You all remember 2009, when stoners the nation over rejoiced to the sound of President Obama implying that the war on pot was over? Well, we all know how that turned out in California, where dispensaries have been under siege for the past two years by the Justice Department. Now, in a new interview with Barbara Walters, the President has again said that prosecuting "recreational users in states that have determined that it’s legal" would "not make sense for us to see a top priority." But since when has the federal government gone after recreational users?
He does go further to say, "we’re going to need to have is a conversation about, how do you reconcile a federal law that still says marijuana is a federal offense and state laws that say that it’s legal?” Also, he adds, "You've seen the voters speak." And he is clearly a bit confused about how to handle the issue.
Any expected crackdowns in Colorado and Washington, where pot was just made legal, will likely take the shape of specific legal challenges and raids on pot growers and distributers, then, until Congress acts to change federal law, which isn't going to happen any day soon.
Meanwhile, the big mural on the outside wall of Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland has been whitewashed, and the new owners of the building (it slipped into foreclosure after the University was raided in April and it subsequently limited its operations and paid less rent) have successfully pushed the last vestiges of its pot-happy tenant out.
See Obama's interview with ABC News below.
