Dude! High Times Snags Obama Interview ... Sorta

(NEWSER) - President Obama drew chuckles today for his comments about legalizing marijuana—it's not a "good strategy to grow the economy"—but critics say he was too dismissive of a serious issue. "His answer was a non-answer," writes Andrew Sullivan in his Daily Dish blog at the Atlantic. "I'm tired of having the prohibition issue treated as if it's trivial or a joke. It is neither. It is about freedom and it's deadly serious. As for your online audience, Mr. President, have you forgotten who got you elected?" More»

Goofy 'holiday' becomes touchstone for legalization advocates

(NEWSER) - Marijuana enthusiasts will toke up today in celebration of 420, the pot holiday that corresponds to the code for pot consumption across the nation, the Monitor reports. The term 420 was hatched in 1971 by a dozen high school pot smokers who used to meet at 4:20 in the afternoon to light up. “This has gone from a goofy cultural phenomenon to the conveyance of this cultural message,” says Allen St. Pierre, head of pro-decriminalization group NORML. More»

(NEWSER) - The government is pushing “false information” about pot, medical-marijuana advocates pushing for updated policy told a federal appeals panel yesterday. Citing a federal law that prohibits the government from spreading inaccurate information, they say there’s overwhelming evidence marijuana eases pain and anxiety among chronically ill patients, the Los Angeles Times reports. The government’s official line is that pot “has no currently acceptable medical use.” More»

Rocker advises tax revenue go to education

(NEWSER) - Carlos Santana has a request for President Obama: Legalize pot. The musician says legalization is “really way overdue” and compares the current state of affairs it to Prohibition, the AP reports. His idea for the tax revenue? “Take all that money and invest it in teachers and in education. You will see a transformation in America.” Specifically, Santana wants California to profit enough from legalization to send Arnold Schwarzenegger packing. More»

Costly US drug policy deserves serious look, not politics as usual

(NEWSER) - When President Obama dismissed a question recently about the legalization of marijuana, he was “taking the traditional path of least resistance,” writes Joe Klein in Time. In America, anyone who dares to speak seriously about the issue will “be cast into the outer darkness,” assumed forever to be a stoner. But the irrational policy needs to change, Klein says, for reasons “of economy and simple justice.” More»