Obama's War On Weed: White House Launches Crackdown On Medical Marijuana Three years on, not a single Wall Street banker has been prosecuted after a financial crisis rooted in rampant fraud brought the global economy to its knees. President Obama's Department of Justice has more dangerous miscreants to worry about: medical marijuana shop owners.All this, despite Barrack Obama's campaign pledge that he would not target the sick people of the nation.
The DOJ has launched an assault on medical pot dispensaries, vowing to shut down establishments licensed and regulated by state and local governments, in a reversal of an earlier policy, based on an Obama campaign promise to leave the shops alone as long as they followed state law.
And while major corporations have managed to get their federal tax bills down to zero, the IRS has determined that pot clinics can't deduct salaries, rent, the cost of bud or other operating expenses on their tax returns. If a business can't deduct those expenses, its tax bill almost always winds up exceeding even its profits.
As the government continues it's War On Drugs and deals daily with the overspill violence of Mexico's drug wars we get a policy that guarantees that more profits will be made from the illicit drug trade... an illicit trade that the administration made even more deadly when they ran guns across the border into the hands of criminal gangs... A policy that nobody has yet to pay a price for. (Except some Border Patrol guys, but you know... support the troops and all that.)
I'm really hoping that this becomes a seriously reported issue during this election cycle. President Obama has a lot of answering to do, and he should be held to account for it.
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I'm really hoping that this becomes a seriously reported issue during this election cycle. President Obama has a lot of answering to do, and he should be held to account for it.
Naturally, I agree.
It will be interesting to see which parts of the media report on this. Ideologically driven publications that are against the drug war have been all over Obama since pretty much the beginning (Reason, Mother Jones, The Nation). National Review has also been critical, though I think mostly via bloggers and online columns. I don't have as much of a sense of the extent to which more "mainstream" outlets have covered it.
Of course, as for politicians, unless it's Ron Paul, the GOP nominee isn't going to attack Obama on medical marijuana.
Once again, I find myself thinking that there is an opening a mile wide for a good Libertarian candidate to really change the terms of debate. Gary Johnson could credibly run to the right of Romney or Gingrich on government spending and taxation, and to the left of Obama on civil liberties, foreign policy, and (especially) the drug war. He could break ou of the traditional "GOP spoiler" mode, and actually siphon votes off Obama, as well.
Like mine.
But after Badnarik and Barr, I zero faith in the national LP to recognize an opportunity and seize it competently.
the Libertarian party will always amount to nothing. if there is to be any pendulum swing toward individual liberties it will have to come from within the two parties who own the govt.
Gary Johnson was seriously considering a run this year. he thought Paul would stand down, but when Paul said he wouldnt, Johnson didnt have much of a base to work with. look for him next time.
and it might be a better time for him, too. after paul has had his fun, and primed the ground and planted some seeds, especially with the 20 somethings... a more moderate real world approach would be palatable.
Like I said before, if Paul really is about the message, at the GOP convention he should release his delegates, quit the GOP, and endorse Johnson. He doesn't have enough momentum to win, but he has a hell of a lot with a small (but significant) part of the people voting in GOP primaies. If he threw his organization and his fans behind a credible third party candidate, that candidate could do well.
I don't think waiting 4 years to do it will help.
Like I said before, if Paul really is about the message, at the GOP convention he should release his delegates, quit the GOP, and endorse Johnson.
Won't happen. He has no incentive to help Johnson. He does have incentive to help his son Rand, who wasn't ready to run in this cycle but who will be a factor for sure in 2016, should Obama win this time.
Isn't there an amazing amount of hypocrisy in that Obama, who confessed being a pothead in his books, is now cracking down on marijuana?
was vs is.
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