March 17, 2008

Barack Obama’s Marijuana-Go-Round Explained: He Didn’t Know What “Decriminalization” Meant

Back in February, we tried to make sense of Barack Obama’s ever-changing position on decriminalizing marijuana:

In 2004, Barack was in favor of decriminalizing marijuana.

In 2007, Barack was not in favor of decriminalizing marijuana.

In 2008 — just this past Thursday, in fact — Barack was in favor of decriminalizing marijuana.

His campaign, forgetting all about the debate last fall, said Barack was always in favor of decriminalizing marijuana.

But then, “before the day was over,” Barack was not in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. Again.

If you don’t feel totally baked after trying to figure that out, Jeralyn at TalkLeft discovers the supposed truth (this time around, anyway):

Now he’s clear: he opposes decriminalization of marijuana.

What accounts for this latest switch? His campaign says he didn’t understand what decriminalization meant.

And Obama was a lawyer?

And the editor of the Harvard Law Review?

And a former pot smoker whose freedom rested on knowing whether or not weed had been “decriminalized”?

Gee, maybe he can use that as an excuse for his pot-smoking — he didn’t know it was illegal!

Jeralyn adds:

I think it’s a fair question to ask if he’s being disingenous now, first about raising his hand by mistake and now saying he was confused about what decriminalization means, or whether in 2004 he was engaging in a campaign ploy to attract the youth vote.

Hit the TalkLeft link for more, with some spirited (and often amusing) reader comments!

Posted by: Sapphocrat