We will be reading about the significance of President Barack Obama’s January 2014 quotes on marijuana — “I don’t think (pot) is more dangerous than alcohol,” he told the New Yorker — throughout the rest of his presidency.
In fact the impact of Obama’s comments will likely stretch beyond his presidency.
Part of the continuing conversation is the aftermath of Obama’s comments. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was asked to respond to them last week. And now Vice President Joe Biden is adding his two-cents.
“I think the idea of focusing significant resources on interdicting or convicting people for smoking marijuana is a waste of our resources,” Biden told Time magazine recently. “That’s different than (legalization). Our policy for our administration is still not legalization, and that is (and) continues to be our policy.”
Is that Biden’s not-so-subtle way of saying he’s pro-decriminalization but anti-legalization? It’s tough to say, but hopefully there will be more insight when Time prints more from its conversation with Biden in the coming days.