Loretta Lynch splits with Barack Obama on potâs dangers
Loretta Lynch made her first significant break from President Barack Obama on Wednesday on the issue of marijuana as the attorney general nominee disputed Obamaâs view that the drug is no more dangerous than alcohol. Those answers came during questioning from Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who read aloud Obamaâs comments from an interview with The New Yorker during Lynchâs confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Story Continued Below âAs has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life. I donât think it is more dangerous than alcohol,â Obama told magazine editor David Remnick in the interview, published in January 2014. Lynch testified that she does not agree. âI certainly donât hold that view and donât agree with that view of marijuana,â she said. âI certainly think the president was speaking from his personal experience, personal opinion, neither of which I am able to share.â She added that she does not support legalizing the substance. âI can tell you that not only do I not support the legalization of marijuana, it is not the position of the Department of Justice currently to support the legalization,â Lynch said. âNor will it be the position should I be confirmed as attorney general.â