Colorado's amendment 64 just passed, as did Initiative 502 in Washington. Marijuana prohibition is gradually becoming a thing of the past, and simply needs one final push. Alcohol prohibition turned out to be more harm than good in the early 1900's, and marijuana prohibition is recreating the same situation. The bottom line is that marijuana prohibition enforcement costs the government 13.7 billion dollars annually, and puts well over 500,000 people in jail every year (sources cited below).
http://www.cnbc.com/id/36600923/The_Cost_and_Benefit_Arguments_Around_En...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/marijuana-legalization-in_n_191...
Response to Petition
Addressing the Legalization of Marijuana
By Gil Kerlikowske
Thank you for participating in We the People and speaking out on the legalization of marijuana. Coming out of the recent election, it is clear that we're in the midst of a serious national conversation about marijuana.
At President Obama's request, the Justice Department is reviewing the legalization initiatives passed in Colorado and Washington, given differences between state and federal law. In the meantime, please see a recent interview with Barbara Walters in which President Obama addressed the legalization of marijuana.
Barbara Walters:
Do you think that marijuana should be legalized?
President Obama:
Well, I wouldn't go that far. But what I think is that, at this point, Washington and Colorado, you've seen the voters speak on this issue. And as it is, the federal government has a lot to do when it comes to criminal prosecutions. It does not make sense from a prioritization point of view for us to focus on recreational drug users in a state that has already said that under state law that's legal.
…this is a tough problem because Congress has not yet changed the law. I head up the executive branch; we're supposed to be carrying out laws. And so what 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.
When you're talking about drug kingpins, folks involved with violence, people are who are peddling hard drugs to our kids in our neighborhoods that are devastated, there is no doubt that we need to go after those folks hard… it makes sense for us to look at how we can make sure that our kids are discouraged from using drugs and engaging in substance abuse generally. There is more work we can do on the public health side and the treatment side.
Gil Kerlikowske is Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Tell us what you think about this response and We the People.