FierceUgly.com

Thanks for taking so much time to think it through, Mr. President.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Legalizing marijuana is not the kind of change President Barack Obama can believe in — at least not as a remedy for the ailing U.S. economy.

On Thursday, Obama tackled the issue head-on, only half-jokingly, at an online townhall meeting where he noted that the idea was a favourite among the 3.6 million people who voted on more than 100,000 questions submitted on the White House website.

“I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation,” he said to laughter at the White House event.

“And I don’t know what this says about the online audience,” Obama said, tongue-in-cheek. “This was a fairly popular question. We want to make sure that it was answered.”

“The answer is, no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy,” he said before moving back to a more sober discussion of unemployment and healthcare reform.

Full story here.

If I were Obama, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the legalization of marijuana. Were he to take more than five minutes to think this through, he might see it in a different light.

Let’s face it folks, people are gonna smoke weed whether it’s legal or not. It’s just a fact. Making marijuana consumption illegal has never stopped people from partaking, and that isn’t going to change.

Those who argue against the legalization of marijuana often cite the negative effects of the drug. Take into consideration, however, that the majority of “bad highs” come from joints that have been laced. The truth is that marijuana is much less detrimental to your overall health, and the safety of others, than the perfectly legal and acceptable alcoholic beverage.

If the government were to step up and legalize marijuana, it would be strictly regulated, drastically reducing the risk of getting a laced joint. Take a second and think about all of the jobs that would be created, as well–both white and blue collar.

Plants would be built, giving jobs to construction workers and ramping up business for construction supply companies. Those plants would need to be staffed, giving jobs to thousands of Americans laid off from factories. Farmers across the nation would have new crops to raise. These farms and plants would need to be managed. Besides that, think of all of the money the government would make from taxes.

When you take all this into consideration, legal ganja doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Perhaps the prez would change his mind if he sat back and toked a bit. It would certainly improve his fan base. Besides, if his governmental flunkies didn’t like it, he could always claim that he didn’t inhale. It worked for Bill.