Brad Pitt Commends Obama on Pot Stance
President Obama's recent comments about enforcing marijuana legislation drew support from Hollywood star Brad Pitt.
During an interview with Barbara Walters on ABC News, the president talked about holding back on prosecuting marijuana users in Colorado and Washington.
"We've got bigger fish to fry," Obama said during the interview broadcasted on Friday. "It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal."
Brad Pitt released a statement on Wednesday where the actor compliments the president's actions. His statement was reported by The Huffington Post: "President Obama should be commended for expressing the will of the people in Colorado and Washington. Our jails are overburdened with nonviolent drug users in this country, too often serving harsher sentences than violent criminals. This defies all common and economic sense. The President's statement reflects a saner and more sensible drug policy, and a step away from the decades long failed war on drugs."
Colorado and Washington State both voted to legalize pot for recreational use when it was put on the ballot in November. This puts both state laws at odds with federal guidelines on drug trafficking and narcotics usage. Lawsuits are being weighed by the Department of Justice that says the federal drug laws will continue to be enforced.
Pitt was joined by John Legend, Russell Simmons, Danny Glover and Eugene Jarecki who also released statements alongside his own.
Jarecki is the director of the award-winning documentary "The House I Live In" which looks into reforming the current drug laws. Pitt, Legend, Simmons and Glover are executive producers of the film.
"We need to shift the paradigm for the war on drugs away from the ideology of 'tough on crime' toward being 'smart on crime,'" Jarecki said in his own statement released on Wednesday. "This means a shift away from industrial mass incarceration of the nonviolent toward treatment, education, and rehabilitation."
