Newsom, Johnson Drug Conference: Is Legalization The Answer To The War On Drugs? (POLL) HuffingtonPost / Kathleen Miles / 11,04,2011 It is rare for a politician to openly advocate the legalization of drugs as the solution to the country's drug problem. But that's just what California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson did this week at the four-day International Drug Policy Reform Conference in downtown Los Angeles. As the Los Angeles Times remarks, with reggae music blasting and people wearing marijuana leaf-shaped pins, the conference does not seem a likely event for a GOP presidential hopeful to attend. And yet, Republican candidate Johnson, a libertarian often compared to Ron Paul, stood in front of the conference audience and promised that if he was elected president, he would fully pardon anyone in prison for a non-violent marijuana crime. According to the LA Times, Johnson has been calling for the legalization of marijuana since 1999:He says he smoked marijuana recreationally when he was younger, and used it more recently to help with the pain after a paragliding accident in 2005. Wherever he goes, Johnson says, people point and say: "That's the marijuana guy." In a recent magazine interview, Johnson said marijuana smokers may be "the largest untapped voting bloc in the country." On Thursday, Johnson referred to a Gallup poll saying, "Fifty percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana.. But zero percent of the universe of politicians support this." His position in stark contrast to other Republican candidates, Johnson said, "They [Republicans] all talk about border violence and adding guns to the equation instead of looking at the root of the problem, which is prohibition." According to Intersections South LA, Lt. Gov. Newsom said in his remarks that California is "a state of dreamers, of doers, of entrepreneurs, of innovators" and will "certainly be on the front lines of reconciling the abject failure that has been 40 years, this failed war on drugs." He argued that the failure of national drug policy is reflected in the tripling of prison populations over the past two decades and the strain that's caused on government's budget. Newsom revealed to the crowd that many politicians believe in legalization but are afraid to voice that position, Intersections South LA reports. "My gosh, if I could just tape-record the private conversations, it would just break your heart," Newsom said. "We know better, we're just not doing better." The conference is taking place Wednesday through Saturday at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA. Poll at title link
"My gosh, if I could just tape-record the private conversations, it would just break your heart," Newsom said. "We know better, we're just not doing better." that says a lot!
I hate this psychological crap on Legalization vs Prohibition. Is "legalization" the answer? You mean, is ending "prohibition" the answer? I know it's a subtle distinction, but we've all been programmed to believe that prohibition is the natural state of affairs. It is NOT. Legal and free is the natural state of affairs. Nothing is prohibited in the natural world until someone comes along and enforces it. Our country was not founded on the premise of "prohibited until otherwise legalized". All they need to do is repeat what they just did in Cali in every other state: 20 out of 23 narcs shit-canned. It's not like legalization will require some huge amount of effort. It's not like it would be overly complicated or cost so much. All they have to do is stop.
This is awesome. I love reading/hearing about politicians discussing legalization. I just wish Obama had the balls to have an open dialogue about the topic. It wasn't that long ago when he said, "It's certainly worthy of debate." Does he think we've all just forgotten that, or is he just counting on everyone forgetting? I'm guessing the latter.
key point you make , when people ask, "So do you think it should be legalized?" i am momentarily retarded i almost forget my argument ( its so obvious) i think to myself, 'yes i want to legalize nature?' this prohibition is a plague. government sponsored plague oh and continually incarcerating and institutionalising young people for smoking a plant is definitely a MINDFUCK for life end it .
Video's from the conference\t HunCivLibUnion uploaded a new video (2 hours ago) Ethan Nadelmannn: Prosecutors Are Out of Control Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the DPA said this is a multigenerational struggle: there is no Berlin Wall for drug policy reform. However, ... more \t \t HunCivLibUnion uploaded a new video (13 hours ago) Alice Huffman: NAACP Passed a Resolution to End the War o... A speech delivered at the opening session of the International Drug Policy Reform Conference, Los Angeles, California \t \t HunCivLibUnion uploaded a new video (13 hours ago) Pete White: The War on Drugs Failed Our Communities The speech was delivered at the International Drug Polcy Reform Conference \t \t HunCivLibUnion uploaded a new video (14 hours ago) Gary Johnson: Pardon Non-Violent Marijuana Offenses Garry Johnson, Former New Mexico Governor said that as President, he would establish a process for expediting pardons for those hundreds of thousan... more \t \t HunCivLibUnion uploaded a new video (22 hours ago) Gavin Newsome: We Need Stronger Leadership to End the War...