[nobama999]

As much as I hate to agree with Obama on anything, I gotta say I favor decriminalizing pot.

Here’s why:

- too much of our police resources are spent making arrests for it

- organized crime is making money off it

- kids are more inclined to try it for the thrill if they know it’s an illegal act to smoke it

- allow focus to go more on the REALLY damaging stuff, like coke and meth

I know pot is damaging, but not nearly as bad as a lot of the crap out there. If it was decriminalized I think fewer kids would use it...there’d be more of a conversation about it and it’s negative effects.

And the f’n money we spend trying to enforce pot laws pisses me off.

[TKDietz]

Decriminalization and legalization are not the same thing. With decriminalization, there is no legal market. If it's decriminalized, that just means the threat of jail is gone. Usually it means people won't get a criminal record either, but there are states that have “decriminalized” marijuana where people still get a criminal record, like California. I think what you are talking about is legalization and regulation, similar to what we have with alcohol now. Obama was talking about decriminalization, not legalization, and he's backed off on decriminalization too since that old 2004 video we saw a clip from.