RTFA: http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/open_for_question…

Q: “Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?” S. Man, Denton

A: President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.

Booooo!

Terrible show. This question was far and away the most supported question submitted to change.gov, and it received the least substantive response from Obama. A little explanation would have been nice.

Granted, there are all sorts of political reasons to dodge the question, but it’s really disappointing that we can’t have a reasoned discussion about this topic. At least provide a reason why legalization isn’t supported. Did he miss the part about creating jobs and boosting the economy?

Oh – I forgot the part about the prison industry being a growth sector of the economy… woo-freaking-hoo… That will create useful jobs!

Anyway, with an attitude like that, it sounds like we’re up for more of the same… which amounts to little more than authoritarian thuggery.

As someone pointed out on reddit, Dr. Ron “The Last American” Paul has a few choice positions on the topic:

Paul favors the use of marijuana as a medical option. He was cosponsor of H.R. 2592, the States’ Rights to Medical Marijuana Act.[225][226] He opposes federal prohibition of this option in states such as California under Proposition 215.

Paul has joined prominent liberal Democrats in urging that states be allowed to permit farmers to grow industrial hemp, which currently is defined as a controlled substance.[211] He contends that this would help North Dakota and other agriculture states, where farmers have requested the ability to farm hemp for years.[211]

In 2005 and 2007 he introduced the Industrial Hemp Farming Act “to amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, and for other purposes”[227]; it currently has eleven cosponsors. This bill would give the states the power to regulate farming of hemp. The measure would be a first since the national prohibition of industrial hemp farming in the United States. The Economist wrote that his support for hemp farming could appeal to farmers in Iowa.[228]

Pretty sad, really…