Marijuana: Legalization vs Decriminalization

Here's a recent [12/15/08] Q & A copied from Obama's "change.gov" site/blog:

Q: "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

A: President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.

This discussion was closed, so I couldn't ask if P-EO would favor "decriminalization." The L and the D of marijuana are very different.

As suggested by the Q, L would entail many and various changes and accommodations while greatly assisting the federal budget. It would also be severely contentious.

D would entail far far less, and be far less politically explosive. It would only entail not penalizing persons for personal use and cultivation (for adults) -- period! And the justification seems obvious: it's called no harm, no foul in sports. John Stuart Mill referred to it in the context of his "Harm Principle." There is a moral standard here -- thou shalt not penalize anyone who acts in such a way as to bring harm or the possibility of harm upon no one but oneself. [The Eleventh Commandment??]

This would bring NO public outrage whatsoever! Sure, there would be some who think this would be a big step along the way toward legalization.

So be it!