# Obama boost NORML's revenue



## NorCalHal (Mar 28, 2009)

*WASHINGTON (CNN) * Marijuana backers aren't laughing about President Obama's flippant dismissal of a pot-related question during Thursday's online town hall meeting  and the country's leading marijuana advocacy group, The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has seen its donations quadruple over the last 24 hours.
Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of NORML, told CNN "our donation boxes started to flood" after *Obama laughed off a Web question* about whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation. St. Pierre said traffic to the group's Web site has "increased precipitously" since Thursday.
"About half of the donation comments have a reference to Mr. Obama's comments," St. Pierre said. "As far as I'm concerned, he could show up every single day and rag on marijuana."
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Admittedly, the group isn't a fundraising juggernaut: NORML averages about $900 in donations daily, a total that jumped to $3,500 in the 24 hours since Obama joked about pot at the town hall.
But St. Pierre said the anger among marijuana legalization advocates is real.
"Many of them were profoundly disappointed because many of them with great enthusiasm supported Obama from the point of his announcement to when he became president," he said.

St. Pierre acknowledged that marijuana legalization is "by no means at the top of national concerns" like two wars and a troubled economy. However, he said the online question was a serious one, arguing that marijuana legalization would help law enforcement officials cut costs. He also said a legal marijuana industry, like tobacco and alcohol, would create billions in tax revenue for the government.
St. Pierre believes the president and his attorney general, Eric Holder, will be friendlier to marijuana advocates than the previous administration, but he said he knows the topic remains "political dynamite" for any elected official.
"Obama does not want to be dragged down and become the point of cultural jokes and cultural digs because he is giving deference to a subject matter to that this date has been thought of as less than serious," he said of the president's town hall answer. "However, I think what he is probably going to find out, through his handlers, is that he really, really disappointed people in a way that he maybe has never done as politician."


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## JBonez (Mar 28, 2009)

bastage, should have at least told us why, Obama is really starting to be the pres i didnt want, sheesh


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## marcnh (Mar 28, 2009)

Hahaha.  I hope the money keeps _rollin_ in for them!


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## NorCalHal (Mar 28, 2009)

Keep your hopes up. 
Just think, if it was McClown up there, he would have had all the folks who posed MJ questions arrested and investigated. It could be worse.


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## blondeboy (Mar 28, 2009)

I think it would be really enlightening for someone to collect real statistics from respectable medical journals and post their research and findings on marijuana to the Whitehouse web sight.  How is fair that rich people can legally dope on their prescription drugs, but it&#8217;s illegal for the poor for using their form of pain relief, marijuana?


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## cubby (Mar 28, 2009)

NorCalHal said:
			
		

> Keep your hopes up.
> Just think, if it was McClown up there, he would have had all the folks who posed MJ questions arrested and investigated. It could be worse.


 

   I'd rather be stabber in the chest than the back...:rant:


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## viper1951 (Mar 28, 2009)

what I can't see is  alcohol is legal, and kills thousands every week from drunk drivers , who when drunk have to drive at 100 miles an hour  before they pass out . now here is pot the biggest problem with someone stoned is getting them to at least go the speed limit  instead of 15 miles an hour  in the slow lane  , and who has never killed anyone ,who is the worst to arrest a drunk or a stoner 
the drunk is of course , the stonier goes quietly as the drunk wants to fight   but yet alcohol is legal  of course it's only for the rich   as who could afford setting in a tavern all day at 6.00 a drink  damn sure not us poor people 
yet what we do is illegal just because we are not rich , sure maybe pot can be bad for you   but is alcohol any better ?who has the highest death rate   once again it alcohol . I would rather set and listen to a bunch of stoners talking then set and listen to 1 drunk blubbering . they have to face facts . how deadly is war ? isn't it bad for your health? but yet they want us to go fight every time a rich person has a disagreement with someone in another country ,young kids die and this is ok with society . but smoking pot is the worst crime in the world , I have to say this   this is one screwed up world !


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## SPEARCHUCKER (Mar 28, 2009)

> St. Pierre acknowledged that marijuana legalization is "by no means at the top of national concerns"



Thats what Ive been saying. I kind of thought it was  bad timing for the question with so much else happening.

But glad they are getting the national attention.

Like with alcohol. Its not a winnable war for them. Those same types that were so negative with alcohol back in the day, are the ones enjoying it most now. No difference here. History always repeats itself.


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## HydroManiac (Mar 28, 2009)

I think if NORML refraised the question into Legalization of Hemp The Ball wouldnt have been Dropped in Obamas court Just my 2 Cents


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## The Effen Gee (Mar 28, 2009)

Fine. Keep it illegal.

I make more money that way anyways. Guess you don't want any of it.

Any idiot can tell you that prohibition costs do not outweigh legalization and taxation costs. 

Plus, like the ATF, there will be enforcement of the rules, whatever they might be...

So, keep it on the "Black Market". I could care less anyways anymore...


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## nvthis (Mar 28, 2009)

Actually, some of the comments make total sense. I mean how would you have history read it? Our grandchildren's grandchildren would probably see it like this:

"Barack Obama was elected President in 2008. History was made as he was America's first Afro-American president. You know what he did? As soon as Obama received his place in office, that ganster legalized marijuana. He will always be remembered as the dopest Prez ever."

The marijuana ball is rolling. Be happy for that. I think in Obama's case we might be a little more patient. If I were being optimistic I might suggest that no one would realistically want their presidential legacy to read like that either, but perhaps a year or two in might be a little more appropriate to address such issues. Anything can happen at this point.

Frankly, I do have my doubts.

And no, I most certainly did not vote obama.


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## Marsrover1 (Mar 28, 2009)

Look at the big agenda yall, they dont want to make it leagal. theres more profit for them to arrest u fine you make u pay court costs, pay laywer fees bribe judges. pay your parol fees, get violated on your parole, pay more fines get out on work release , pay 1/2 your wages for the right of work release, it goes on and on, we will never see legsalization not for awhile anyway, not till a full blown smoker gets to power


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## HydroManiac (Mar 28, 2009)

*do I Hear Slave Labor D:*


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## Marsrover1 (Mar 29, 2009)

America is about the ALMIGHTY dollar, theres to much corruption in the fed gov, like i read on a post "our gov is the biggest drug dealer out there" if they legalize mj thats a big chunk of under the table $$ for the lobbyest and the mob behind them,congress, the house of rep's there all getting rich off drugs legal or not. not to mention my post up yonder a bit, then we get into the corts and legal sys tons of $$ to be had there keeping mj illegal. why do yall think its been ill for so dang long? when every one from a toddler to an old fart in a home knows its all pointless...
the state of the economy isnt crap to them rich arse buracrats, we the peeps suffer, were expendable and to be frank wotrthless to them..except our taxes, jail fees and there under the table drug $$..if u never hear from me again it means i know to much and am prob sleeping with the fishes


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## Marsrover1 (Mar 29, 2009)

while were on the subject of corruption in the gov lets take a look at the cancer industry. we have cured cancer yall theres just to much $$ keeping it around.. just think for 1 sec what would happen to the health industry if cancer were cured. insurance co. would fall, countless dr.s and tech specalist would be out of work, pharmasys,drug co.,the guys that make the kemo radiation riggs would be if not out of work ther sales alot lower

i say we all pich in buy an island declare it the free state of Marry & Jane...:yay:

im srry gang i get carried away some times please forgive me


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## Wiseguy_Chef (Mar 29, 2009)

well the reason pot was illeagle was that the best stuff use to come from south of the border. there was an old saying.....only the white man can profitt from pain...Cigs,alc, ya know....well back then the best stuff came from brown countys so no way they would even think of letting mexico or other souther countys sell there best cash crop an makeing billions, hell trillions of dollors. one of the main reason cocain will never be leage wich i agree with. you can't grow the stuff here, only grows down there high in the moutins of rainforests. they i mean (usa) will let the cocain mecas of the world become powerfull. but cocain ant to good of a drug. affective at makeing u lose wight lol but the high ant all that, ant nothing like smoking a bowl.  
now that we can grow it here in the good old usa, there is no reason to be blocking this. u gotta think philip morris probley has dossen of where houses sett up all ready for growing pot once is leagle.  an i say pain cuz regradless how u look at it, inless u vape eveytime u are causing damage to the lung tussie. not nearly close to what cig's do but there is still some damage.
and the island idea is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Shockeclipse (Mar 29, 2009)

Major tobbacco company's have had mj brand products trademarked a long time ago.  They are just waiting.  And in my opinion, the fines we pay and such when one of us gets busted is nowhere near the tax benfits, not to mention i am sure this would open us up for hemp production which is a billion dollar industry.  People can grow it yes, most people do not have patience for that.  People will buy it, pay the taxes, and thats that.  I am in full support of legalizng and taxing it.


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## Wiseguy_Chef (Mar 30, 2009)

yup. its very easy. in fact super easy to brew your own beer. but all most no one does it. an just cuz u thow a seed in the ground don't mean u will grow some bomb *** chronic. an besides growing it self would genarate reavnew as well as people need to BUY products to grow the weed. eveyone would win. electrice companys would love it.


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## bombbudpuffa (Mar 30, 2009)

Lol...come on, you guys didn't seriously expect him to say..."I'm going to legalize it tomorrow!" He's the first black pres and i'm sure legalizing drugs is the last thing he wants to do with all the criticism he already gets..only a few months into his presidency. I'm just hoping for decrim myself.


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## Shockeclipse (Mar 30, 2009)

bombbudpuffa said:
			
		

> Lol...come on, you guys didn't seriously expect him to say..."I'm going to legalize it tomorrow!" He's the first black pres and i'm sure legalizing drugs is the last thing he wants to do with all the criticism he already gets..only a few months into his presidency. I'm just hoping for decrim myself.


In a perfect world he wouldn't care what people thought about him as long as he runs our nation correctly and makes to right decision.  He already won the popularity contest and got himself elected,  FDR ended prohibition which helped us out of thw great depression among other things.  Just step up and do THE RIGHT THING, who cares what people think


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## nvthis (Mar 30, 2009)

Shockeclipse said:
			
		

> he wouldn't care what people thought about him


 
lol, _that_ was our last President.


Edit: Sorry, this is starting to sound very political. I hereby excuse myself from this thread in order to avoid any eminate brow beatings from the big guy.


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## Marsrover1 (Mar 30, 2009)

LMAO agreed


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## Shockeclipse (Mar 30, 2009)

I see what your saying but the topic of legalization is in itself, largely political.  This isn't one of those "this guy is better than that guy" debates/arguments.  I am so sick of people skirting around the subject because of their "future career", it makes me sick.  But hey, land of the free right?  I just get so up in arms about this topic because to me it makes so much sense......


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## Bowl Destroyer (Mar 30, 2009)

God, we [the stoners] are so dumb!


dude....can marijuana help the economy?




WHERE'S BARRY COOPER HE'S OUR MOST IMPORTANT STONER


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