(SALEM, Ore.) - I am not surprised that the number one thing Americans are asking President-elect Barack Obama is whether or not he is going to legalize marijuana. Generations are changing and evolving and the taboos around cannabis are slowly falling away.
American industries can harness the power of this multi-billion dollar, still mostly black market business. The attitude of people in this country is in a mode of great anticipation and change. Barack Obama is already on the record saying he does not want to use the Justice Department to bust state operated medical marijuana dispensaries.
People submitting questions in this Online event seem to identify the legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana overall, as a top priority.
I included the top ten and a link to the page that allows you to see all of the other questions that people seek to have answered by Barack Obama.
Other hot topics are Wall Street, Stem Cell Research, and for a lack of better terms, retribution against the Bush Administration for things like illegal wiretapping and the authorization of torture.
Since its launch Wednesday, the "Open for Questions" tool processed over 600,000 votes from more than 10,000 people on more than 7,300 questions.
Voting came to a close Friday, December 12th, at 12:00 AM Eastern Time, so that the team can prepare answers to some of the most popular questions.
Pilot projects like "Open for Questions" depend on feedback from users to better understand how to make participation intuitive and productive.
Obama's team stated, "Participation in Open for Questions outpaced our expectations, and we're looking forward to rolling it out again next week. We're tremendously excited about the promise of tools like this that offer Americans a level of access that has historically been hard to come by."
By voting questions up, users have been able to convey to the team which major issues -- including the auto industry, health care, ethical standards, and others -- are the most important to this community.
As one of the only essentially mainstream news organizations Online that covers legal medical marijuana seriously, Salem-News.com has earned a worldwide and national reputation as the only Website that offers an experienced doctor who is an expert on the subject, for question and answer interviews based on visitor's questions.
Dr. Phillip Leveque is a World War Two veteran and his education, background and experience in multiple specialties, places him among the most qualified doctors in the nation. He writes from the perspective of an Osteopath, Pharmacologist and Toxicologist.
I am glad to see the value of this natural herb gaining acceptance for its potential value as a legal and taxable commodity, and we do not consider this as any kind of an underground or taboo subject when we report about it. Medical marijuana is legal in Oregon and many other places, and the patients have very few places to turn. We are glad to fill that void.
Over the next few days, some of the most popular questions selected by the Change.gov community will be answered by the Transition team, and their responses will be posted on their site.
The Questions Americans are Asking Barack Obama
Currently in the lead: "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
Second place question: "What will you do as President to restore the Constitutional protections that have been subverted by the Bush Administration and how will you ensure that our system of checks and balances is renewed?"
- Kari, Seattle
Third place question: "What will you do to establish transparency and safeguards against waste with the rest of the Wall Street bailout money?"
- Diane, New Jersey
Sixth place question: "Will you lift the ban on Stem Cell research in your first 100 days in office?"
- James_M, Nashville, TN
Fifth place question: "What will you do to promote science and mathematics education to Elementary and Middle School students?"
- JasonWyatt, Raleigh, NC
Sixth place question: "Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor - ideally Patrick Fitzgerald - to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"
- Bob Fertik, New York City
Seventh place question: "13 states have compassionate use programs for medial Marijuana, yet the federal gov't continues to prosecute sick and dying people. Isn't it time for the federal gov't to step out of the way and let doctors and families decide what is appropriate?"
- Greg, Minnesota
Eighth place question: "What do you plan to do to our food industry to make it more sustainable? Will there be changes to our farming policies?"
- Jentry, Lincoln, NE
Ninth place question: "What will you do to end the use of mercenary forces (ie Blackwater) by our military?"
- Betsie, Mtn Home, AR
Tenth place question: "What will you do first to reduce pollution/waste and incentivize greener behavior across the country?"
- Diane, Boston, MA
To learn what others are asking Obama, visit the Website "Open for Questions" and read many more inquiries for President-elect Barack Obama. That Website can be found at: change.gov/page/content/20081211_openforquestions
Tim King Salem-News.com
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december122008/barack_cannabis_12-12-08.php
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