Search icon

News

20th Apr 2015

Obama: Marijuana is sometimes appropriate

POTUS head...

Nooruddean Choudry

In you didn’t know already, today is 4/20: International Day of Cannabis Freedom Day, and celebrating stoners have a surprising new ally – Barack Obama…

Speaking on CNN’s ‘Weed 3: The Marijuana Revolution’, the POTUS was frank about his views on medical cannabis:

“I’m on record as saying that not only do I think carefully prescribed medical use of marijuana may in fact be appropriate and we should follow the science as opposed to ideology on this issue,” said the President.

“I’m also on record as saying that the more we treat some of these issues related to drug abuse from a public health model and not just from an incarceration model, the better off we’re going to be.”

Obama has previously admitted to smoking cannabis in his youth, and feels that a pragmatic approach is required to the drug, rather than blanket criminalisation:

“We don’t want to encourage our kids to engage in drug use, but there are going to be more effective ways than, too often, the approach we’re taking today.”

4/20: International Day of Cannabis Freedom Day, or Weed Day, is celebrated each April 20 to salute reefer culture and the virtues of the versatile drug.