Why President Obama Should Consider Decriminalizing Pot

By: Tonyaa Weathersbee

Maybe he thought it was a trick question.
After all, when Barack Obama was running for president, his candor about smoking pot and snorting cocaine as a teenager induced all sorts of salivation in his opponents.

They thought that Obama had unwittingly handed them a stereotype that would work to their advantage; that the idea of a black man who might be a closet Muslim who might be a closet druggie occupying the White House would be too frightening for most voters.

They thought wrong.

So when online questioners recently peppered President Obama about the prospect of legalizing marijuana as a means of bolstering the economy, it didn’t shock me that he tried to laugh it off.
“I don’t know what this says about the online audience,” Obama said, as people who were gathered in the White House East Room for the online event laughed.

Then Obama got serious. He said no. He said that legalizing marijuana was not a good strategy for growing the economy.

He might want to rethink that.

Sure, legalizing marijuana won’t save General Motors. But legalizing (or at least decriminalizing) pot would be a first step toward salvaging black communities that have been ravaged by this failed experiment that is the War on Drugs.

True, marijuana hasn’t been as devastating to our communities as the crack cocaine that is sold on corners – and is oftentimes the drug behind the violence and savagery that has turned our comfort zones into war zones.

But the one overwhelming characteristic the drugs do share is one of economics.

Why President Obama Should Consider Decriminalizing Pot....