Subscribe
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE

In a lengthy article published Sunday (January 19), President Barack Obama offered a controversial stance on the use of marijuana. The president said that using the green leaf isn’t anymore dangerous than drinking alcohol, which adds new fuel to the legalization debate happening nationwide.

The New Yorker sat with President Obama in a piece detailing much of what stands ahead for the presidency in his final term. Of course the effectiveness of Obama has been debated, but it appears that he’s determined to not become a lame duck leader. But it was Obama’s answer to the ills of marijuana use that jutted out during a sweeping campaign among advocates for legalization of the narcotic.

From The New Yorker:

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. I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.

When asked to clarify, President Obama added that it’s less dangerous “in terms of its impact on the individual consumer. It’s not something I encourage, and I’ve told my daughters I think it’s a bad idea, a waste of time, not very healthy.”

Obama then pondered openly that while he is dismayed by the number of arrests made of pot users among the poor versus middle class persons, he argued the disparity is glaring. He also stated that there could be a push to legalize harder drugs and wondered where the cap would be for society.

What do you think of President Barack Obama’s stance on the dangers of pot? Does he have a point or is there something you disagree with? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: AFP