President Obama angered many in the Marijuana Legalization Movement some weeks ago when he dismissed the most asked question in preparation for his Virtual Townhall Meeting. The question? Here\'s the exact quote from the president:

THE PRESIDENT: Three point five million people voted. I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy (laughter) and job creation. And I don\'t know what this says about the online audience (laughter) but I just want... I don\'t want people to think that, this was a fairly popular question; we want to make sure that it was answered. The answer is, no, I don\'t think that is a good strategy (laughter) to grow our economy. (Applause.)

Not cool and definitely does not reflect the intelligence and thoughtfulness that has put him in the White House. He made a mockery of it which not only was disrespectful and dismissive to the thousands of families suffering from a loved one imprisoned for a victimless non violent crime but also to those actually in prison. The United States has become a support system for the prison industry through cannabis prohibition, jailing people who in many cases had never had so much as a traffic ticket.

Where is the justice there? Where is the REAL CRIME?

What is so ironic and what angers me more than anything about President Obama\'s attitude towards the marijuana legalization or decriminalization issue is that he admitted to using marijuana frequently as a young man and even admitted to cocaine use. So we have someone who is INTIMATELY aware of the issue, who has used it regularly himself, knows that nearly half of all Americans have done the same and he makes a joke out of it while we have arrested nearly 370,000 people so far this year JUST for cannabis possession. (See the Drug Sense War Clock in the sidebar.) We have 5% of the world\'s population and incarcerate 25% of its prisoners. Do you really think we can still call ourselves \"the land of the free\" anymore? We have more people in prison than China and we say they are oppressive.

So to cut to the chase, here\'s my question President Obama.

If you had been arrested for cannabis possession as a young man, or God forbid cocaine possession, Where would you be today?

You sure as hell wouldn\'t be President. You probably would not even have been able to attend Law School. Your life would be COMPLETELY different, just like those who are in prison now who were scientists, lawyers, doctors, business owners, musicians, teachers, etc.

Think about that the next time you are considering the marijuana legalization issue and try to visualize how many young men and women with similar inteligence and abilities or even greater are in prison for JUST THAT.
How many Carl Sagans, Richard Bransons, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Bob Marleys, Michael Phelps, Ted Turner, Montel Williams, Stephen King, etc. I could go on and on. I would say ALL of those people have had a positive impact on society, yet where would our society be if they had been arrested before they acheived their greatness?

Stop holding your finger up to ascertain the wind of popularity and do the right thing, President Obama. Be a statesman instead of a politician, stop thinking about re-election and think of the people who are suffering, think of the over 10,000 killed in the Drug War in Mexico, think of the health of the planet from growing hemp.

Repeal Cannabis Prohibition and free ALL of the non violent prisoners of the failed Drug War. Allow the farming of Industrial Hemp like every other industrialized nation and allow the growth of a naturally occurring plant that has been used safely for thousands of years with NOT ONE DEATH from its use.

To ALL of my followers I ask you to PLEASE pass this on so that it is seen by as many eyes as possible. I want to be able to look President Obama in the eye and ask the question and if they will not let me I want to see someone else ask it.

I want to know his answer, does anyone else? Ask yourself the same question.

Teahupoo