Rather than listening to his young constituents, President Obama disregards their highest priority—ending the failed pot prohibition policy of the United States—and condescendingly substitutes his own narrow-minded vision for the future.
To prepare for his much anticipated interview with President Obama, VICE’s Shane Smith solicited questions online in advance from readers. When he interviewed the president last week, Smith saved the most popular subject for the end: “For young people, I’m sorry, but if you legalized marijuana, it would be the biggest part of your legacy.”
Barack Obama, who admittedly smoked weed in his youth, had the audacity to declare, “First of all, it shouldn’t be young people’s biggest priority.”
Interviewer Smith attempted to explain, “It was our most popular…”
“I understand, because sometimes, on White House petitions, we get the same,” said Obama.
President Obama has apparently decided that instead of listening to his young constituents who will inherit this county, he should dictate the order of their priorities, as follows:
“Young people: I understand this is important to you, but as you be thinking about climate change, the economy and jobs, war and peace, maybe way at the bottom you should be thinking about marijuana.”
President Obama patronizingly suggested in his interview, “At a certain point, if enough states end up decriminalizing, then Congress may then reschedule marijuana.”
Populist, democratic principles were on display when VICE magazine asked the public at large to submit questions for their upcoming interview with the commander-in-chief. President Obama, however, patronizingly issued a papal decree of ordered priorities in response.
A young scholar could write a term paper placing each of the president’s prescribed priorities in the context of pot prohibition. First, President Obama listed climate change, which is caused by our addiction to petrochemicals, growing exponentially in the last century while industrial use of hemp has been banned. Cannabis hemp is a renewable resource excellent as a fiber, fuel, paper, plastic, and more. Hemp has been a staple of economies around the world for thousands of years; ending its prohibition would allow us to live more in harmony with nature.
The next tier of the president’s agenda for youth priorities is the rather open-ended term “war and peace.” The War on Drugs has failed (drugs won) and the federal government should make peace with the people. Also, America should stop dictating the drug policy of other nations around the world, and while we’re discussing it, perhaps start fewer wars overall.
President Obama’s idea that “maybe way at the bottom you should be thinking about marijuana” is awfully convenient for a man who never would have been president had he been caught up in the criminal justice system for smoking with the “Choom Gang” in his own youth. Fortunately, today’s youth are much more enlightened. Those of us who are not incarcerated should act for the freedom of our brothers and sisters unjustly imprisoned for a plant.
Watch the VICE interview with President Obama. The marijuana legalization question starts around 14:20.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2a01Rg2g2Z8
Published March 17, 2015 by United States V. Marijuana.
This article is mirrored on the L.A. Indymedia newswire at:
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2015/03/267713.php