Amazing what a difference a month makes. Andrew Sullivan, at long last, pulled his head out of the sand and did the absolute bare minimum of research about Obama’s marijuana policy before writing about it. Just last month Sullivan praised Obama for somehow helping to advance the cause of marijuana legalization despite the fact that Obama has waged a very aggressive multi-agency war on marijuana. To quote Sullivan, “Under Obama, support for marriage equality and marijuana legalization has crested to record levels.”

So far every attempt by Obama to directly reach out to young voters through some form of online question and answer system has resulted in young adults overwhelming voting to confront the President with questions about our government’s marijuana policies. It happened with his transitional website Change.gov, his first Youtube townhall and with the White House’s new “we the people” petition site. Now it’s happened again.

Andrew Sullivan is still trying to defend his absurd claim that Obama somehow deserves credit for growing support for marijuana legalization. In fact, though, while the decades long trend towards greater support for marijuana legalization hasn’t stopped since Obama took office, it has continued despite the Obama Administration’s overt opposition.

Andrew Sullivan attempts to mount a defense of President Obama’s record from the standpoint of achieving liberal objectives. But on some key items, he gets the President’s record and positions wrong, even backwards.

Massachusetts could soon become the newest state to allow patients to legally use medical marijuana. The Massachusetts Secretary of State recently certified four citizen initiative petitions, including a medical marijuana one. The medical marijuana initiative would allow patients with debilitating medical conditions and doctor’s certification to possess up to a 60-day supply of medical marijuana. The initiative would also allow for the creation of some non-profit medical marijuana care centers which could grow marijuana to provide to certified patients.

There is no such thing as rogue agencies or significant agency policy changes that don’t have Obama’s direct or implicit approval. The executive branch works for the President. The buck stop with him. Whether you approve or disapprove of the decision federal agencies make, the ultimate blame or credit rest squarely with the President.

A spokesman for Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin (D) told the AP that he will join the recent petition filed by other governors to the federal government requesting marijuana be rescheduled. Yesterday, Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire (D) and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) jointly filed the petition to the Drug Enforcement Agency asking that marijuana be moved from schedule I to at least schedule II.

In a big move today for medical marijuana, Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire (D) and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) requested that the federal government re-schedule (reclassify) marijuana. The policy change would allow marijuana to be legally prescribed as a medicine under federal law.

It is a depressing statement on the state of our current democracy that any easily implemented policy change like moving cannabis from schedule I to schedule III so it can be legally prescribed by a doctor still hasn’t happened despite poll after poll showing the American public overwhelmingly supports the change.

In 2008 the Obama campaign depended heavily on high turnout among minorities and strong enthusiasm from young people. That is why the Obama re-election campaign should be very concerned that, according to one poll, young people have recently turned sharply against him.