- This article was written by Timeshifter. Share links: republicans - holywar. See also: '
. And:
US Republican states. It's not just cannabis prohibition.It's not just American Republicans who lead the Reefer-Madness war on cannabis. See:
. By Steve Elliott. May 18, 2017. She was in the Conservative Party (UK). See: Beyond drug war, debt, and wealth concentration. To single-payer healthcare and progressive taxation.
These Cannabis Growing Nuns Answer To A Higher Power. [3][4][5]. Facebook. Video. [6][7].
Marijuana on Religious Grounds? A Cannabis Church Opens in Denver. April 20, 2017. New York Times. [9][10].
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| Trillions of dollars spent on Republican holy war. Jesus' first miracle was allegedly changing water into wine. |
Holy war
- See also: Drug war causes high U.S. incarceration rate. And: Drug War, mandatory minimum sentencing, handguns. And: Number of cannabis arrests and prisoners in the USA.
| A or F? How Congress scores on marijuana. 2. By Danielle Keane, NORML political director. 2016. "Of the 233 Democrats in Congress, 208 members (89.3 percent) received a passing grade of a 'C' or higher. Of the 302 Republicans in Congress, 102 members (33.8 percent) received a passing grade of a 'C' or higher." For your state see: Congressional Scorecard. NORML. Grading was based upon members' voting records. |
Why is everything a "war" or a "crusade" to Republicans? Like the war on drugs. We need cures, not wars.
See: Cost of Republican-led U.S. drug war.
| The drug war is a religious war against a spiritual plant. That old-time religion. Religion imposed by law or force. Republican Holy War against the Evil Infidels, drug users. |
Wikipedia: Tree of Life. A common motif in world mythologies and philosophies.
| Nov. 18, 2016. New Attorney General. Republican 'Drug War Dinosaur' Jeff Sessions. Existential Threat to Cannabis Reform.2. Most Americans want legalized recreational marijuana, a higher minimum wage(2)(3), and an end to mass incarceration. All blocked mainly by Republican politicians in state and federal legislatures. |
| Ronald (6) Wilson (6) Reagan (6). In 1986, President Reagan called for a "nationwide crusade against drugs, a sustained, relentless effort to rid America of this scourge." 1. |
1968, 1971. Nixon's racist drug war
See: Race, ethnicity, and drug war.
- June 17, 1971. President Richard Nixon: "America's public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive."
This quote from Nixon aide John Ehrlichman (in 1994) is from an April 2016 Dan Baum article in Harper's Magazine: Legalize It All. How to win the war on drugs. Quote: "The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."
See: CNN info. See article: Nixon's drug war against black people and hippies.
1980. Reagan presidential campaign
Return to top. See: Reagan's war on cannabis.
The American Drug Panic of the 1980s. Chapter 12 of Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance.
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"Nashville ... on the cusp of joining the long roster of American cities, including New York, that have decriminalized the stuff. ... The fear in Nashville was palpable once. In
October 1980, the
city’s police chief, Joe Casey, declared in a front-page article in The Tennessean that marijuana caused people to rob and kill. Anyone caught
growing or selling marijuana three times, Mr. Casey said, or selling it to minors once,
should be executed." - From this article: Following Its Country Music, Nashville May Loosen Up on Marijuana. By Richard Faussetsept. Sept. 18, 2016. New York Times.
Some Congressmen and police who prosecuted the War on Drugs believe it caused a large increase in the United States incarceration rate. See Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, and large chart with sources.
- "I Was Wrong About the War on Drugs – It's a Failure". By Bob Barr (former Republican, former federal prosecutor, and former Congressman). June 11, 2008. AlterNet.
- "The solution to the failed drug war". By Jack A. Cole of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Sept. 13, 2008. Boston Globe.
1982. Reagan's drug war escalation
- Reagan declares 'War on Drugs,' October 14, 1982. By Andrew Glass. And: Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs. And: The Drug War as Race War.
- October 2, 1982: Ronald Reagan: Radio Address to the Nation on Federal Drug Policy. Quote (emphasis added):
| "Each was fighting its own separate battle against drugs. Now, for the very first time, the Federal Government is waging a planned, concerted campaign. ... We're making no excuses for drugs—hard, soft, or otherwise. Drugs are bad, and we're going after them. As I've said before, we've taken down the surrender flag and run up the battle flag. And we're going to win the war on drugs." |
Chart below covers prison inmates only. See also: timeline combining prison and jail inmates.
1986. The "crusade against drugs"
| Ronald (6) Wilson (6) Reagan (6). In 1986, President Reagan called for a " nationwide crusade against drugs, a sustained, relentless effort to rid America of this scourge." 1. |
- See Wikipedia: Crack cocaine and Wikipedia: Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 and Wikipedia: CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking.
See cannabis polls.
See Reagan's war on cannabis. Above timeline is adapted from one of the charts in this article:
| Latest Gallup Poll Shows Only 2-in-5 Americans Oppose Marijuana Legalization. By Russ Belville. October 21, 2015. |
1989. Papa Bush's escalation of drug war
- Share link: Papa Bush.
- 2nd nationwide televised Bush speech on drugs on September 12, 1989: Quote from speech:
Some think there won't be room for them in jail. We'll make room. We're almost doubling prison space. Some think there aren't enough prosecutors. We'll hire them, with the largest increase in Federal prosecutors in history.
Life sentence for buying weed? 25th anniversary of Papa Bush's War on Drugs escalation speech on September 5, 1989. The first prime time address of his presidency. Result:
Life for pot.
Republicans like wars and crusades
George Carlin: Youtube: George Carlin: "We Like War!" 1992. "Especially if your country's full of brown people." (1 min 20 sec in. Direct link there). Bush's "crusade".  |
See also: Race, ethnicity, and drug war.
Incarcerated for drug-related crime
- See main article: People in prisons and jails in the USA for drug-related crime.
- And: Number of marijuana prisoners in the USA.
The Drug war is the cause of the high U.S. incarceration rate.
| Mandatory minimum sentencing charts. |
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First mandatory minimums chart below is from an older FAMM report, "Correcting Course: Lessons from the 1970s Repeal of Mandatory Minimum Sentences". FAMM is Families Against Mandatory Minimums. [11]. See Wikipedia: Mandatory minimums. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 increased the amounts of crack cocaine required to trigger 5 and 10 year sentences. [12]. See revised charts since then. Share link to this page. For charts of all federal mandatory minimums (not just for drug offenses), go here.  Later chart with revisions, such as the amount of crack cocaine required for various sentences:  |
| The majority of people incarcerated in prisons and jails in the USA are in due to drug-related offenses, crimes to get money for drugs, or drug-related parole or probation violations. Wikipedia: Drug-related crime. The number of inmates in the USA has increased almost 5 times over since 1980. It peaked in 2008. Obama's Democrat landslide in 2008 turned the incarceration rate around. The cost of the U.S. drug war is at least 1.5 trillion dollars. Cannabis is safer! Share link. |
Reagan, Drug War, and Trickle Down
Return to top. See: Drug war, control, and Republican-led income inequality.
The drug war causes the high U.S. incarceration rate, and is part of the Republican war on the poor and middle class.
1/3 of Americans have a criminal record
"The FBI currently has 77.7 million individuals on file in its master criminal database—or nearly one out of every three American adults." - Wall Street Journal.
- As Arrest Records Rise, Americans Find Consequences Can Last a Lifetime. Aug. 18, 2014. Wall Street Journal.
The Republican Party is controlled by the 1%. They need the prison-industrial complex, and a permanent lower class of one third of adult Americans with a criminal record to keep wages low, and to keep people in line.
See Wikipedia: Comparison of United States incarceration rate with other countries. And: List of countries and U.S. states by incarceration rate.
News
See: Current events and news.
2016
Articles written before the November 8, 2016 election in the USA:
USA Today: 11 states least likely to legalize marijuana. Republican states across the nation.
| Marijuana in the South: A State-by-State Guide. Republicans created a THC-free south. |
2014 election
2012 election
- Vermont Marijuana Decriminalization Law Goes Into Effect. July 1, 2013.
Democrat Peter Shumlin wins big
in 2012 Vermont governor race
Peter Shumlin, making his acceptance speech after winning the 2010 Vermont gubernatorial election, at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington, Vermont. - Share link: shumlin
- Wikipedia: Peter Shumlin and 2012 Vermont gubernatorial election. Result: Shumlin 58.0%. Brock 37.7%.
- Vermont Update: Pro-Reform Candidate Gov. Shumlin Holds Massive Lead. By Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Coordinator. August 25, 2012.
- When A Governor Calls And Asks For Support To Reform Marijuana Laws…. By Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director. August 3, 2012.
- His website: Peter Shumlin for Vermont Governor | Leadership for a strong Vermont.
- Google site search of his website for "marijuana".
- Shumlin coasts to victory; 70% of Burlington voters call for ending marijuana prohibition! November 7, 2012 article by Marijuana Policy Project.
The American states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize cannabis, and Massachusetts became the eighteenth state to approve cannabis for medical use. See 2012 vote for cannabis. Prohibition, your days are numbered!
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Why did U.S. Republicans get their asses handed to them in 2012? Well, besides their idiotic rape comments, maybe it is because their support for "freedom" was a sham. For example; at the time of the election very few Republicans had cosponsored H.R. 6335 (see section on cosponsors). That bill would not have done anything more to legalize marijuana or medical marijuana; it would simply have allowed medical marijuana centers operating legally under state law to continue to do so. It would have amended the Controlled Substances Act so as to exempt real property from civil forfeiture due to medical-marijuana-related conduct that was authorized by State law.
Colorado, Washington Legalize Marijuana! By Phillip Smith, November 7, 2012. More Drug-Related Election Results, Good and Bad. By Phillip Smith.
Some more 2012 news
Richard Posner, Federal Judge, Slams 'Absurd' Laws Against Marijuana, Other Drugs. By Nick Wing. Posted: Sept. 11, 2012. The Huffington Post. From the article:
He recently expressed displeasure with the current direction of the GOP, telling National Public Radio that he has become "less conservative" as the Republican "crowd of lunatics" became increasingly "goofy."
Republicans leading the drug war:
- Senate Republicans Kill Marijuana Reform In New York. By Steve Elliott. June 19, 2012. Toke of the Town.
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Of course there are some clueless Democrat incumbents too that need the boot:
- New Hampshire Medical Marijuana Veto Upheld. By Steve Elliott. June 27, 2012.
Fortunately, it looks like some Democrats are pulling their heads out of Republican asses.
- Iowa Democrats Add Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp to Party Platform. By Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Coordinator, June 20, 2012. NORML Blog. From the article:
"Earlier this year, the Colorado Democrats announced their support for marijuana legalization in their 2012 party platform. On June 9th, the Texas Democrats endorsed marijuana decriminalization. Last weekend, the North Carolina Democratic Party added resolutions supporting medical cannabis and industrial hemp. ... Also worth noting, on June 2nd, the Washington State Democratic Party built upon their earlier endorsement of their state’s legalization initiative, I-502, by adding support for full marijuana legalization and medical cannabis as planks in their party platform."
2012 Republican presidential candidates
Romney on marijuana and medical pot
- Share links: mitt, romney, mittromney, MittRomney.
- See also: 2012 vote for cannabis. See: Cannabis and the illusion of democracy in the USA. See: The U.S. Drug War. Republicans lead.
Mitt Romney will fight marijuana "tooth and nail".
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Romney is a wimp and a fanatic at the same time. He said he would fight marijuana "tooth and nail". He means it. Most people grow out of early religious militancy, and moderate their views. Not Romney. From the article, The Wrath of Grapes, April 21, 2012 by Timothy Egan of the New York Times:
From Mormon.org: Why don’t Mormons drink coffee, tea, or alcohol? What is the Mormon Church’s law of health and proper diet? |
| Video. July 2012. |
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 Youtube link. |
Quote from the New Hampshire event in late July 2012 (emphasis added): "The idea of medical marijuana is designed to help get marijuana out in the public marketplace and ultimately lead to legalization of marijuana overall. And in my view that's the wrong way to go. ... I'm opposed to it, and if you elect me president you're not going to see legalized marijuana. I'm going to fight it tooth and nail."
- See: more on Romney and medical marijuana, Reddit link, and graphic.
| July 2012. Full quote |
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| "I would not legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, and the reasons are straightforward: As I talk to people in my state and at the federal government level about marijuana and its role in society, they are convinced that the entry way into a drug culture for our young people is marijuana. That marijuana is the starter drug, and that the idea of medical marijuana is designed to help get marijuana out in the public marketplace and ultimately lead to legalization of marijuana overall. And in my view, that's the wrong way to go. And I know that other people have differing views. And if you'd like to get someone who is in favor of marijuana, I know there are some on the Democratic side of the aisle who will be happy to get in your campaign. But I'm opposed to it, and if you elect me president, you're not going to see legalized marijuana. I'm going to fight it tooth and nail." |
| Video with commentary. May 2012 |
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 Youtube link. |
| Video without background laughter |
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 Youtube link. |
Romney Really Doesn’t Want to Talk About Medical Marijuana. Article and video. By Jon Walker. May 11, 2012. Just Say Now. "While in Colorado, local CBS Denver reporter Shaun Boyd asked Mitt Romney about his position on medical marijuana and the candidate was not happy. Romney became visibly upset about the question. He repeatedly interrupted the reporter and chided her for even asking him about it. ... When Romney did finally get around to answering the question he said that he does think marijuana shouldn’t be legal in this country and that he believes it is a gateway drug. ... With 77 percent of the country believing medical marijuana should be allowed Romney is in a tiny minority on this issue. If I were a politician and my position on a particular issue was extremely unpopular, I, too, would hate being asked about it."
| Video. October 2007 in New Hampshire |
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 Youtube link. |
"I'm not in favor of medical marijuana being legal". Oct. 6, 2007. In New Hampshire Mitt Romney responds to a man in a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy. Romney refuses to answer the man when asked if he would arrest the man and his doctors. Youtube link. See here for closed-caption version. Don't forget to hit the [CC] button to activate them if you don't have them enabled by default (or click the button for interactive transcripts - it's to the right of the flag button).
Media on Romney and marijuana
Mitt Romney: Marijuana 'For Recreational Use' Is Bad, But I Also Oppose It For All Purposes. By Nick Wing. October 2, 2012. The Huffington Post. A spokesperson said. "He [Romney] opposes legalizing drugs, including marijuana for medicinal purposes. He will fully enforce the nation’s drug laws, and he will oppose any attempts at legalization."
Creepy Romney
Mitt Romney confronts a cannabis user in the summer of 2011 on the beach in La Jolla, California. See Gothamist article. Romney impersonates police officers in high school and college. Romney leads a pack that forcibly cuts off the long hair of a bullied classmate in high school. See ABC News article, and Washington Post article. See 2007 and 2012 videos from New Hampshire where Romney discusses and opposes medical marijuana.
Newt Gingrich calls medical pot a joke
- Newt Gingrich Rips Marijuana Use, Shows Historical Ignorance. Submitted by NORML on Jan 4, 2012. On "Opposing Views".
- Presidential Hopeful Gingrich Calls Medical Marijuana A 'Joke'. Toke of the Town. By Steve Elliott. November 28, 2011.
- Newt Gingrich Hates Medical Marijuana And Would Expand The Failed War On Drugs. November 28, 2011. THE Weed Blog.
- Newt Gingrich: Medical Marijuana Is a Convenience That Must Be Stopped. By Andrew Belonsky. November 28 2011. Cannabis Culture Magazine.
- Newt Gingrich on drug laws, entitlements and campaigning: The Yahoo News interview. By Chris Moody. Nov. 28, 2011.
| Videos. Newt Gingrich on medical marijuana | ||
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Gingrich's 1995 death penalty bill for pot
See Newt Gingrich. In contrast, see: Lowest enforcement priority for cannabis offenses.
Newt Gingrich (see his Wikipedia article) as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives proposed a bill in 1995 to give the death penalty for importing 2 ounces of cannabis. He introduced it in 1996 as H.R. 4170 (Drug Importer Death Penalty Act of 1996) to the House of Representatives.
- Gingrich on Marijuana - See the discussion of H.R. 4170 and importing "100 usual dosage amounts." Life imprisonment without parole for the first offense, and the death penalty for the second offense.
- Gingrich Urges Death Penalty For Illegal Drug Smugglers. Aug. 27, 1995. Washington Post.
- House Speaker Gingrich Proposes Increased Death Penalties for Drug Dealers. October 1995. National Drug Strategy Network.
- H.R. 4170: Drug Importer Death Penalty Act of 1996. GovTrack.us.
Photo to the top right: Newt Gingrich at West Georgia College (which later became the University of West Georgia). According to his Wikipedia article Gingrich was professor there from 1970 to 1978. He left when he was denied tenure. The image source says: "That's not Austin Powers dressed for a job interview... it is Newt Gingrich as a young professor at the University of Georgia." Lol. A comment says: "Short sleeved shirt (?) and a suit : not a good look....."
Gary Johnson rips Gingrich about pot
Gary Johnson rips Newt Gingrich about Marijuana Death Penalty Idea.
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YouTube link.
Gatewood Galbraith on Newt Gingrich
Gatewood Galbraith. January 23, 1947 – January 4, 2012. See more about Gatewood here.
- Marijuana Activist Legend Gatewood Galbraith Dies. By Steve Elliott. Jan 4, 2012.
- Gatewood Galbraith: The People's Champion (1947-2012). By Michael Bachara, Special to Salem-News.com - Jan. 5, 2012.
- Galbraith: Have joint, will travel. By Rob Kaiser. May 12, 1996. The Kentucky Enquirer.
He reserved special ire for Republicans, most recently calling former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell "aliens, not conservatives. They never met a bloated police state they didn't like."
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See: Template:Gatewood Galbraith on Newt Gingrich. And: Newt Gingrich's deadly Drug War.
Music video. Death Penalty for Pot
Music video cartoon about our dynamic duo, Dana Beal and Aron "pieman" Kay. Video was created in 2003 (see notice at end of video). The music is by Benedict Arnold & The Traitors. The song "Death penalty for pot" was written in 1981, and recorded around 2002 according to the info on the Youtube page.
2011. Senate. 60 to 38 for indefinite
Military detention of Americans
| 44 Republicans, 15 Democrats, 1 Independent. |
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See also: Newt Gingrich's deadly Drug War, extraordinary rendition, and Brutality and the Drug War. Also, "Night and Fog", the Nazi Germany program of disappearances, and indefinite military detention. Also, follow the money: Private prisons and private power.
- Senate Votes To Let Military Detain Americans Indefinitely, White House Threatens Veto. Nov. 29, 2011. Huffington Post.
- 60 senators betrayed you today, they authorized the indefinite suspension of habeus corpus (updated). WeAreChangeTV.us - Nov. 29, 2011.
- Bill Summary & Status - 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) - S.AMDT.1107. See list of Senators voting for and against. THOMAS (Library of Congress).
See: Template:Senate votes for indefinite military detention of Americans.
U.S. marijuana history
Reagan and incarceration nations
- Reagan's war on cannabis is where the U.S. incarceration nation began. Number of marijuana prisoners in the USA: 40,000+ in 2011. All drug offenses: 489,000 in 2013.
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Ronald Reagan, 1980 campaign speech: "Leading medical researchers are coming to the conclusion that marijuana, pot, grass whatever you want to call it, is probably the most dangerous drug in the United States, and we haven't begun to find out all of the ill effects, but they are permanent ill effects. The loss of memory for example." -
Obama helped turn around the Reagan-Bush War on Pot, mandatory minimums, mass incarceration. See: US incarceration peaked in 2008.
Propaganda of incarceration nations. Reaganism is about drug war, code-word racism, hate radio, mass incarceration, and above all, trickle-down economics (Reaganomics).
| Drug war + Trickle-down Reaganomics, = mass incarceration and mass control. |
| See article: Trickle-down economics plus drug war. |
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Nancy Reagan and Ronald Reagan of the USA. The "Just Say No" campaign. -
Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union. -
S.A. brownshirts in Nazi Germany.
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See Wikimedia Commons: Category:Government propaganda. Note the "glorious mission" or "glorious war" nature of much propaganda. Like the Republican-led Holy War, the "War on Drugs". See Wikipedia: War on Drugs. It is really a war on some drug users. This particular glorious war was reinvigorated by the cult leaders, Ronald and Nancy Reagan. The B-movie actor Ronald (6) Wilson (6) Reagan (6) is still worshiped like a God (or idol) by some segments of the Republican Party.
National Rifle Association history of
Pushing for mandatory sentencing
| Mandatory minimum sentencing charts. |
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First mandatory minimums chart below is from an older FAMM report, "Correcting Course: Lessons from the 1970s Repeal of Mandatory Minimum Sentences". FAMM is Families Against Mandatory Minimums. [13]. See Wikipedia: Mandatory minimums. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 increased the amounts of crack cocaine required to trigger 5 and 10 year sentences. [14]. See revised charts since then. Share link to this page. For charts of all federal mandatory minimums (not just for drug offenses), go here. Later chart with revisions, such as the amount of crack cocaine required for various sentences: |
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The Reagans and Just Say No
November 1980 election to now. The Reagan Revolution. "Just Say No" and massive U.S. incarceration increase. U.S.-aided, government-sanctioned, drug-war death squads in Colombia, Mexico, Thailand, etc.. Reaganomics 101: Lower taxes on the 1%. Tax the poor and middle class. Especially by regressive taxes and fees. Such as sales taxes, and non-means-tested property taxes, and user fees. Spend exorbitant amounts on "freedom" (doublespeak for more prisons and jails). See Wikipedia: Ronald Wilson Reagan, Nancy Reagan, and the War on Drugs. See also: commons:Category:Just Say No.
- Remember D.A.R.E.? It Was A Bigger Failure Than You Realized. By Rachel Souerbry. Ranker.
Cannabis is safer
Return to top. See article: Cannabis is safer.
Obama correctly said that cannabis is safer than alcohol. See: Cannabis is safer. He also said marijuana should be treated more as a public health issue than a criminal one. And: Obama signals support for legalizing medical marijuana. [15]. See video.
USA. 1 in 10 deaths of working-age adults are alcohol-related (disease, overdose, car crashes, falls, violence, etc). 87,798 per year, 2006 to 2010. [16][17][18][19][20]. See longer article: Cannabis is safer.
Imagine if Mitt Romney had been elected President in 2012 instead of Obama.
Obama on marijuana legalization. [21]. "My suspicion is that you’re gonna see other states start looking at this". The Washington Post. Jan. 22, 2015.
Above quote is from Sanjay Gupta interview of Obama on April 15, 2015. Interview aired on CNN on April 19, 2015. [22][23][24].
Obama administration asks Supreme Court to reject lawsuit filed by Republican governments in Oklahoma and Nebraska to stop legal marijuana in Colorado [25]. December 2015.
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Holder's Legacy: Steering Away From the Drug War and Mass Incarceration. [26]. Attorney General Eric Holder (2009-2015) under President Obama.
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