White House Declined All E-petitions to Legalize and Regulate Marijuana

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the White House turned down all eight e-petitions to legalize and/or regulate marijuana, almost a week before deadline.

Backers had submitted more than 100,000 signatures to the Obama administration's "We the People" project. One of the petitions, to regulate marijuana like alcohol, vaulted it to the top spot among petitions the White House.

Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said Monday that research found that marijuana is associated with addiction, respiratory disease and cognitive impairment, and that it possibly affects still-developing brains of people in their 20s. He called the current drug-control strategy "balanced and comprehensive, emphasizing prevention and treatment" and "innovative law enforcement."

CADCA’s e-petition, the only drug prevention one on the “We the People” site, has garnered more than 2,000 signatures so far. The deadline is Friday. CADCA wants to thank everyone who signed and disseminated this e-petition.