For supporters of marijuana legalization, it’s a major milestone, said George Zornick in The Washington Post. President Obama has come very close “to endorsing outright legalization” of weed, noting that it’s no more harmful than alcohol, and saying it’s unfair that the vast majority of people busted for weed are black and Hispanic kids from poor neighborhoods. In an interview with The New Yorker, the president ruefully noted that it was well-known that “I smoked pot as a kid,” and said he now views it as “a bad habit and a vice” that he wouldn’t want to see his daughters take up. But in a major change for a president who once advocated strong enforcement of federal marijuana laws, Obama expressed qualified support for the legalization of cannabis in Colorado and Washington, saying society should not have laws for which “a select few get punished.”
What do you expect from the guy who was once the biggest stoner in his high school’s “Choom Gang”? said Ed Rogers in WashingtonPost.com. By claiming that smoking marijuana is on par with cigarettes or alcohol, the president sent a “dangerous” message, telling kids that “doing drugs is not a big deal.” In reality, marijuana use can be addictive, said former federal drug czar William Bennett inCNN.com. Just ask Lady Gaga. The pop star recently disclosed that she smoked up to 20 joints a day as a form of “self-medication” for anxiety, “numbing myself completely.” She’s hardly alone. The 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 4.3 million Americans have “marijuana dependence,” and some are adolescents. Legalizing it would open the door to more abuse.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Red Speedo: a 'darkly comic' doping dramaThe Week Recommends Lucas Hnath's play stars Finn Cole as a 'reptilian' swimmer determined to win at all costs
-
One Aldwych: where London's creative spirit takes centre stageThe Week Recommends This five-star Covent Garden hotel is the epitome of elegant independence
-
Charlotte Dujardin and equestrianism's dark sideIn the Spotlight Olympic gold medallist and dressage star's suspension over horse whipping brings abuse in horse sports back into the spotlight
