Obama: prohibition «no longer tenable» if all 5 US states legalize

In an interview with Bill Maher this weekend, Obama acknowledged that the federal ban on cannabis could begin to crumble if the 5 States Voting Today on Cannabis Legalization support this measure.

The clip in question begins around the 10-minute mark in the video at the bottom of the article. Here is the full translation of the clip:

«The good news is that after these referendums, to some extent, the question will have to be raised. Because if [the measure] passes in all these states, you’ll have one-fifth of the country following one law and four-fifths following another. The Department of Justice, the DEA, and the FBI—in order to figure out how they’re supposed to enforce the laws in some states but not in others—will have to restrict interstate drug trafficking—even though the entire Pacific Coast is where it’s legal. That won’t be sustainable. This isn’t something that will happen overnight. I think there are legitimate concerns about these issues, but it’s undeniable that right now, the biggest drug crisis we’re facing is with opioids, most of which are legal and are devastating entire communities across the country. »For us to be able to reflect on these problems and not view everything through a criminal lens, but rather from a public health perspective, I think that’s something that will have to happen.”.

Why didn’t he do it during his term in office? Most likely because Congress wasn’t on Obama’s side, and Obama knew the federal vote was a lost cause from the start. The vote on Obamacare—the new U.S. public healthcare system that provided broader access to care for 9 million Americans and access at all for 4% of the population—was a hard-fought but successful battle. Obama chose his battles wisely. If the five states pass their legalization measures, the pressure on state representatives will no longer be the same tomorrow.

November 8 will certainly be a pivotal day in cannabis law reform, not only for the United States but globally.

The irony, incidentally, isn’t far off. The United States started the war on cannabis—and on drugs in general—and exported it to the rest of the world. It will also be the United States that puts an end to this prohibition. The wall of prohibition won’t come down tonight, but it will likely crumble a little more.

Watch Obama's full interview with Bill Maher below.