it in your own house.

quote Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
Barack Obama

I feel it would be worth trying instead of keeping it put off never know till its done, if it fails make it illegal again.

[stephen198130]

ok this comment is for Obama himself. How in the hell can you say that making pot legal wont grow the economy??? the government spends 46 billion dollars a year fighting pot. that comes to 460 billion every ten years. making pot legal would put that 46 billion back in the economy. How can you justify why pot isn't legal??? our country is crap and why?? its because we pay Hugh salaries to people that don't deserve it. case in point you only make 400 grand a year while big CEO's make millions a year and for what???? we look at pot like its a bad thing but its not. 70,000 die each year due to alcohol and cigarettes kill what?? 250,000 people a year but yet both are still legal. Doesn't make much sense to me. This is why the country is the way it is we don't change with the times its the same thing year after year. you cannot link one death due to just smoking weed. but yet everyday people die from smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.

[FrostyBudGoblin]

Keep it illegal that way drug dealers will keep making money without getting taxed.... it will give more kids the opportunity to make a little extra cash without the competition of dispensaries. As for hemp.... why is that s**t illegal? You can't even smoke it unless you want a headache.

[walrus654321]

That is not the question that he is, the question was, well i cant remember it fully, but i was the one that asked it. it was something like President Obama, do you believe that the legalization and regulation of marijuana will improve the economy and help to produce jobs? And i even had my opinion in it. I do believe this is true because there will be companies that will now need people to fill the new jobs it will produce or somethin like that. i wish i could go back into it and look at my question and just embrace it

[NealFeldman]

It was pretty much Obama's flippant and insulting comments as well as his ridiculous closed-mindedness on the topic which guaranteed that my last vote for Obama will be my LAST vote for Obama.

He forgot the cardinal rule of politics... ya dance with them that brought ya.

If he is going to set up these polls then not only ignore their outcomes and do whatever he damned well wanted to do in the first place and then insult and mock those who 'won' the polls then he is not a President I will support.

Ah well...

[taytay1820]

I'm a college student, and I'm doing a speech that marijuana should be leagal. I came across this speech on google. I I'm a strong believer that making marijuana legal is a good idea.

1. It will create tons and tons of jobs for farmers.
2. It helps with medical reasons. www.mmp.org is a great website that shows the benifits of weed medical uses.
3. The drug dealers may acutally have a reasonable jobs. (example: working in a store that sells weed).
4. More spaces in Federal Jails so that the real crimnals can be in jail and stay there.
5. People wont be judge upon, when getting a job.

Why else should it be legal. Well our goverment has put us trillions of dollars in debut. On what? Weapons for our military reasons. Why are we still overseas? What war are we fighting now over there. So with making weed legal maybe we can take that money and focus on our people in the USA. Focus on the kids in the USA instead of others.

Making weed legal will help in many ways. Our goverment is so close minded to things, they dont want to realize our faults in our counrty. Until they do we will be suffering!!!!!!

[jonblaze_0001]

Well stated. Although, pot should be regulated and treated like alcohol and not like tobbaco, if big tobbaco gets there hands on it, unregulated, we run the risk of the contaminating it the way they do cigarettes, and the way bad pot dealers lace mj w/bugspray or whatever other chemicals and claim its better bud

[newswiregrimes]

This is such an amazing entry and I love to read more of it so that I will be able to look over and have it as an inspiration for further articles to write about when it comes to legalizing marijuana and it's pros and cons too. I do hope you will get to visit our official website and let us know what you think about it. Here is the link http://******/dburLQ
and thanks ahead. :)

[flowstyles]

my*blue*print*

JOBS

Obviously it would create jobs farmers/stores and would also take $$$ out of dealers hands.
>>>MAINLY the problem today...is you cant get a decent job, if any, if you smoke<
But, if you drink or pop pills you could work on wall street.
Imagine if everyone who drinks beer lost there job or couldn't get one.

Legalizing, hopefully would allow jobs. for example, just like an employer can deny any hire,
like if the person doesn't fit the requirements or just a gut decision really,
..the boss doesn't have to hire.
Drug testing to me should be like this...
A= Clean
C= Alcohol, Pills (w/perscription) and Pot
F= Pills W/OUT perscription, Crack, Meth, Cocaine, Herion ,ect.

If it was finally legalized, people could pursue any job,
and the employer could use the C grade as a reason not to hire,
...the point is it wouldn't be a mandatory NO.

And having people either not pursue something they could be great at, or having people
go around or cheating drug testing, well its not right.



ARGUMENTS

Some people say why do we need any more toxins in this country today,
meaning alcohol and perscription is good enough.
Well, tons of people like myself don't like to drink.
I don't want to flirt or fight with someone id regret,be dizzy or even throw up.
With pills, well there is no "recreational drug" out and over the counter.
Just specific pills with purposes often not used as intended (and with blood clots and other health flaws..like death<)
I argue why people think pills or alcohol is better?
But I've never even have been curious about taking pills so I don't know...
which is odd since pot is a "gateway drug" pshhh

Some people say what about the children.
Well of course kids will always find ways. as they have regardless.
But, if it was legalized,
MY idea is drug testing could then be more open.
..in that since MILLIONS of people wouldn't have to hide that they smoke,
>>If its finally legalized,
..who then would deny or not want to be tested??? (randomly or forced)
ANSWER- those who do crack meth ect. + people under 21)
And that in itself could be a better fight for the war on drugs<

Also for kids, having pot be illegal for people over 21 doesn't help.
If that person later in life finds out its not bad at all (you don't see cartoons or trip out)...
Well maybe they'll wonder if the cocaine isn't bad, or whatever else..
Also having any person not know where to go (like a store or pharmacy) doesn't help either,
Meaning the same dealer people buy pot from could sell crack meth ect, too.
And that, if anything that is the "gateway", by having it illegal<
Putting pot in the same "illegal" group with those horrible drugs in itself is the gateway.
Also,
Pot in general or its companies could be like tobacco, in that they cant advertise on TV.


LASTLY

The fact is everyone is different, if its finally legalized and you oppose it, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SMOKE!!
Just like millions of people don't drink, smoke cigaretts or own guns.
Mostly though again it would ALLOW jobs.
We only live once on this earth.
In a world where its stressful enough, I think we can realize its safer than alcohol & pills.

[austyn12xa]

hey look i know this is random but its not over 21 its under 21 and also it does help i used to look for alcohol and cigs and they are so hard to find unlease u happen to know someone 18 and 21 who is stupid enoth to risk a big ticket to buy some kid a cig or some alchol.

[austyn12xa]

hey look i know this is random but its not over 21 its under 21 and also it does help i used to look for alcohol and cigs and they are so hard to find unlease u happen to know someone 18 and 21 who is stupid enoth to risk a big ticket to buy some kid a cig or some alchol.