(illustration by DonkeyHotey)
From ThinkProgress.org:
President Barack Obama is expected to express his support for medical marijuana, and a drug policy that deviates from incarceration, in a CNN documentary to air on Sunday night.
In the television special, “Weed 3”, CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta will explore the politics of medical marijuana research. In an interview with Obama, Gupta probes the President about a bipartisan Senate bill that, if passed, will change marijuana’s classification from Schedule I — the most stringent category for regulating drugs — to Schedule II.
...
“You know, I think I’d have to take a look at the details, but I’m on record as saying that not only do I think carefully prescribed medical use of marijuana may in fact be appropriate and we should follow the science as opposed to ideology on this issue, but I’m also on record as saying that the more we treat some of these issues related to drug abuse from a public health model and not just from an incarceration model, the better off we’re going to be,” Obama reportedly says during his interview with Gupta.
(my bold)
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Back in August of 2013, the President's spokesperson, Josh Earnest, was asked if Sanjay Gupta's new-found support for medical marijuana might inspire Obama to call for new legislation. Earnest's response then was, "not at this point.".
So this is an encouraging development. I think it's kind of like the gay marriage issue, in as much as the President has to pretend to evolve on the issue, while in fact, he is merely waiting for the opportune time to act. Kudos all around!
Weed 3 airs tonight on CNN at 9pm EDT:
http://www.cnn.com/...