Madison NORML

Obama's remarks contrast sharply with Republican candidate John McCain, who has vowed never to allow it, as well as Obama's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, who has publicly questioned whether cannabis has medicinal value and pushed for pharmaceuticalization of cannabis rather than allowing patients to choose to use whole herbal cannabis (see video below).

From the Medford OR Mail Tribune: click here click here March 23, 2008:

Q: A couple of other issues of interest to Oregonians involve initiatives passed by the voters that have come into conflict with the federal government: physician-assisted suicide and medical marijuana. Do you support those two concepts?

A: I am in favor of palliative medicine in circumstances where someone is terminally ill. ... I'm mindful of the legitimate interests of states to prevent a slide from palliative treatments into euthanasia. On the other hand, I think that the people of Oregon did a service for the country in recognizing that as the population gets older we've got to think about issues of end-of-life care. ...

As for medical marijuana ... I'm not familiar with all the details of the initiative that was passed, but I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's entirely appropriate. ...

I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue.

(snip)