My Letter To President Barack Obama

March 31, 2009

The President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20500

Re: Canabis Law Reform Is Not A Joke


Dear Mr. President,

I am one of the millions of young Americans who felt inspired in a way we had never known before when you stepped onto the national stage. I was loud and proud with my support for you, making calls to voters all over the country and encouraging my family and friends to lend their support to your movement. Therefore, I hope you can appreciate how insulted and disappointed I was by some of your actions and comments at the recent Town Hall event.

You see, I am also one of the tens of millions of Americans who believe that cannabis should be legally regulated like alcohol. I understand that you may oppose this position, but that is no reason to deride this issue.

According to your administration, there is an unprecedented level of violence occurring at the Mexico/US border much of which is allegedly caused by the trafficking of marijuana to the United States by drug cartels. America's stringent enforcement of marijuana prohibition, which artificially inflates black market marijuana prices and ensures that only criminal enterprises will be involved in the production and sale of this commodity, is helping to fuel this violence. Is this really a subject to be laughed at?

Two recent polls indicate that a strong majority of regional voters support ending marijuana prohibition and treating the drug's sale, use, and distribution like alcohol. A February 2009 Zogby telephone poll reported that nearly six out of ten of voters on the west coast think that cannabis should be "taxed and legally regulated like alcohol and cigarettes." A justreleased California Field Poll reports similar results, finding that 58 percent of statewide votes believe that regulations for cannabis should be the same or less strict than those for alcohol.

Why do you choose to laugh at these people? Why do you choose to laugh at me?

The American public is ready and willing to engage in a serious and objective political debate regarding the merits of legalizing the use of cannabis by adults. The time for joking is over.

Please consider apologizing for your dismissive tone, and please consider treating those of us who believe that there are viable alternatives to marijuana prohibition with the respect we deserve.

Sincerely,



Jennifer M. Jeffrey