This is excellent. Thank you for posting it here. I really hope these campaign promises are kept. Will there be an opportunity to ask Attorney General-designate Eric Holder these questions at his confirmation hearings? Which Judiciary Committee member might ask them?

Barney Franks resolution to legalize, or decriminalize pot will probably be our first real insight into how this admin. is going to react unless Obama’s DOJ and DEA are told to stop prosecuting Medical MJ users and Supplers that are following their state laws. He should also commute the sentences those in Prison for those dubious crimes.

As an Illinois State Senator Obama twice voted for Agricultural Hemp bills.

It wouldn’t take new laws to allow our farmers to exploit this versatile plant, as current law has provision for licensing.

As much as I would welcome a sane marijuana policy, relaxing the current draconian laws would be deemed (a) too controversial with (b) too little payback for Obama to venture any of his political capital doing so.

If Congress passed reform legislation, Obama might sign it but let’s face it, you can count the number of legislators with sufficient levels of intelligence, integrity, and courage to do so on the fingers of one hand.

Obama won’t maker any high profile speeches on drug policy, but it’s not unrealistic to expect some quiet progress around the edges.

Administratively, this might include….

Directing HHS to proceed on evaluating the scientific basis for marijuana’s Schedule I status under Jon Gettman’s rescheduling petition

Issuance of hemp licenses

Leaving more midsize grow and dealing cases in the State courts, where draconian federal mandatory sentences don’t apply

Changing the way we approach marijuana could save money, raise money and stop jailing people for no reason. The US Drug laws are stupid and enforcing them is stupid

for crying out loud even Rick Steves smokes pot!

I would ask:

Why not move the classification, at the Federal level, to the lowest level rather than the highest (which states that a drug has no merit medically, or otherwise)?

Why not stop federal/DEA harassment of medical marijuana users in states that have adopted such laws?

Why not, in fact, let individual states decide what their marijuana laws will be, anfd have the Feds stay out if states decriminalize or in some manner leaglize? And, if it seems wise to the Congress, retain laws that make it a crime to furnish marijuana to anyone under the age of 21 or possess or grow over a certain amount, or even make it illegal to sell cannabis?