Obama Talks On Marijuana Legalization, Says Substance Abuse Is Not Good For Kids Nor Society

In President Obama's first
public statement on
marijuana legalization, he
says the administration has
"bigger fish to fry."
In an interview with Barbra
Walter for ABC News that is
set to air Friday (Dec. 14), the
President discusses the
recent legalization of
marijuana in the states of
Washington and Colorado on
the November election ballot.
In an effort to legally sell and
tax the drug, both states are
building tension between
opposing federal drug
control laws.
While the Department of
Justice does not reserve the
power to prosecute small
narcotics cases, it is planning
to file a lawsuit against the
two states in an effort to
define parameters. But the
President does not put this
issue atop his list of
priorities.
"It would not make sense
for us to see a top priority as
going after recreational
users in states that have
determined that it's legal,"
he said.
While the issue is not
immediate for Obama, he did
state his recognition and
what needs to be done.
"I head up the executive
branch; we're supposed to
be carrying out laws,"
Obama said. "And so what
we're going to need to have
is a conversation about,
'How do you reconcile a
federal law that still says
marijuana is a federal
offense and state laws that
say that it's legal?'"
The President also briefly
discussed his past drug use,
which he chronicles in his
autobiography Dreams From
My Father.
"There are a bunch of things
I did that I regret when I
was a kid," he said to
Walters. "My attitude is,
substance abuse generally is
not good for our kids, not
good for our society."