Ask Obama why
To: The President of the United States
Started by: Marijuana Policy Project
On March 26, President Obama addressed the nation in the first-ever online town hall event hosted by a sitting president. Topping the list of questions for President Obama was the idea of legalizing marijuana in order to help the struggling economy.
President Obama gave in-depth, thoughtful answers to every question except this one. Please use the form below to e-mail President Obama and ask for a real answer to this serious policy question.
Sign the Letter
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Darlene Davis
Garden City, MI
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
- Apr 23
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David Patterson
Laughlintown, PA
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
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"Dear President Obama,
I am writing you in hopes that you will consider introducing legislation to modernize our Cannabis laws. You cannot deny that this is a domestic issue the American public wishes to address, ranking right up there with the economy. It even has many fantastic tie-ins with the economy.
I would hope that you would create a commission to modernize our stance on cannabis. Much like the Schaefer Commission preceding it, I would hope the commission would take an objectionable look at cannabis as a fiber, food, medicine, and bio-fuel, taking into accounts all of the scientific knowledge that we have.
The fact is, Mr. President, cannabis is not an enemy of humans. Cannabis is an asset to humans. I truly believe cannabis seeds were the most prized possession of early man. Man certainly knew the benefits of cannabis thousands of years ago.
The cannabis seed has no psychoactive properties. It travels well and if properly stored, maintains viability for several years. Since the cannabis seed is one of the earths most perfect and nutritious food sources, early nomadic man certainly found this useful. Cannabis grows quickly allowing several crops in a growing season. Cannabis grows well in many areas not tolerated well by other crops. Requiring little to no fertilizer, cannabis is eco friendly. The roots of the cannabis plant aerate the soil and are fantastic for preventing soil erosion. Cannabis could be the savior of the earth’s hungry.
Cannabis fibers are the most fantastic natural long-fiber known to man. Known by most as hemp, cultivation of this plant helped clothe the world, providing the majority of the material for the rigging of sailing ships, including the maps, sails, ropes, and clothing. Canvas is made from cannabis. Anything in history that is described as canvas was made from hemp. The covered wagons that so bravely headed to the American West were covered in canvas made from hemp. Cannabis could clothe the worlds naked.
Cannabis fibers are the perfect fiber for creating the earth’s most demanding resource, paper. Cannabis is a renewable source for creating the finest paper known to man. Hemp paper does not yellow with age such as paper made with the modern wood-pulp process for making paper. Hemp can produce four times the amount of fiber on a plot of land planted for twenty years versus the same plot used to grow trees. Cannabis could package the world’s goods.
Cannabis’s rate of growth is second only to bamboo. Cannabis makes a fantastic source of bio-fuel. The plant grows with such ferocity and density, requiring very little fertilization. Hemp does not require rotation of crops. It is estimated that planting just 10% of American farmland could reduce our dependence on foreign oil by as much as half. A wonderful by-product of growing hemp in masse is the nutritious hemp seed that can be pressed for fantastic lubricating oil, or shelled for the nutritious hemp nut. Imagine growing food and energy on every farm in America.
The facts speak for themselves. Cannabis is the most fantastic plant to have ever been discovered on earth. Humans owe our success to cannabis. It grows freely. It is a gentle remedy for many ailments. A human could not die from ingesting too much cannabis.
During the late nineteenth century, every major pharmaceutical company in the world maintained cannabis as a drug that was available in both powdered form and as a tincture suspended in alcohol. Cannabis was the number one medicine during the nineteenth century, until aspirin displaced it in the late 1800’s.
Unlike alcohol, cannabis is nontoxic. Ingested, cannabis is well tolerated by humans. Cannabis is useful for treating a wide variety of ailments providing relief for: pain, insomnia, muscle spasms, stress, nausea, menstrual cramps, digestive conditions, depression, glaucoma and hundreds of other ailments. Cannabis is useful for stimulating appetite, particularly useful with cancer and AIDS patients who are weakened from their disease and regimen of heavy pharmaceuticals.
Cannabis could help save the world. We have turned our back on the most precious resource ever given to man. Cannabis is a gift from god. Cannabis is natures’ way of doing things man cannot. Man has tried to simulate her properties, by making synthetic fibers etc. The only thing man has succeeded in doing, is the perversion of nature, creating an eco-nightmare for future generations of the earth to clean up.
Have faith Mr. President. Please look into these facts for yourself. I highly suggest reading Jack Herer’s “The Emperor Wears No Clothes”. The facts about hemp are astounding. Look to hemp for the answer to our economy woes. The hemp industry will explode. You will be forever known as the man who helped the world see the light. Please Mr. President. Please!
It is the American family that will benefit from freeing hemp in America. Men and women currently in prison for possessing cannabis could be released and reunited with their families. Placing bread-winners back into the family unit will lighten the burden on families struggling to survive. American farmers will have a crop to grow that is competitive, resilient, and easy to grow and handle. American industry will gear up for processing this natural fiber once again employing thousands of workers. This time, the factories will be marrying the latest technology with a new product that is eco-friendly. No two factories will have to be the same, as hemp can be made into over 20,000 products.
Since cannabis is safe and non-toxic, there is no reason to regulate the personal production of it. To protect the public health, States could adopt non-smoking in public, policies similar to those already in place for tobacco. By allowing Americans to possess and grow cannabis for their personal use, you will be empowering millions of Americans with free healthcare. Individual states could pass laws concerning the age limit and quantities individuals are allowed to produce.
Regulation should be reserved for commercial producers of cannabis. Those wishing to bring a product to the market should be subject to the same regulation and oversight as alcohol producers are. Inspectors would be required for producers of medical grade cannabis as well as food grade hempseed. Producers of hempseed for animals such as wild bird seed could be exempt of inspections.
Please consider the benefits of allowing humans the freedom to grow cannabis, taking into account the independence an individual would gain being able to grow their own food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. The world would be a better place. The world would be much greener.
Thank you for considering making the Modernization of Cannabis Laws one of your top priorities as America has. You will be risking very little political capitol by enacting upon a subject dear to the hearts of most Americans.
Best Regards,
David Curtis Patterson
Married father of four" - Apr 22
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Geno Rossi
Henderson, NV
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
- Apr 22
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Jennifer Hall
Greeneville, TN
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
- Apr 21
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Ani L. Schwartz
Arroyo Seco, NM
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
- Apr 20
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Ronald Waxter
Berkeley Springs, WV
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
- "NO THE ONLINE AUDIENCE IS NO JOKE AND SHOULD NOT BE TREATED LIKE ONE STOP THE WASTE OF LIVES AND MONEY ON THIS WAR. "
- Apr 20
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Billie Wentzel
Hampton, IA
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
- "By legalizing Marijuana you would be doing the United States the biggest favor, it would get this economy back on track and if sold like cigerettes is would make BILLIONS of money for the U.S."
- Apr 20
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teresa desper
waynesboro, VA
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
- Apr 19
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Larry Walker
Fort Duchesne, UT
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
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"I'm writing today to urge your support for H.R. 5843, an “Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults,” which seeks to eliminate federal penalties for the possession and non-for-profit distribution of small amounts of cannabis.
Specifically, the bill would eliminate federal penalties prohibiting the personal use and possession of up to 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of marijuana, and for the not-for-profit transfers of up to one ounce of cannabis. This common sense change will ensure that adults who possess small quantities of cannabis for their own personal use will no longer be subject to arrest or prosecution, or the emotional, social, and financial hardships that follow.
Otherwise law-abiding citizens who use marijuana responsibly are not part of the crime problem, and we must stop treating them like criminals. In 2006, the last year for which national data is available, law enforcement arrested over 829,000 persons for marijuana violations – the highest annual total ever recorded. Of those arrested, approximately 90 percent were charged with minor marijuana possession only.
Seldom emphasized penalties associated with a minor marijuana conviction include probation and mandatory drug testing, loss of employment, loss of child custody, removal from subsidized housing, asset forfeiture, loss of student aid, loss of voting privileges, loss of adoption rights, and the loss of certain federal welfare benefits such as food stamps. Thousands of Americans suffer such sanctions every day – at a rate of one person every 38 seconds. Surely, our limited law enforcement resources would be better served targeting more serious and violent crimes.
On this latter point, most Americans agree. Marijuana decriminalization currently enjoys support from the majority of Americans. According to a CNN/Time Magazine poll, 76% of US citizens favor a fine over criminal penalties for the possession of marijuana. In fact, twelve states – representing one third of the population of the United States – have already enacted various forms of marijuana decriminalization, eliminating criminal sanctions for cannabis possession. Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are currently considering similar options.
Once again, I urge you to support the passage of H.R. 5843. It is a common sense approach that will refocus law enforcement resources on fighting violent and more serious crimes. Please support H.R. 5843 and stop arresting responsible adult marijuana consumers." - Apr 19
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James Porch
sandy, UT
- Sent letter to Barack Obama
- Apr 16
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