QUAKERTOWN GRAD TO OBAMA: 'WHY NOT LEGALIZE POT?'

Question Was One of Many Regarding Legalizing Marijuana.

Barack Obama, meet Jeff Spicoli.

When the president opened his first Internet town hall Thursday, what
he got, amid questions about the economy, health care and education,
was a host of queries that could have come from Sean Penn's
pothead-philosopher in the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Several marijuana legalization questions, including a suggestion from
2007 Quakertown High School grad Ryan McLaughlin, ranked among the
most popular submitted to the White House Web site for the live "Open
for Questions" Webcast.

They got so much online support that Obama was forced to acknowledge
the budding interest in the topic.

"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. And I don't know what this says about the online
audienceA..." Obama said to smattering of laughs. "The answer is, no,
I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy."

The Web site allowed registered users to submit questions and cast
votes in support of others. McLaughlin's suggestion that legalized
marijuana could be heavily taxed and regulated ranked fourth in the
"budget" category behind three other marijuana legalization questions.

A 19-year-old student at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire,
McLaughlin was careful to note in his suggestion that he doesn't use
marijuana. He said he found out about the town hall through a
pro-Obama Facebook group.

"There are many students who use marijuana products," McLaughlin said
in a phone interview. "I was just thinking if there was a large amount
of a young population using marijuana, why not just make it legal and
tax as much as you can out of it? It could be a source of income for
us instead of our money going to drug cartels."

He said he was a little bummed Obama dismissed the idea so quickly,
but that he's still a supporter.

The questions didn't come completely out of left field.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced last week that federal
prosecutors will discontinue medical marijuana prosecutions in states
that allow the practice.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws was at
least partly responsible for the pot questions' popularity. It put out
a call Wednesday for members to submit and vote for the questions.

The group's president, Allen St. Pierre, said he doesn't think the
whole thing was a result of his group's effort, which was posted on
its Web site eight hours before the window closed for questions.

"Overall, the Net is very libertarian on this topic, and politicians
who open themselves up to the Internet will open themselves up to this
topic," St. Pierre said.

The group expressed its disappointment at Obama's "cynical rebuff" of
the questions.

Political consultant Mark Dion of Revolution Media Group in
Washington, D.C., said Internet town halls are especially vulnerable
to organized efforts to "stack the deck."

"People just need to be at a computer to have an impact," Dion said.
"A small group can make a lot of noise just by being organized."

What Student Said

"I am not a marijuana user, but I do believe that making marijuana
legal could provide some relief as to it could be heavily taxed and
regulated. Legalization of marijuana will also be a detriment to the
drug cartels in Latin America."

- -- Ryan McLaughlin, college student in Rindge, N.H., and a 2007
graduate of Quakertown High School