Obama Says Treating Drug Use As a Criminal Problem Is "Counterproductive"

Huffington Post ^ | jan 22, 2015 | Tony Newman

[balch3]

President Barack Obama continues to speak out against mass incarceration, the devastating impact of our drug policies on communities of color and his expectation that marijuana legalization will continue to spread.

Obama's comments came today during his YouTube interviews with YouTube bloggers, Bethany Mota, GloZell Green and Hank Green.

Some Obama nuggets from today's interview include this on marijuana:

"What you're seeing now is Colorado, Washington through state referenda, they're experimenting with legal marijuana," the president said in response to a question from host Hank Green.

"The position of my administration has been that we still have federal laws that classify marijuana as an illegal substance, but we're not going to spend a lot of resources trying to turn back decisions that have been made at the state level on this issue. My suspicion is that you're gonna see other states start looking at this."

Obama also addressed how we should treat people who are not violent drug offenders.

"What I am doing at the federal level," Obama responded, "is asking my Department of Justice just to examine generally how we are treating nonviolent drug offenders, because I think you're right."

"What we have done is instead of focusing on treatment -- the same way we focused, say, with tobacco or drunk driving or other problems where we treat it as public health problem -- we've treated this exclusively as a criminal problem," the president said. "I think that it's been counterproductive, and it's been devastating in a lot of minority communities. It presents the possibility at least of unequal application of the law, and that has to be changed."

[DiogenesLamp]

The drug laws have given us a major portion of the Obama Civilian Defense Force brown shirts with DEA and much of ATF and SWAT teams.

No they didn't. We had the laws a lot longer than his collection of brownshirts. He is just using the laws as an excuse. If he didn't have that excuse, he would make up another one, but one way or the other we would still be getting the brownshirts.

[ConservingFreedom]

no matter how legal you make these drugs; it still will NOT reduce the crime/poverty/unemployment rates and welfare roles

By reducing prices it would reduce the motivation to steal - and it would take the proceeds from drug sales out of criminal pockets (just as ending Prohibition did).

[circlecity]

"Why?"

To discourage people from driving intoxicated.

[depressed in 06]

And, treating terrorists as criminals are not counter-productive.

[Resolute Conservative]

I prefer lib states to legalize and red state not to and let’s compare productivity, crime rates, welfare roles, and IQ’s in 10-20 years.

[DiogenesLamp]

We never had a “war on drugs”. When somebody can deal in narcotics, and get caught several times without going to prison, that ain’t a war, it’s a joke.

I agree. When we start having a body count for drug dealers, then I might believe we're having a "war."

Singapore does it right.

[Responsibility2nd]

Even the average pot smoker is more interested in getting another neck tattoo, trolling the interwebz in Mom’s basement, scarfing down pizza and munchies, and complaining that they can’t find a job, and besides there’s now way I’m gonna work for no minimum wage.

Even if they don’t get caught, even if they live in Colorado, tell me how this adds to a healthy productive growing economy.

I’d sooner green-card 30 million illegals who want to work, than train-wreck our economy with legal dope.

[AppyPappy]

Too bad he doesn’t feel the same way about using the IRS against American citizens

[Vigilanteman]

True, but they could easily be redeployed to fight real threats . . . like TEA partiers. That's the real objective objective here.

[DiogenesLamp]

Care to point out to me the part of the Constitution you think empowers the federal government to make possession of a plant a crime?

The defense clause. It's not just a plant. It is a chemical weapon production agent. Coca and Poppies are also plants.

[ConservingFreedom]

I prefer lib states to legalize and red state not to

Red state Alaska has legalized pot.

[ConservingFreedom]

tell me how this adds to a healthy productive growing economy.

How does letting adults stay up past midnight add to a healthy productive growing economy?

[Responsibility2nd]

Stealing is just part of the everyday equation of a doper.

What about the increase in unemployment? The higher welfare roles? Already Colorado has seen an increase in the homeless population.

Are you prepared to accept that? Being the troll that you are - I know your answer is Yes.

[stephenjohnbanker]

Yes they do, and you can walk anywhere there at night, and be safe. Helluva feeling!

[Responsibility2nd]

Staying up past midnight is equal to smoking dope, in your eyes?

You’re an idiot.

[stephenjohnbanker]

We never really recovered from the 1960’s.

[stephenjohnbanker]

CF loves drugs....he can’t stop boosting them on FR.

[ConservingFreedom]

By reducing prices it would reduce the motivation to steal - and it would take the proceeds from drug sales out of criminal pockets (just as ending Prohibition did).

Stealing is just part of the everyday equation of a doper.

The less he spends the less he steals.

What about the increase in unemployment? The higher welfare roles? Already Colorado has seen an increase in the homeless population.

That's a relocation, not an absolute increase. People who have been responsible enough to avoid drug use because it was illegal will continue to be responsible and not let legal drug use drive them out of employment or onto welfare rolls.

[DiogenesLamp]

And prosecuting people who sell drugs is counterproductive.

No it isn't. It is absolutely essential that people selling drugs be prosecuted, and in my opinion killed. People nowadays talk as if there are no consequences to letting people use drugs, but History proves otherwise.

China was wrecked by people selling drugs. Their weakness led to the Japanese invasion and the subsequent rise of communism. The 4,000 year old Imperial government of China collapsed merely 70 years after drug usage was legalized, and it collapsed because their demographics collapsed.

Legalized drugs will kill a nation.

[Responsibility2nd]

No kidding. He’s a paid operative of George Soros and Barack Obama. He’s a retread troll with a one-track agenda.