Some think Bill Richardson got the short-end of the stick on cabinet appointments, but Richardson may have plans for the Commerce Department that might surprise a few people.

Federal marijuana reform may be on the horizon.

Barack Obama has already admitted to inhaling, and new pictures circulating of him in a Panama hat while in college show just that.

Bill Richardson has also been highly critical of marijuana laws. Under his governorship, Richardson made New Mexico the twelfth state with medical marijuana laws. Richardson expressed his opinion when he signed the bill succinctly:

“So what if it’s risky? It’s the right thing to do,” he said of his decision. “My God, let’s be reasonable.”

So what does the Commerce Secretary have to do about reforming marijuana laws?

It is the commerce clause in the Constitution that has injected the Feds into the battle against drugs. State laws have been preempted because of the powers the national government is granted over interstate commerce.

The government needs new revenue now, and no one who supports decriminalization is going to complain about a tax on it.

In Alternet.com, Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), explained the perfect cover for marijuana decriminalization in these cash-strapped times.

“Since 1965, America has arrested over 20 million Americans for violating marijuana laws,” explains Armentano. “Penalties include probation and mandatory drug testing; loss of employment; loss of child custody; removal from subsidized housing; asset forfeiture; loss of student aid; loss of voting privileges; loss of adoption rights; and loss of certain federal welfare benefits, such as food stamps. In human terms, some 34,000 state inmates and an estimated 11,000 federal inmates are serving time behind bars for violating marijuana laws. In fiscal terms, this means U.S. taxpayers are spending more than $1 billion annually to imprison pot offenders.” 

Barack Obama and Bill Richardson may have some special plans here.