Gil Kerlikowske, President Barack Obama’s drug czar, claimed recently that the White House is “interested in the potential marijuana may have” in medicine – but in an odd feint, he also insisted that the drug war’s Nixon-era prohibition policies are “based on science and research, not ideology or politics.”

Responding to a petition on the White House’s website that asked for a rule change to let disabled veterans use medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Kerlikowske said that soldiers should not be allowed to use the drug. The White House responded to the petition even though it only had 8,258 signatures. Others have typically required 25,000 signatures or more before officials will reply.