Obama Transition Team doesn't answer Drug War questions - again

Well, the second "Open for Questions" round is over on the Obama administration's "Change.gov" website, and again the transition team has avoided making any meaningful statements about the Drug War, opting instead to treat us all like little children. For those late to the party, Change.gov is hosting a feature where people can post questions and vote on their importance. The transition team picks the ten highest rated questions and posts answers to them at irregular intervals. The first round turned into something of an embarrassment to the administration when the highest-rated question turned out to be about legalizing Marijuana, and drug war related questions dominated the top twenty. One can only hope that the team actually had some serious discussions on how to handle this (and maybe even on drug policy?) before coming up with their response strategy. The answer they posted was a laconic "President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana." - the shortest answer, and certainly the most patronizing in its complete lack of reasoning or justification. When Open for Questions round two hit, the format had changed to include categories for the questions, and the Drug War was banished to the miscellaneous category at the bottom of the list, where legalization advocates had to duke it out with gay rights activists for the number one question spot (in the end, neither won - the top rating went to a question about having Bush & Co prosecuted). On the bright side, there were literally hundreds of questions spanning the spectrum of drug policy issues, from Medical Marijuana to calls full legalization of all drugs. Also, a Drug War question managed to sneak into the "National Security" category and hold first place there for some time. Clearly, the people had refused to shut up and go away, and the transition team couldn't completely ignore the issue without tarnishing their shiny Open Government facade. So what did we get this time? Again the question was the last one to be answered, under "Previously addressed questions", and it reads in its entirety: Open for Questions Response, 12/15/08: “President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.” Translation: "We already talked about this and you know my position. Now go to your room". Disappointing if predictable. In the end though I don't think this is a futile effort, or even a defeat. The questions have sparked many interesting and constructive discussions on drug policy on change.gov's forums. They have been seen and voted on by thousands of people, including many who might not ordinarily think about such things. Their frequency and popularity makes it clear that this is an issue that is important to Americans, and I think that the administration knows this even if they do not want to admit it publicly. When there is a next round, we should be there again, demanding to be heard.