Obama's comments resulted in over 8,000 articles

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According to Google, Obama's comments resulted in over 8,000 articles:

Google Obama marijuana:

News results for Obama marijuana
Obama: Marijuana Legalization Not Good For The Economy - Mar 26, 2009
In an online town hall meeting Obama rejected the argument that legalizing, regulating, and taxing marijuana would be a good way to raise money in this ...
U.S. News & World Report - 8438 related articles »
Pro-marijuana groups hijack Obama's chat room - Globe and Mail - 1277 related articles »
Pondering Obama's Marijuana Stance - U.S. News & World Report - 41 related articles »
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Here are a few of the articles:

According to this, Obama chose to answer this particular question:

Obama holds first White House 'online town hall'

Jared Bernstein, chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden, acted as the "facilitator" for the event, selecting and reading out the questions, which were shown on huge video screens in corners of the East Room.

Obama answered six questions submitted online, including two sent in by video, and another six from some of the 100 guests identified by the White House as teachers, nurses, small business owners and community leaders.

Obama also decided to answer a seventh online question -- about whether marijuana should be legalized -- that was not chosen by Bernstein.


Obama: Marijuana Legalization Not Good For The Economy

And what was Obama's reasoning? Well, there wasn't any. He just stated in direct terms he does not think legalizing pot "is a good strategy to grow our economy." Read more about the town hall meeting here.

Does that mean he thinks it's not a good strategy because it would not actually grow the economy? Or does he think legalizing pot would have other costs that would subsume any economic benefits, thus making it not a good strategy? We don't know, but they are questions to ponder.

Here is an example of one of the questions.

Pro-marijuana groups hijack Obama's chat room

MOST POPULAR SUBMISSIONS:

. . .

Financial stability Would you support the bill currently going through the California legislature to legalize and tax marijuana, boosting the economy and reducing drug-cartel-related violence?

Jobs What are your plans for the failing war on drugs that's sucking money from taxpayers and putting non-violent people in prison longer than the violent criminals?

Budget: With more than 1 out of 30 Americans controlled by the penal system, why not legalize, control, and tax marijuana to change the failed war on drugs into a money-making, money-saving boost to the economy? Do we really need that many victimless criminals?


Obama: Legalizing Pot Won’t Grow Economy

The online town hall was something of an odd affair: It was designed to show that the president is bypassing the media in order to directly address the concerns of the American people, and yet the White House itself selected the questions – which meant that, potentially, the president could simply field a series of softballs and avoid questions he didn’t like.

So the president’s decision to address the pot issue is commendable – after all, ignoring it would have gone against the very spirit of the event. (Though it should be noted that he didn't seem to take it very seriously.) A White House spokesman told Ambinder that the president was shown the popular online questions, but he wasn’t told the specific questions that would be asked. Clearly, the president noted that the pot question was high on the list, and he decided he should address it even if questioner Jared Bernstein might have been planning to ignore it.

The pot legalization issue is not a frivolous one. California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced a bill calling for legalizing the drug and regulating it in much the same way alcohol is regulated. The California Board of Equalization, which collects taxes, estimates California’s possible revenue from doing so at $1.3 billion per year. (Here are pro and con editorials on the use of medical marijuana, which is also debated in the video at left.)

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Here are some articles describing Obama's position before becoming president.


Why Obama Really Might Decriminalize Marijuana

Famously, Franklin Delano Roosevelt saved the United States banking system during the first seven days of his first term.

And what did he do on the eighth day? "I think this would be a good time for beer," he said.

Congress had already repealed Prohibition, pending ratification from the states. But the people needed a lift, and legalizing beer would create a million jobs. And lo, booze was back. Two days after the bill passed, Milwaukee brewers hired six hundred people and paid their first $10 million in taxes. Soon the auto industry was tooling up the first $12 million worth of delivery trucks, and brewers were pouring tens of millions into new plants.


OBAMA'S MANY VIEWS ON MARIJUANA

Barack Obama hesitantly raised his hand halfway before quickly lowering it again. However, in January 2004, when Obama was running for the Senate, he told Illinois college students that he supported eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana use or possession. "I think the war on drugs has been a failure, and I think we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws," he said during a debate at Northwestern University. "But I'm not somebody who believes in legalization of marijuana."

. . .

But, after the Times posted the video on its website, the Obama campaign made a fast U-turn and declared that he does not support eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana possession and use--thereby rejecting both decriminalization and legalization.


Nevermind, Barack Obama Wants to Arrest Marijuana Users After All

Note, for example, that everything we know about the major candidates' drug policy positions has emerged as a result of someone explicitly asking them. The tortured evolution of Obama's views on marijuana occurred only because this information was demanded of him. First, Bill Maher forced Chris Dodd to discuss the issue, resulting in Dodd's endorsement of marijuana decrim.

Then, Tim Russert asked other democratic contenders whether they disagreed with Dodd. The front-runners sheepishly raised their hands in opposition to even mild marijuana reform. Finally, when the Washington Times forced Obama to clarify his conflicting positions, Obama's campaign briefly endorsed reform before finally concluding that they opposed decrim even though they're still not sure what it is.

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I believe that marijuana reform, properly and passionately framed by an eloquent and viable candidate, could prove to be far less toxic than the brilliant campaign strategists in Washington D.C. collectively assume. And it is nauseating to consider that this terrible war on marijuana users owes its survival as much to a flawed political calculus as to the actual beliefs and convictions of those who sustain it.


Barack Obama "I inhaled frequently" "That was the point" (Video)

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According to this, someone is taking the idea seriously, even if Obama is not:

Shrinking State Budgets May Spring Some Inmates

Now, 20 years later, 1 in 31 adults in this country is either behind bars or on probation or parole. It's the highest incarceration rate in the nation's history. With the economy in trouble, many states are taking a fresh look at who's in prison, and why. And some states, such as Kentucky, are finding that they can no longer afford to house so many inmates.

. . .

This month, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear signed a law sending hundreds of drug offenders to treatment instead of prison. It's expected to save the state millions. Kansas, Montana and Pennsylvania are now doing the same.