TAMPA, Fla. -- When the president's Google Plus meeting got started on Monday, the commander-in-chief had time to answer questions about his dancing and singing abilities, how he'll spend his anniversary, and even what he thought about comedians making jokes about politicians. But what he didn't answer were any of the hundreds of questions submitted for the event about legalizing marijuana.
In fact, CBS reported 18 of the 20 most popular questions for his online meeting had to do with cannabis, with the number one ranked YouTube question coming from a retired police officer who asked, "What do you say to (a) growing voter constituency that wants more changes to drug policy than you have delivered in your first term?"
The officer, named Stephen Downing, worked in the Los Angeles Police Department and is now a member of a group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition or LEAP.
The questions follow a Gallup poll released last past October that shows 50 percent of Americans now say marijuana should be made legal. That's up from 46 percent in 2010 and up from 23 percent in 1985. That is also well above the 12 percent that supported legalizing pot when Gallup first asked about the subject in 1969.
Even on the campaign trail the subject is getting attention, with Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul supporting the legalization of marijuana.
In fact, one of the Florida directors for a group trying to get pot legalized argues the issue is one big reason why Paul continues to get double digit support.
"Most people don't understand that the youth following that he has comes almost exclusively from the legalization movement of marijuana," said Robert Platshorn with NORML.
Last year, the president did say legalization is a legitimate topic but that he does not support the move. Yet, with so many questions on the issue being submitted on Monday, it's fair to say this is a subject that is not about to burn out anytime soon.
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