The War on Drugs has been a one way street for a long time, but in this past week we got some cross town traffic between Secretary Clinton and the President.
First, in an interview regarding the US’s evolving relationship with Mexico, Secretary Clinton was willing to clearly state that the ‘insatiable demand for drugs in America’ was partly responsible for the low/mid-level war the Mexican government is fighting with drug cartels just south of the border. Not only does the US provide the strongest demand, highest profits, and largest market for drugs, but as Clinton also explained, that most of the guns used by the Cartels come from north of the border. The House Republicans, parroted by Fox, immediately complained that the Secretary was following “the traditional liberal ‘blame America’ first policy”, but very few seemed to have noticed. However, the intellectual right, Ron Paul, Dan Larison, Andrew Sullivan, ect. All applauded her willingness to state the true and obvious. Dems mostly loved it.
But then not even 24 hours later, Obama himself made light of an earnest question regarding the folly of the drug war. (background: the Obama team promised to do an internet town hall, with questions submitted on the internet and voted on, top voted questions were to be answered by the president)
When asked the question,” Given the current economic situation, and the potential windfall in tax revenue, will you follow in FDR’s footsteps and end prohibition, this time on marijuana?” Obama laughed, and replied about ‘what type of people are on the internet, to ask such a question.’
As many of you may know, and if you don’t you should, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, by a WIDE margin. The vast majority of that population is there for a drug related offences, of which marijuana accounts for about 60% of cases. Furthermore, 80% of our prison population is either black or latino, even though blacks and latinos are 25% of the population, and are no more likely to be involved with drugs then whites.
This time the smart right and libertarian wing both took it as a personal slight to be laughed off, the Dems were disappointed, but not overly so. And Republicans saw no angel so said nothing.
The rub, is that I know Obama knows all this too, and I believe he might even agree with ending all out prohibition. In action not only, is his Secretary of State willing to openly admit where the real problem lies, his AG has put end to DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. (Though there seems to be some miscommunication on this point)
So What the Hell?!?!
The answer is as simple as it is obvious. He wants to pass healthcare this year. If he gives even the slightest wiff of being soft on ‘medical marijuana’ his healthcare agenda would be tarred and feathered with ‘no more premium medication, but free weed for all’ by every opponent. He’s not going to let the straw man go up. Hence the misdirected Drug War freighter between POTUS and SOS this week.
