DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: President Barack Obama is the most powerful former marijuana smoker in America. He’s never tried to conceal that, but he has generally laughed off the questions—and there have been many—about whether he’d legalize marijuana.
Only recently, with no more elections to fight for his party, has Obama started to tell interviewers that he wants softer treatment of a popular drug that shares Schedule I status with far deadlier substances like heroin and LSD. In an interview with Vice, after a semi-apologetic question from Shane Smith, Obama expressed optimism that marijuana could be reclassified.
“We may be able to make some progress on the decriminalization side,” said Obama. “At a certain point, if enough states end up decriminalizing, then Congress may then reschedule marijuana.”