All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Updated at 3:45 p.m. ET.

When President Obama told attendees at his economic town hall today that he only had time to take three questions, he probably did not expect the first question to be about legalizing drugs and prostitution.

He ultimately responded to four questions from the crowd at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Schnecksville, Penn. but took his time to steer the initial inquiry from a discussion about drugs to the future of the U.S. economy, emphasizing that manufacturing will play a less significant role in the nation. The town hall was part of Mr. Obama's tour of cities around the country in which he will discuss the economy.

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," Mr. Obama said to laughter after a young man asked him if he would consider legalizing drugs, prostitution, gambling or nonviolent crimes. "That will not be my job strategy."

"First of all, part of what you're supposed to do in college is question conventional wisdom," the president continued. "You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing."

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation

The rest of the nation, Mr. Obama went on to say, will have to rethink the shape of the nation's economy.

"Manufacturing will never be as high of a percentage [of the economy] as it was in the 1950s," he said, but the capacity for states to cash in on new sectors is "enormous."

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The Attorney General of Colorado said yesterday that his state can collect taxes on sales of medical marijuana.

"Medical marijuana is tangible property that is generally subject to state sales tax," Attorney General John Suthers said in an opinion, according to The Denver Post.

Suthers, a Republican, was responding to a query from the state's governor, Democrat Bill Ritter.

"This is another in a series of significant steps toward some sort of legalization of marijuana," said CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen. "Once local and state officials in Colorado and elsewhere realize how much income they can generate from this tax it will be harder for them or anyone else to argue that pot shouldn’t be legalized and regulated in some fashion."

In response to the opinion, the Post reports, the governor's office says it will direct businesses that offer medical marijuana to obtain retail licenses and begin paying sales taxes.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation

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The American Medical Association on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling for the government to review its classification of marijuana, in order to ease the way for more research into the use of medical marijuana.

While the AMA, the largest physician's organization in the U.S., explicitly states it does not endorse any current state-based medical marijuana programs or the legalization of marijuana, the move is a significant shift that continues a trend toward support for easing restrictions against the drug.

"Our American Medical Association (AMA) urges that marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines," the AMA's statement (PDF) reads. "This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product."

Marijuana is currently classified by the federal government as a "Schedule I" controlled substance, the most restrictive of five categories. Schedule I substances are considered to have a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug. Other drugs in that category include heroin, LSD and PCP. Less restrictive "Schedule II" substances include cocaine and methamphetamine.

Previously, the AMA recommended marijuana remain a Schedule I controlled substance, but it now believes the substance deserves more clinical research.

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A new poll from Gallup shows that 44 percent of Americans now support legalizing marijuana, with 54 percent opposed. This is the highest-ever support for legalization in the Gallup poll.

The poll comes on the heels of the announcement by the Obama administration yesterday telling federal prosecutors not to focus on medical marijuana users and suppliers in states where medical marijuana is legal.

Gallup reports that support for pot legalization was in the 25 percent range during the 1970s through the 1990s, but jumped to 31 percent in 2001 and has been rising throughout this decade. In the most recent CBS News poll on the subject, conducted in July, 41 percent said they thought marijuana should be made legal.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Marijuana Nation
Medical Marijuana Arrest Guidelines Eased
Cannabis Shops Still Fear Long Arm of Law
Andrew Cohen: New Pot Policy Is Not Yet a Turning Point

The Gallup poll also reveals some interesting statistics on attitudes about marijuana legalization based on regional and demographic information. In the West, a majority (53 percent) say they would support legalization in their state as a way to generate revenue through taxing marijuana. Support for such a plan is only in the 30s in the South and Midwest, however, with the East coming in at 44 percent on the question.

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Updated 5:45 p.m. ET

On Monday, news reports offered the latest piece of evidence that the country is moving toward greater acceptable of medical marijuana use: The federal government sent guidelines instructing prosecutors not to focus on prosecuting state-sanctioned medical marijuana users and suppliers.

Fourteen states now allow at least some medical marijuana usage; Monday's news, as Andrew Cohen notes, means that "tens of thousands of Americans now are free from federal persecution and prosecution for conduct that is completely legal in their own states." In addition, a new poll finds that 44 percent of Americans now favor outright marijuana legalization, marking a new high.

With that said, it seems reasonable to wonder whether medical marijuana is – or will ever be – covered through health insurance plans, like a typical prescription drug.

First, consider the present: Susan Pisano of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the trade group that represents nearly 1,300 companies, told Hotsheet the group does not "know of any coverage for medical marijuana among our member companies."

Medical Marijuana Arrest Guidelines Eased
L.A. Prosecutor Vows to Target Pot Shops
Andrew Cohen: New Pot Policy Is Not Yet a Turning Point

That comports with the opinion of Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, who said patients at the moment have no choice but to pay "cold, hard cash" for medical marijuana.

The reason that medical marijuana is not covered, both Pisano and Mirken said, is that it is not approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration.

"The main issue here is the question of FDA approval that all drugs need to go through," said Pisano. Lack of FDA approval means no coverage either by private insurers or through any public plan to be drafted in Congress.

So what, then, are the prospects that medical marijuana will get FDA approval? In the short term, at least, they're pretty slim. The fact that marijuana remains a controlled substance presents one hurdle to approval; another, perhaps more significant one is that it isn't a synthesized drug – that is, its component parts are not crafted by drug companies.

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Updated 5:30 p.m. ET

A CBS News Poll released today finds that 41 percent of Americans think the use of marijuana should be made legal. Fifty-two percent disagree.

The percentage supporting legalization has varied a bit recently. In March of this year 31 percent favored legalization but the number was higher in January at 41 percent, matching what it is now.

Thirty years ago just 27 percent thought the use of marijuana should be made legal.

Demographically, slim majorities of Americans under age 35 and liberals favor legalizing marijuana. By contrast, older people and conservatives are some of the least likely groups to back legalization. Men are a bit more likely than women to say using marijuana should be made legal.

Geographical region also impacts opinions. Opposition to legalizing marijuana is greatest in the South, while over four in 10 of those living in other areas of the country support legalization.

Forty-six percent of those residing in the west favor legalizing marijuana (the highest of any region), but forty-eight are opposed to the idea.

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In "Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine," John McCaslin describes the life of a marijuana trafficker, and he talked about his protagonist – who happens to be a teetotaler – on Friday’s edition of “Washington Unplugged.”

"He is a Robin Hood type character which makes him interesting," McCaslin said.

Without offering his own opinion on marijuana legalization, McCaslin told host Bob Schieffer that he does not expect any action from the Obama administration to change the U.S.'s policy towards the drug.

Watch the full interview below, and check out the full episode here -- it includes an interview with Liz Cheney and a debate on Sonia Sotomayor's pending confirmation, and Richard Haass all on "Washington Unplugged."

In the last week or two, proposals to legalize medical marijuana have advanced in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken a significant step further, saying on Tuesday that it's time to debate legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California.

"I think it's time for debate," he said in response to a reporter's question. "I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues -- I'm always for an open debate on it."

Thanks to a 1996 ballot measure, medical marijuana is already legal under California law, though local officials have substantial discretion. Although that conflicts with federal law, the Obama administration has chosen not to target California medical marijuana dispensaries.

"Most Californians support the idea of making marijuana legal," Aaron Smith, the California policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told CBSNews.com. "Right now, the state is in a budget fiasco that not going to go away soon... It's about time they look outside the box at ways of generating revenue."

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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.”

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.” Gibbs declined to discuss the president's position on medical marijuana.)

Here's video of the president:

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A majority of Americans oppose legalizing marijuana and lowering the drinking age even if it would mean economic benefits for cash-strapped state and local governments, a new CBS News survey finds.

Fifty-eight percent of Americans say marijuana should be illegal, even after being presented with the idea that the drug could be taxed. Thirty-one percent say it should be legal, while another seven percent say it should be legal if it is taxed and the money goes to projects.

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced a bill in his economically struggling state 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.

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