OBAMA REJECTS LEGALIZING POT

No Way To Boost Poor Economy

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

Yesterday, 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 health-care reform.

"Thank you for clearing that up," said Jared Bernstein,
Vice-President Joe Biden's chief economist, who was acting as moderator.

Many of the questioners suggested that regulating the marijuana
industry could yield large tax revenues.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was later asked whether
Obama, who admitted in his autobiography to experimenting with drugs
in his youth, was leaving some wiggle room on the issue.

"The president opposes the legalization of marijuana," Gibbs told
reporters, emphasizing his seriousness. "He doesn't think that's the
right plan for America."

As for where the new administration stood on medical marijuana, he
said to ask the Justice Department.

Gibbs suggested that marijuana advocates may have had a hand in
stacking the deck by mobilizing supporters to send in questions and
to go online and vote repeatedly for them.