Although marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado, Loretta Lynch is not willing to budge an inch on her stance on making it federally illegal. Lynch, who is Obama’s nominee for the next Attorney General, is absolutely against marijuana even though Obama said it is no more dangerous than alcohol, according to an article in The Washington Times.
“I think the president was speaking from his personal experience and personal opinion, neither of which I’m able to share, but I can tell you that not only do I not support the legalization of marijuana, it is not the position of the Department of Justice currently to support the legalization. Nor would it be the position should I become confirmed as attorney general,” said Lynch.
Before her response, President Obama interviewed with David Remnick and said that the drug was comparable to alcohol.
“As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life,” President Obama said.
For the states that have considered legalizing or already have legalized it, their headache won’t go away once Eric Holder leaves, as Lynch shares a very similar stance against marijuana. According to the Washington Times, some marijuana advocates feel that Lynch was just putting on a show in front of republicans just to make sure that she gets to be the next attorney general.
“Quite a few of my members were expressing concern and nervousness,” said Michael Elliott, executive director of the Colorado Marijuana Industry Group. “But I’m not sure we could have expected much more than we just heard. Even the president, who came out saying that marijuana is no more dangerous as alcohol, is also on the record as being against legalization.”
Mason Tvert, who was the backbone behind getting pot legalized in Colorado, argued that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol, just as President Obama said. “Fortunately, Lynch has been nominated for attorney general, not surgeon general,” Tvert said.
He said that he is hoping Lynch was just telling the lawmakers what they wanted to hear in order to make sure she got the job.
“It would be shocking if she is actually unaware that marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol,” Tvert said.
For now, it seems to be that the battle of recreational marijuana use will be continued, as Lynch appears to be firmly against it.
According to a recent YouTube interview with President Obama, there could be as many as 18 states where recreational marijuana is legal.
“At least 10 more states are considering legalizing marijuana in the next two years, and a recent report from a cannabis industry research firm projected that by 2020,” President Obama said.
Matt Summers &
Gabrielle Sharp