Obama: Marijuana 'not very different' from cigarettes

Washington Examiner ^ | January 19, 2014 | Brian Hughes

[gusopol3]

President Obama in an interview released Sunday said that using marijuana was not that different from smoking cigarettes nor any more dangerous than drinking alcohol.

“As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life,” Obama said as part of an extensive profile published by the New Yorker on Sunday. “I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol.”

[Proud2BeRight]

Obama can be a poster child for why it is called “DOPE”.

[caveat emptor]

What kind of cigarettes was he smoking?

Maybe he never gave up MJ and thinks that's the normal mental state.

[gusopol3]

Now we know what the acronym POTus stands for.

[Rusty0604]

I always wondered why, in SF, you can freely walk the streets and parks smoking pot, but if you smoke tobacco that is a no-no.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Neither are cocaine or heroin, are they Barry?

[Beowulf9]

I thought it was an addictive gate-way drug? That’s what they’ve been telling us for the last 50 years isn’t it?

[ClearBlueSky]

DO TELL! Ok- lets go with that( it’s a lie, but what the hell). Pot is no different than tobacco- and we know tobacco is BAD for you, and we will prevent you from smoking it in public, in the open, in your home! We want what’s best for you so you will be taxed and hounded if you dare smoke tobacco....OR POT! Isn’t that how it’s going to work- or does the government only care about the health of tobacco smokers? Do they want pot smokers to DIE???

[Usagi_yo]

That’s no different than an alcoholic drinking while at work. Same crime, Same shame.

Responsible people just aren’t going to get high before or at work. Just like responsible people don’t get drunk or drink while at work.

Think about this ... It’s just like responsible people not running out and amassing personal armories and then going out and killing a bunch of school kids.

[Texas Songwriter]

When someone smokes marijuna it alters their consciousness such that when you are driving a car down the road you see 4 sets of headlights coming at them. You do not know which set to dodge. If your child is in a car coming at that ‘smoker’ do you want a 3,000 pound car hurtling at them? Smoking tobacco does not do this. Both will cause emphysema, vascular disease, cancer, etc. It is best to avoid both….well,……yea.

[gusopol3]

Responsible people continue to test positive for pot weeks after their last joint. Responsible employers have every reason not to hire them or to fire them.Irresponsible drinkers test negative for alcohol 12 hours after their last drink. Responsible employers have no grounds to fire them or to fail to hire them.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Who would know better than Barry. God knows there’s enough pics out there of him tokin on a J.

[Artie]

“Dr.Obama” is now obviously trying to position himself as the next head of the FDA

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks gusopol3, additional:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3113384/posts

[freekitty]

LOL

[Dutch Boy]

In addition, when he claimed pot and tobacco where nearly the same, is he saying that pot is addictive?

Obama is either unfamiliar with common English words or he is talking out of his a$$ once again.

[gusopol3]

I'm betting this will be very damaging with parents of all political persuasion ,the cig comment> alcohol. How are media spinning it so far ?

So far, news sites:

CNN : "no worse than alcohol" (headline); "not that different from cigarettes": (no mention)

MSNBC: No mention of either

NBC: "I wouldn't let son play football" ;vague reference to states banning marijuana

ABC: "no worse than alcohol"(headline); "not that different from cigarettes( in article);

CBS: same as ABC

Fox : same as ABC, CBS, but not on front page

NYT: no mention ( not sure how often they update)

Washington Post: same as NYT

AP : Nowheresville

[eastforker]

I forget which amendment is the pot amendment.

It is called Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. It doesn’t need an amendment

[gusopol3]

I agree, get back to your crack pipe.

[eastforker]

I do not smoke dope, I happen to have a good job that requires me to be drug free. That being said, a weed that grows wild in the woods should not be illegal.. Now then, once I retire in a couple of years I may just want to exercise my right to freedom and liberty without worry about going to jail.

[gusopol3]

It’ up to you, thanks for your civilized reply to my rather intemperate response. The thread was really not about legalization, however, but about obama’s comments.