Maybe Obama learned that the drug use is bad, and realizes that his kids should be protected, that we should have laws in place that offer penalties for its use.

I don't think penalizing people for using drugs protects anybody.  It just penalizes them.  This is certainly the case with people in my family.  No matter how much they are penalized, they still keep doing the same darned things.  The additional penalties imposed by law only add more expense, not only for my wife's aunt (whose daughter is a junkie), but also for the general population that must pay to incarcerate her when she [eventually] recidivates.  Isn't the heartache and woe for my wife's aunt enough.  My wife's cousin (the junkie) continues to use drugs, stealing anything she can get her hands on to get her fix.  All this is happening, despite being raised by a devoted mother AND father.  It is a sad tale, and one that is told all too frequently.

The drug war makes using heroin much more dangerous, due to supply, quality, and strength being indeterminate on the black market.  Volitility due to enforcement actions against suppliers causes users to binge, causing overdose, leading to hospitalization and even death.  Quality and strength of street drugs vary greatly, because suppliers cut the active ingredients with agents that are unknown, or even adulterated, which can cause major health problems.

If these drugs were legal, then those suffering from dependency would have safe access to much less expensive intoxicants.  The quality and strength would be a known quantity, instead of a variable, thus leading to a more manageable disease state.

One of the definitions of penalize, which polman used is: "To impose a handicap on; place at a disadvantage."  I think that those suffering from chemical dependency to intoxicants, narcotics, or any other substance are already at a disadvantange.  What dug laws do is cripple and endanger them.

I am done.