ALJAZEERA: Michael Botticelli, the U.S. drug czar, said on Friday that he agrees Congress should not interfere with Washington D.C. voters’ decision to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults.
“As a resident of the District, I might not agree about legalization, but I do agree with our own ability to spend our own money the way that we want to do that,” Botticelli, the acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said during a meeting at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
Though he personally opposes to marijuana use, Botticelli’s statements are another signal of the increasing shift in drug policy politics. Historically, drug czars are uncompromising defenders of the war on drugs and vehemently opposed to legalization. The Obama administration, Botticelli noted on Friday, also supports the District’s ability to govern itself… (more)
