Report: Obama would tackle drug war in second term

CBS/AP

(CBS News) Amid continued criticism from the left over the Obama administration's approach to drug enforcement policies, GQ's Marc Aminder reports that the president is planning to bring renewed focus to America's drug war if granted a second term.

The specific policies that might result from such an emphasis remain unclear at present, but the president has in the past expressed dissatisfaction with how America's "War on Drugs" has been carried out.

Mr. Obama has said repeatedly he is not in favor of legalizing marijuana. He has said, however, that the war on drugs has not been effective and that he thinks of drugs as "more of a public health problem."

In a YouTube question and answer session last year, Mr. Obama said the focus on arrests, incarceration and the interception of illegal drugs has not been entirely successful. He said the emphasis should be instead on decreasing the demand for drugs by treating them as other public health concerns like smoking or drunk driving.

The Obama administration has been criticized for cracking down on medicinal marijuana producers across the country - particularly in California - after pledging in 2008 not to interfere with state laws governing the issue.

Pro-legalization activists have complained that the federal government's lack of clarity and decision to raid some medical marijuana providers has resulted in confusion and legal clashes on a statewide level. The number of raids on medical marijuana clinics has increased significantly under the Obama administration, according to Matt Simon, a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project.

"Obama promised when he was running for office that he would not interfere with medical marijuana programs and that raids would not continue," Simon said. Simon said that raids have continued even as many lawmakers have express confusion how federal policies will be enforced in their states.

"It does seem like something the administration should address," he said. "We can't even tell where this is coming from - whether Obama himself is aware of all the raids."

Mr. Obama faces intense scrutiny on questions related to drugs and the legalization thereof: The president's online Q&A sessions are routinely dominated by questions related to marijuana, and a marijuana-related ballot measure in Colorado could have a significant impact on Mr. Obama's electoral prospects in the state in November's presidential election.

[sayNO2TEAandGOP]

Gotta drop my 2 cents on this one. I reside in So Calif and am a marijuana dispensary patient, so I closely monitor the medical marijuana situation here in California. Due to the loosely written law regarding medical marijuana, the state officials are dealing with a Pandora's Box and don't know how to go about it. The dispensaries are suppose to be non-profit, but that usually isn't the case out here. I have been to dispensaries that are legit and I have been to some dispensaries that are kind'a shady. The shady ones usually close within a few months. The local municipalities tried to combat the dispensaries and passed ordinances barring them from opening up within their cities, but those ordinances were recently struck down by the State of California. It's my understanding that the reason the feds are coming after the dispensaries is that initially law enforcement officials in both Orange County and San Diego County asked the DEA to intervene in their fight against the for-profit dispensaries. Dispensaries may operate in California, but they must be non-profit. After checking the pot menus on the dispensaries websites, it's easy to see alot of them do not fall into the non-profit category. In regards to the claims of Obama being hypocritical, the way I see it, when you are in your 1st presidential term in office, there are certain things you may want to do that would have to wait until your 2nd term in office. A perfect example is when Clinton tried to tackle healthcare during his first term in office and we all saw how that turned out. I am hoping that the voters here in the US are intelligent enough to re-elect Obama who I believe will declassify marijuana from a Schedule 1 narcotic and possibly re-assign enforcement to the states during his 2nd term. National legalization would be ideal due to the fact that taxpayer $ is constantly wasted on court proceedings and costs, law enforcement and incarceration for marijuana related offenses. However, the Right Wing would go ballistic if Obama nationally legalized marijuana. In closing, I would feel more confidant with Obama moving this country forward than Romney and his ilk dragging it backwards

[DavidSecor]

SayNo - I'm Duncan Hunter's opponent for Congress in District 50. It's true SD County DA Bonnie Dumanis has fought against medical mj dispensaries. I worked for her when she was a Superior Court Judge (in Drug Court!)downtown, and can tell you Dumanis was always about Dumanis.
As a lesbian, she's been the target of discrimination and one would think she'd be the last one to harm med mj patients. But like all self-obsessed pols lacking a moral compass, Dumanis won't hesitate to do the wrong thing if, as in this case, she thought taking the aggressive anti-medical mj stance might help her garner prohibitionist votes in her run for mayor.
Since she was beaten badly in the primary, perhaps she will now act as if she had some personal integrity and call off the dogs.
Hope the Prez does the same, as you suggest.
If the miracle happens, and with Hunter's rabidly anti-woman positions it could, and I replace him in Congress, removing cannabis from the federal list of Class 1 narcotics (like heroin)is a top priority.
Prohibition has made 30 million daily users and God knows how many millions more recreational users criminals.
The 50-year "Drug War" has had no impact on drug use. MJ use is higher (no pun intended) than ever and rising steadily as people find it and its oil excellent for many medical issues,and much safer than addictive prescription painkillers sleep aids, etc. (Vicodin, Xanax, Ambien, oxy, et al).
Big Pharma, for-profit prisons, their suppliers, pandering politicians,law enforcement agencies, local DA's and judges, prison guard unions would be losers if mj were legalized. All benefit greatly (as usual, just follow the money) by keeping mj possession and use a crime, both federally and as a local misdemeanor.
FACT: It's ONLY these people's addiction to money that keeps non-addictive mj prohibited.
I don't take contributions over $100, never will. But in Washington almost all pols do (money talks and the Truth walks), so it will be difficult to convince the big bribe-takers to join those in Congress who have common sense and a conscience, to admit the $1 trillion "Drug War" is a waste of precious dollars. It corrupts governments, creates and finances all drug cartels (BTW cartels now have presence in 250 U.S. cities), It finances and increases violence in gangs in U.S. Has led to 50,000 killed in Mexico since 2006. And doesn't work - price of heroin today is much lower than oxy,so flow of heroin to U.S. is not slowing or price would rise. We must end the bogus war, and shift toward education and treatment. Use those taxpayer dollars rather than throwing them away, as we are now.
No time to address the major crime our government is committing by banning hemp production as well. That's a disgusting, unforgivable,even treasonous sell-out to Big Cotton, Paper-Products(KochBros own Georgia-Pacific) Big Oil, plastics manufacturers,etc. (As usual, just follow the money.) I have entered the cesspool that is politics in America on behalf of the people. If elected, I won't stay long.

[Froggymom04]

I'm so disappointed with Obama. He's presenting himself as a hypocrite. He was a notorious stoner in his college days, he knows that cannabis is one of the safer options when it comes to recreational substances, yet he chooses to treat it as a death sentence. The raids on LICENSED medical marijuana clinics are absurd and the fact that people who are found with cannabis spend more time in prison then VIOLENT offenders is even more sickening. But... what's the lesser of two evils? I'm sure as hell not voting for that racist SOB Romney this fall. *sigh*

[Donovan1966]

I feel you- it's considerably safer than tobacco and alcohol. All that we can hope for is that he's just trying to get reelected and won't actually escalate this ridiculous "war"

[astrangerinthisworld]

God created us all & gave us a free will. It is up to the individual what they do with their bodies. It isn't for the US Govt to decide if cannabis use should be allowed by adults. This article is beside the point. Cannabis use may be cosidered a vice. But, it isn't a crime, just because a bad law says it is. There is such a thing as civil disobedience. If there are adults who really can benefit from cannabis use, even for relaxation, there is no place for any man to deny it's use. What is a bad law? A woman has a right to do with their body whatever she wants to, that she can kill her unborn baby. Just because, it hasn't yet been delivered? But, cannabis (unlike abortion) is non-lethal, less addictive than caffeine(NIDA), & adults can not put it in their bodies? What an evil double standard. As long as no one else is harmed by an adults cannabis use there is no crime. Who do cannabis prohibitionists think they are? Even God wouldn't take away our free will to use cannabis. Cannabis prohibition itself is more harmful than cannabis use. We must demand an end to this evil prohibition that begets more evil by creating murderous drug cartels. Cannabis prohibition is the problem & re-legalization is the solution. We must vote for leaders who are most likely to return our freedoms. Do you believe our current leader is returning our liberties, or taking them away? This is what we must base our votes & policies on.

[nojoy01]

...he thinks of drugs as "more of a public health problem."
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O-h-h-h-kay. There is a saying that if the only tool you've got then every problem looks like a nail. So, if you're totally focused on expanding health care, then does every problem look like "a public health problem"? H-m-m-m-m. Maybe we should find out what else this man thinks of "as more of a public health problem."

[nojoy01]

correction: "the only tool you've got is a hammer then..."

[Ulgnud]

Now who will be dumb enough to believe he will tackle the drug war? Just more re-election noise.

[janeteleanor]

OBAMA..ONE TERM PERIOD.

[RollotheNorman]

Sez you. I say not at the cost of a having a loser like Willard as POTUS. Geez, you RepubliCONs sure know how to pick 'em.

[Rejco100]

The article fails to mention the US Government & American Industry Titans ARE THE DRUG CARTELS!

[OnTheRoad01]

Ain't that 'Special'!!!! He has a plan to bring this nations 'Drug' problem to an end and the only way that we will know what it is, is if we elect him to a second term?????? Give us all a break! If he had a plan why has he not put it into action before now?

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

Yeah...he's almost as evasive as Romney on immigration, eh?

[OnTheRoad01]

Yes, FormerUSMCSergent, he is a politican, it is impossible for them to tell the truth! Either party, they are born with the inability to tell the truth about anything!

[ludvig1-2009]

To me from my experience and from what I've read online of other people's experience, the war on drugs is nothing more than a war on people. Exhibit (1) - Man from Ohio goes to Star Trek Convention in St. Louis. Stopped in Collinsville, Illinois because he has out of state plates. Cops tell him his car can be impounded if he don't open the trunk. Exhibit (2) Darnell Dockett, AZ Cardinals, realizes that there is a bill of rights and refuses to open his trunk when the cops harass him. Exhibit (3) - I drive home from California from my Nuclear Engineering job to Missouri to visit my parents, in the small town (pop. 250), where I don't remember seeing a cop when I was a kid and my mom tells me to go pick up dad and tell him dinner (it's called lunch on the West Coast) is ready. I drive across the railroad tracks, across a dirt road and make a right turn down a pothole street and lo, behold, blinking lights in my rear view mirror and a HighWay Patrolman who says "Open your trunk." This same thing is repeated 4 days later when I am driving to the 2000 population town where I went to High School and served as Junior Class President. "Open your trunk." My high school civics teacher lied to us when he told us anything other than we live in a police state. I don't do drugs except for Lisinopril for my Blood Pressure and am a 14 gallon blood donor. I hope Obama ends the war on people.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

by your-one-k1ng July 2, 2012 5:36 PM EDT
I notice the vast majority of food stamp recipients are white.
---
Observations made while standing in line for yours, no doubt.....

[RollotheNorman]

"Regardless of whatever color they are up 75% under the Obama leadership."

Because of the DubyaCON recession!