SEATTLE -- While President Barack Obama still hasn't made it official yet, the next U.S. drug czar is very likely going to be Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske.

That news has local and national marijuana advocates very excited because they believe pot laws could soon become far more lenient.

Advocates said if Kerlikowske is the next drug czar, pot laws will be re-examined.

“He'll be a 100 percent improvement over anyone who has held the position previously, that's for damn sure," said Douglas Hiatt, a defender of medical marijuana.

Hiatt is a well-known Seattle attorney who defends users of medical marijuana full time. Hiatt worked with Kerlikowske on implementing Initiative 75, which made marijuana enforcement one of the lowest priorities for his officers on the streets.

Hiatt said he believes Kerlikowske could bring the same lenient philosophy on pot to his new job. He says Kerlikowske will change the way the DEA now targets users of marijuana, especially for medical use.

“I think he understands marijuana is medicine and I think he understands for a lot of people, it's very good medicine. I think he will treat those people fairly and I think he'll be progressive on that subject," Hiatt said.

Harriet Walden, a Seattle activist who worked with Kerlikowske on police policy, has a radically different opinion:

“You have to get rid of drugs in the community,” said Walden, who is part of Mothers for Police Accountability.

Walden believes Kerlikowske's drug enforcement techniques have not been working here at all.

“Well, I think he could've worked harder to get the drugs out of our community because all you gotta do is look around here. I mean, you have these young people selling on the streets and I think it's an issue.”

Hiatt disagrees, saying Kerlikowske could reinvent how the war on drugs is waged.

“I think he's well aware that the war on drugs in not a success. I think he's well aware that the war on drugs is a failure,” Hiatt said.

Hiatt said he believes that the first thing the federal government may do is ultimately stop going after anyone with a prescription for medical marijuana.