Obama pays to stop people from enjoying themselves the way he did

Mungowitz calls it a "classic example of rent-seeking", citing Justin Scheck's Strapped Police Run on Fumes, and Federal Pot-Fighting Cash:

The Obama administration's approach to federal anti-drug efforts is evolving...

But the administration continues to support federal aid to fight drugs, including marijuana, says a Justice Department spokesman. This is "supplemental" funding for local agencies and shouldn't skew their priorities, says Arnie Moorin, assistant deputy director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy. "It's not to get into the city or the county's or the state's business."

Even so, in California, budget realities mean federal money ends up supporting priorities sometimes out of sync with public sentiment. About 56% of California residents support full legalization of marijuana, polling shows.