The White House decided to make a call to have a town hall style question session, and the received an unlikely response. More than 92,000 people responded with deep concern about issues such as the "decriminalization of marijuana, its possible use for medicinal purposes and its potential as a new source of revenue." The town hall set up was rather remarkable since citizens got to express their concerns raw and purely, without the filtering of the media. The overall consensus was that people had broad interest in legalizing marijuana and taxing it.
The topic was the national economy yet, the top four questions concerned Marijuana. "On the budget, people voted up questions about marijuana to positions 1-4." Secondly, "Marijuana was in the first and third positions under 'jobs'." Thirdly, "People boosted a plug for legalizing marijuana to No. 2 under 'health care reform'.
After the President answered more significant questions, he began to openly address the issue of marijuana. Obama jokingly stated, "I don't know what that says about the online audience" in reference to the mass interest in marijuana. To seriously answer the question, the president added, "The answer is no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy."
The issue of legalizing marijuana for medical reasons, or just in general, is highly debated. Opponents to it believe that if we legalize marijuana, it would lead America on a slippery slope, like if we legalize marijuana, then the next thing would be cocaine and the next thing would be murder, or something extreme like that. When my roommate went to California over spring break, she got this little post card, that is titled, "Medical Cannabis is legal in the state of California". The organization is called Medical Cannabis of Southern California, and it lists some symptoms in which you can be "prescribed" medical marijuana. Some of the symptoms include Chronic Pain, Migraines, insomnia etc.
I personally don't really know what would be best for America. I think that if we legalize alcohol and cigarettes, marijuana isn't extremely different. Supposedly, it's been said that it is healthier than smoking cigarettes. Plus, if there was a way to make it like an industry, in which the country could tax and get significant money from it, it'd probably be a significant asset. It'd be like how in the state of Nevada how Prostitution is legal, and it's seen as a legal mean of income. Although everyone has their opinions about prostitution, if it's something that already occurs, I guess the argument that can be made, is might as well make an industry out of it.
Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20526.html
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