Carlos Santana wants Obama to legalize marijuana

Maybe he was inspired by the Las Vegas rock club where he will soon be setting up shop during a 6+ month residency, or maybe he was inspired by Barack Obama's answer to the most popular question posed by Americans to the president. In an interview with the Associated Press this week while promoting his upcoming run at The Joint, Carlos Santana was clear about his position about the legalization of marijuana, and took a shot at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger while he was at it.

"I really believe that as soon as we legalize and decriminalize marijuana we can actually afford a really good governor who won't keep taking money away from education and from teachers and send him back to Hollywood where he can do 'D' movies and we can get an 'A' governor," the multi-platinum, Grammy winning guitarist said.

Santana said he has a serious invitation for the new president: "Bring the brothers home, and sisters home now. Legalize marijuana and take all that money and invest it in teachers and in education. You will see a transformation in America."

Over 3 million people voted on questions to be asked to President Obama for the online town hall that took place last week. All of the most popular six questions of the Budget section were about marijuana and drug legalization. Unlike the other questions which Obama answered completely with reasons and examples to support his stance, many felt slighted by the way he answered the pot question.

"Three point five million people voted," Obama said. "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 -- (laughter) -- and job creation. And I don't know what this says about the online audience -- (laughter) -- but I just want -- I don't want people to think that -- 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 -- (laughter) -- to grow our economy."

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano disagrees. He recently proposed measure AB 390 that if passed claims that the legalization of marijuana would be worth billions to the state. Times staffer Eric Bailey wrote in February,  "by some estimates, California's pot crop is a $14-billion industry, putting it above vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion). If so, that could mean upward of $1 billion in tax revenue for the state each year."

Santana's Hard Rock Hotel and Casino residency in Sin City starts in late May and runs through 2010.

-- Tony Pierce

Comments

[Mark Montgomery]

Carlos is right, weed should be legal. Legalizing marijuana free hundreds of thousands from prison. A group of very serious policemen have formed a group to legalize ALL drugs, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (leap.cc) They see what happened when we legalized alcohol in 1932 as a good example of how drug legalization would work. We can't stop drugs. They're sick of chasing drug users and sending innocent people to prison for decades just because they like to get high. This foolish war on drugs has lasted 37 years and cost us over a TRILLION dollars and we are not an inch closer to stopping drugs. How many millions of Americans are we going to lock up in prison for decades? My brother, Spencer Montgomery III would still be alive if heroin had been legal. He overdosed because He didn't know the actual strength of the heroin he injected. If he could have bought a known amount of heroin in a pharmacy he would still be alive today. Legalize ALL drugs now. Mark Montgomery boboberg@nyc.rr.com

[Michael Vandeburg]

In my opinion marijuana is legal in America. That is why I wrote the book "Why Marijuana is Legal in America." Based upon one's permanent "rights and liabilities" created by U.S. Congress in the 1939 Statutes at Large. Do a search and read U.S.C. Title 26, Section 7851 (b)(1) of the current code. The current code still backs up what congress did in 1939.

To cut to the chase or short version is that Congress established the right to be an illegal user by paying a $100 transaction tax per ounce for an illegal user. All rights can still be claimed today. Claim it or lose it. The transfer tax was later abolished by the Supreme Court but you still have a right to be an illegal user, with no transfer tax.

Cannabis Hemp is the #1 biomass on planet earth.

Author Michael Vandeburg
www.outskirtspress.com/marijuana

See other controversial book, Social Security: The New American Slave.
www.outskirtspress.com/socialsecurity

michael@vandeburg.com

[Gry Noel]

The real major difference between Marijuana and other illegal, and some legal substances is that the other drugs are poisons and pot is not. Alcohol, tobacco, heroin, meth, and cocaine all have well known lethal doses, amounts which will kill if ingested. There is no known lethal dose for Marijuana. It may be that as a society, we have a right to control substances which are dangerous. I don't see how pot fits that description. Moving Marijuana from a schedule I drug to a schedule III drug is the right thing to do. Pot prohibition is politics left over from the Nixon administration, not science.

[Christian]

Isn't the "war on drugs" really "war on Americans?"

I don't know how the politicians, the police and DEA agents, etc... sleep at night! I can't imagine having to send people to prison, taken the property, and removing them from their children as being part of my job! How they stand there in the pictures showing their recent bust, it makes me sad, angry and confused!

They create the problems they say they are trying to prevent. Growing up I couldn't get a bottle of beer without investing hours standing outside a store asking someone to buy it for me, if anyone would, this didn’t work most of the time, but I could get pot in about 30 minutes most days. Criminals sell drugs to kids, but businesses don't tend to do such things, not even employees.

They have us in a pickle, you can't stand up for what you know is right, and what should be your choice, because of the possible consequences.

I think if everyone that believes it should be legal donated just $10 to one of the groups trying to legalize cannabis, such as MPP or Normal, it would be legal in a very short period of time.

I don't want my kids smoking while they are kids, if they ever do, but as my oldest is almost in high school, I know that he can find pot easier than I can. What a messed up system we have going here in America! The land of the free, free to lose everything, and spend years in prison if your caught with a plant, or a bag, or conspiring to purchase, etc...

I can't wait for the day, when everybody says, "enough is enough", no longer will we allow so many of our fellow Americans to be arrested, for something we know isn't as bad as drinking!

[Snailgoop]

I don't care for his remarks about Arnold but he's right about marijuana. We would be better off it it was legalized and it is an economic issue. However, concerning comments by Tom Ammiamo, if pot was legalized or decriminalized, prices would fall. It wouldn't be taxable to $14 billion but it would probably still be substantial.

[Nny Jthm]

Marijuana shouldnt be illegal to begin with. theres all this talk about gateway drugs, I just wanted to say, Im 18 recently out of highschool. I've seen more high school kids start drinking, then go to tougher stuff, I've seen kids do meth before they even tried Marijuana, myself I've never been drunk, or done any hard drugs. My personal opinion if Marijuana was legal then I really wouldnt have to worry about losing my life or money to a shady guy, or even arrested for smoking a joint(which most Americans I know smoke joints anyways), or even losing my job to a drug test.and I know papers are talking about making it legal for 21 and over, and Im 18, still cool with it. Pro legalization of marijuana. Take hempfest, Seattle. Young, old, and proud.

[greenferret]

Carlos is right. It's time to end the failed, destructive policy of marijuana prohibition.
Tell Obama and your elected representatives that marijuana should be legalized and taxed:

http://tinyurl.com/LegalizeTaxIt

[David Cromewell]

Marijuana should be legalized, and it better be done soon, because there is an American uprising going on this very moment, and the culmination will be harder to deal with than if the gov just headed off the whole deal and showed they have the sense to change such failed and taxing laws. Your punishing your own America, WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joseph A. Johnson]

It should definatly be legal by now. I mean not to be harsh or anything but arnt you sick of seeing all the breaking and enterings, not only that but it provides power for people that have it. It also kills people, especially if you snitch somebody out with a large quantity or somebody could just get killed for taking their territory. I mean come on people get real were at war in iraq, you think these boys risking their lives wanna see someone or people get killed over some marijuana. It would decrease the crime rate by far and all the thefts not only will it do that but it would make a safer environment for our future kids.

[Wags]

I don't have the answers but to pretend Marijuana doesn't have harmful effects is foolish. Our prisons are not filled with pot users who got caught smoking a joint. Most Police Dept don't even arrest anymore for smoking a joint. No one get sent away to prison for use anymore with diversion programs. Who is in Prison? Thugs, criminals who create mayhem and have been caught for about 10% of what they have done. So what has been the result of Police lightening up? More Lighting up! Think about it.

[rsil]

Any person who weighs the pros and cons who is educated on the matter would realize that cannabis being illegal is pointless and unnecessary. I mean, if alcohol is legal, it makes no sense that cannabis isn't. It's impossible to even overdose on it. American's should wake up and deal with this issue now, especially in the state of our economy and the problems with violence due to marijuana being illegal.

[Matt]

Yea, but what you guys aren't realizing is that for every responsible, job-keeping, tax-paying cannabis user, there are 10 worthless burnouts to make sure that we ALL look bad. Until we as a society and at the local level, as communities, ferret these worthless wastes of oxygen out and say "Hey. HEY. Cut it out! You're taking a good thing and twisting it into a bad thing.", I honestly don't believe the mainstream (and like it or not THAT is what matters) press or society will ever be able to take cannabis legalization seriousy.

[Free Bankroll]

Legalize Marijuana , the best thing to do !!

[kalsang dorje]

every laugh Mr.President poof goes anothor vote next election

remember that

[A.D.R]

Wake up...
How can Obama say that.. He is afraid that world wide popularity
might drop? other Governments ,Might frown upon this???...
Its easy to see that Millions of dollars have been spent just
on marijuana prohibition .. not to mention the Money in
the court systems and jail systems..no matter what they
fine ..won't ever come close to what they spend.. plus all
the man hours and our TAX payers Money..
then my argument always has been
Alcohol VS Marijuana
and weighing the +'S and -'s
of both... and Marijuana is always
far above and beyond the Winner~!!!
both for the Planet and Humanity~!!!

[haley]

you should make marijuana legal. alot of people like to smoke it to get high, i mean yeah that sounds bad but it's there life. marijuana is not as bad as people make it out too be. you know, i never heard of someone dieing from marijuana but i heard people dying from cigarette's and they are legal

[Architect Mason]

"Mr. Obama Legalize Cannabis or Face Civil War" Architect Mason

[Linda Kelly]

The war against marijuana is a contemptuous process that puts harmless people in jail where they do not belong for something that should be legal. How does marijuana endanger or harm anyone’s life, any more than alcohol, tobacco or toxins from vehicles and factories? Make sure to do research into why it was made illegal in the first place… it certainly was not for health. What must the citizens of the world do, who want the laws changed around this product? What is needed… letters, petitions, phone calls, court cases?

I hate to think our politicians are afraid of organized crime that wants our marijuana which is being exchanged for dangerous drugs. If this product is legalized, it takes it away from organized crime! If that is an erroneous thought, let me know why.

Do law-makers have any idea how beneficial these plants are to us, or are opinions based solely on the fact that “the law says it is illegal”? It used to be illegal for women to vote, and those laws got changed, but I hope I don’t have to go through what the suffragettes did to accomplish it. It is education, not prohibition, that will create the sensible use of this product.