Inside Obama's war on weed

Does anybody still think criminalising drugs works? Alas, most people do, including Barack Obama. He was a dope user in his younger days, and when asked if he inhaled (Bill Clinton having said he didn't), responded: "I inhaled frequently. That was kind of the point." In America today, seventeen states say cannabis can be distributed for medical purposes. The Daily Beast has a fine report on what that means in practice.

Here's a flavour: "The reason for the recent enforcement actions has to do with the skyrocketing growth of dispensaries, said a former U.S. Justice Department official who spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity. 'We are responding to a very aggressive effort to expand the distribution of marijuana. By making it medicine, kids think it’s safe. Same as prescription drugs,' the official said. 'For the most part, all they’re doing is traffickers. They never prosecute anybody who isn’t a trafficker.'