Prince Ea's song explains to Obama why he should end the war on cannabis

[Video Link] Tony Newman (director of media relations at the Drug Policy Alliance) says:

I love people who can educate and politicize in creative and entertaining ways. Prince Ea -- hip hop artist, activist and founder of Make SMART Cool -- shows us how it's done with his soon-to-be-released song "Smoking Weed With The President."

This epic 8-minute song is both a history lesson and an advocacy tool that will make you laugh and expand your mind at the same time.

Prince Ea is releasing a lyrical version of the song on Indiegogo to raise money to shoot a music video to accompany the track. You can support Prince Ea's project -- and in doing so reach hundreds of thousands of people.

Smoking Weed with the President Campaign

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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http://storyspieler.net Roy Trumbull

This is a killer topic for any politician to take a position on. I suggest the budget for drug enforcement be pulled out from under the umbrella of a bigger bill and be voted on as a stand alone item. Then the who and how much will become visible once a year.
The same needs to happen in each state. I don’t much care about drugs but I do care that we’re going nowhere.
JProffitt71

Talk about fiscal responsibility. Legalizing and regulating cannabis would be an epic move for this country: think of the direct stimulation to the economy via the introduction of a new legitimate industry alone. I cannot see how any moderate (a large group of our country that the GOP has already turned away in favor of appealing to an angry fringe) would not vote for a man willing to do this. It would be an instant win.

We need this, I’ll vote for the man willing to do this.

Also, that was an amazing video, thank you Prince Ea.
- ocker3
  
  It’s very hard to reconcile the quite large numbers of people who respond to polls saying they support marijuana decriminalisation with the large numbers of people who vote for candidates who support harsher penalties for any kind of drug use.
  - EH
    
    Your latter scenario can be at least partially explained by the screws under which the law enforcement community puts candidates for office.
EH

Rather than be nasty, I’m just going to say this kind of thing doesn’t help.
- theophrastvs
  
  Whereas staying the current war on drugs is “helping”?
  
  As one that experienced Obama’s current drug Czar while he was still the chief of police in Seattle – i can tell ya, there will never be a sensible change in policy while Kerlikowske holds that office. (nice guy, but he was utterly sold on the ‘reefer madness’ madness)
  - Robert Becht
    
    Can you imagine the shit storm from the right if Obama came out for legalization? Drug policy needs reform but Obama has more important things to do and does not need the Republicans pointing and sputtering any more than they are.
    - Tynam
      
      I find it hard to imagine that Obama does have more important things to do. This one policy screwup destroys the lives of, literally, millions.
      
      Sane medical policy and sane drug policy are the two most important quality-of-lives issues that could possibly be addressed in the US, and he’s already taken his best shot at the first one.
    - https://launchpad.net/~googoleyes koanhead
      
      Sure, I guess *theoretically* the ‘right wing shitstorm against Obama’ (paraphrased) could get so much worse…
      Honestly, elements of the ‘right wing’ have been calling for ARMED INSURRECTION since even before the President was elected!
      In the last few weeks, official organs of the Republican Party have called for extra-legal actions against the President.
      
      Honestly, the President could do worse than to embrace cannabis legalization. He’s rhetorically embraced other controversial topics in the past- this is both how he won his Senate seat and how he won the Presidency.
      Had he ever attempted sincerely to make good on the promises involved, he’d be in a much more secure political position.
    - EH
      
      On what do you base that on besides your imagination? There are plenty of Republican stoners and the tax dollars would allow income and other taxes to be taken out of the spotlight. Maybe if alcoholic beverage companies and other legal vice-oriented companies were run solely by Democrats you might have a point. You’re nothing but Chicken Little here, not to mention the medical side of all this.
      
      What more important things does Obama have to do, avoid war with Iran? Yeah, that’s part of the scam.
      - Boundegar
        
        There are plenty of gay Republicans, too, both closeted and out. Doesn’t stop them from being the Party of Bash.
        
        Republican stoners are probably busy voting for harsher penalties, because it drives up the profits of dealers who contribute campaign dollars.
      - Antinous / Moderator
        
        Plenty? I think not. There are plenty of Republican stoners because there are plenty of redneck stoners. Gay rednecks, not so much.
      - teapot
        
        @Antinous_Moderator:disqus
        
        • Please observe all the other niceties such as not repeating yourself and remaining civil.
        
        ^Don’t make me flag you :)
  - EH
    
    No. Whereas this will be a cultural sponge for effort that should be expended politically. I think it will induce apathy on the topic and cause many people to accept Obama’s implications that he will do something “after he’s re-elected,” and not push for it to be a campaign topic.
    
    Everybody already knows why cannabis prohibition should end.
Tchoutoye

Barry betrayed the Choom Gang big time.
- Ipo
  
  I’d love it if some of them outed themselves.
  
  It would be so very interesting to see if some of those drugged out gangsters made their way, eventually becoming valuable, taxpaying members of society, continuing to strive to fulfil their hopes, dreams and aspirations, earned respect from their communities, lovingly raised their children.
  
  I’m being silly.
  Everybody knows, once the addictive gateway drug has infested the mind, there is no turning back.
  The marihu.. uhh marjihuwa… uh hemp flowers addicted criminals will forever be a drain on society, roam our streets while being brown, live in Mom’s basement, or in the best case scenario fill the industries need for inmates.
  Studies have proven that the use of hemp flowers by minors often leads to juvenile delinquency.
  Smoking weed is a gateway crime, thus proving how bad it is.
  
  I bet none of those Choom Gangsters has ever amounted to anything.
  Society should remove all their titles and degrees and lock them up retroactively.
vance_tam

I completely agree with the sentiments in the video. I doubt if Obama will do anything more than give another of his condescending chuckles and smile that “I got buckets of cash” smile and ignore it. The only change Obama was interested in was changing the person in the White House. I didn’t support the Republicans or the Democrats. They’re nothing bu two sets of parasites with different names.

It’s time for a new Declaration of Independence. The current American Government has strayed too far from the ideals set forth in Declaration of Independence MK1. It’s time for Declaration of Independence MK2, a document to create a new government that leaves the old government swinging in the breeze, nothing but a head swinging in the breeze.
- http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo
  
  The POTUS only gets two terms, right? Or is that just consecutive terms?
  
  Obama is just so good at making the right noises, it’s hard not to wish he really does have a soul.
  
  So I’m hoping against hope he’s been a bit of a rat in a few regards in order to maintain some sort of credibility to the off-colour end of the spectrum, and then after the election, BAM!
  
  It’s a lovely daydream… but unfortunately, I don’t think prohibition’s going anywhere while black cash powers the global economy (skip to 3:30).
V

Oops, misread it as ‘war on cannibals’.

Need more coffee….
teapot

Prine Ea is a pretty damn good rapper. Here’s a post about some of his other works including a track about the evolution of the brain and a clip of him spitting 100 bars in a row:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ERakmI5d0&feature=player_embedded

http://vimeo.com/3795738 (warning: contains some typical gangsta rap homophobic lyrics)
- http://disqus.com/Kimmoth/ Kimmo
  
  Nobody has to ‘make smart cool.’
  
  Smart is the only thing that has ever been cool; Prince EA here could be exhibit A.
  
  The task is to make dumb folks see it.
http://twitter.com/KnightNZ Steve Wells

Even if they believe it a good idea to legalize, what politican is going to have the balls to stand up and do something about it, largely for the lobbyist reasons that Ea mention.

The guy in the glasses to Ea’s right looks like he’s baked out of his gourd. It’ll be good if this gets some traction – the senate, congress etc will probably make sure it doesn’t less it chip their paycheques.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=622911941 Chris Meacock

Want thing that pisses me off about legalization campaigns is the pot never killed anybody claim. It clearly can cause a host of fatal/chronic diseases from emphysema to lung cancer. Read up about the fate of many 70′s reggae singers! You have to campaign with the truth.
- Hamish Leckie
  
  What is wrong with you? You have ZERO knowledge. Cannabis saved my life, being born with an uncontrollable disorder that I could not live with. I have studied the effects of cannabis for the past 6 years and am an 18 year veteran as far as usage goes. I’m healthy today and I have cannabis to thank. Alcoholism has granted many close calls as far as death is concerned in my life and without cannabis those close calls would have kept occurring until “close” no longer was valid.
  
  Wake up and have another listen to this video and maybe study a bit yourself. There has never been a single death directly related to cannabis and that is fact.
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    What is wrong with you?
    
    Is that Troll for, “How dare you say something that doesn’t fit my narrative?” Sucking smoke into your lungs is going to cause some diseases in some people.