Pat Robertson on Decriminalization of Marijuana

Via The Raw Story:

Count this among the 10 things nobody ever expected to see in their lifetimes: 700 Club founder Pat Robertson, one of the cornerstone figures of America's Christian right movement, has come out in favor of legalizing marijuana.

Calling it getting "smart" on crime, Robertson aired a clip on a recent episode of his 700 Club television show that advocated the viewpoint of drug law reformers who run prison outreach ministries.

This video is from the 700 Club, broadcast by the CBN Network.

In this instance, even though he clearly expressed support for the reform of US marijuana laws, a spokesman for religious television station CBN walked back Robertson's comments, telling Raw Story on Thursday morning the Christian Coalition founder "did not call for the decriminalization of marijuana."

"He was advocating that our government revisit the severity of the existing laws because mandatory drug sentences do harm to many young people who go to prison and come out as hardened criminals," CBN spokesman Chris Roslan wrote. "He was also pointing out that these mandatory sentences needlessly cost our government millions of dollars when there are better approaches available. Dr. Robertson's comments followed a CBN News story about a group of conservatives who have proven that faith-based rehabilitation for criminals has resulted in lower repeat offenders and saved the government millions of dollars. Dr. Robertson unequivocally stated that he is against the use of illegal drugs."

A Robertson flip-flop or a public relation cover-up?

Does Decriminalizing Drugs Work?

In Portugal, the answer is a resounding YES! In 2001, Portugal decided to tackle the issue of drug use by abolishing the criminal penalties associated with marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Instead of jail sentences, drug addicts were given the ability to receive drug therapy.

Decriminalizing drug possession has been a "resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."

At the recommendation of a national commission charged with addressing Portugal's drug problem, jail time was replaced with the offer of therapy. The argument was that the fear of prison drives addicts underground and that incarceration is more expensive than treatment — so why not give drug addicts health services instead? Under Portugal's new regime, people found guilty of possessing small amounts of drugs are sent to a panel consisting of a psychologist, social worker and legal adviser for appropriate treatment (which may be refused without criminal punishment), instead of jail.

The question is, does the new policy work? At the time, critics in the poor, socially conservative and largely Catholic nation said decriminalizing drug possession would open the country to "drug tourists" and exacerbate Portugal's drug problem; the country had some of the highest levels of hard-drug use in Europe. But the recently released results of a report commissioned by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggest otherwise.

The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled. [...]

Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.

The Cato paper reports that between 2001 and 2006 in Portugal, rates of lifetime use of any illegal drug among seventh through ninth graders fell from 14.1% to 10.6%; drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds fell from 2.5% to 1.8% (although there was a slight increase in marijuana use in that age group). New HIV infections in drug users fell by 17% between 1999 and 2003, and deaths related to heroin and similar drugs were cut by more than half. In addition, the number of people on methadone and buprenorphine treatment for drug addiction rose to 14,877 from 6,040, after decriminalization, and money saved on enforcement allowed for increased funding of drug-free treatment as well.

The Cato report's author, Greenwald, hews to the first point: that the data shows that decriminalization does not result in increased drug use.

It's time for the United States to rethink its drug policy.

Rushin' To Bookie Time

The news is filled with the prospect that conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh wants to place a bid to buy the NFL team the St. Louis Rams. Here's an interesting perspective on this story by Gil Ross.

So, Rush Limbaugh is trying to buy into the NFL. The NFL has a "zero tolerance" policy with drug abuse. Rush's policy is....not as strict, at least when it comes to his drug abuse. He tends to be somewhat more strict when it comes to others.

The NFL has a couple of athletes of color...well...maybe a few more than that. Rush has some interesting views on race:

"I mean, let's face it, we didn't have slavery in this country for over 100 years because it was a bad thing. Quite the opposite: slavery built the South. I'm not saying we should bring it back; I'm just saying it had its merits. For one thing, the streets were safer after dark".

"You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed."

"Have you ever noticed how all composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?"

"The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies."

"They're 12 percent of the population. Who the hell cares?"

"Take that bone out of your nose and call me back (to an African American female caller)."

"I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there's a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he really didn't deserve."

"Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Blood and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it".

Will the NFL approve Rush Limbaugh as an owner? It seems to me that Rush wins either way. If approved he becomes even wealthier. If denied ownership he gets to promote himself as a victim. Actually, he seems to like playing the victim.

So here's the question: What are the odds on Rush crying in public while decrying being a victim?

Is It Time to Review Marijuana Laws? :UPDATED

Michael Phelps Caught Smoking Marijuana

Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was recently photographed using a marijuana bong at the home of a friend. The photographic evidence was conclusive.

This led to release of the following statement:

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

If Michael Phelps was seen drinking a shot of Tequila would we be having this conversation. No, it would be acceptable because his behavior would be understandable and alcohol is legal.

But according to John V. Santore:

“Today, public figures justify past drug use as "youthful indiscretions" and the matter is dropped. But huge numbers of ordinary Americans are introduced to the jail system because of minor drug offenses, and as the records show, the overwhelmingly disproportionate nature of drug arrests creates a justified perception of injustice and both economic and racial bias.”

“Will Michael Phelps have to go to court for his actions? No. (Nor should he have to.) Will any law enforcement jurisdiction in America conduct a systematic raid of a college dorm at a prominent university with the goal of arresting everyone in possession of marijuana? Of course not. If such an action was taken on a broad scale, the arrests would likely be in the thousands. At the same time, will poor Americans, overwhelmingly minority in ethnicity, continue to be arrested by local police for the possession of small amounts of pot? Absolutely.”

So maybe it is time for Obama to review the present marijuana laws. In 2004 he commented on the need to reform marijuana laws and stated that the "war on drugs" was an “utter failure”. Watch:



Remember that Obama also blamed his youth for smoking marijuana. It was Bill Clinton who blamed his youth for his inability to inhale.

Maybe it’s time for a deep breath and for change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE: In an article by Tony Newman, "Phelps struck another blow to the myth that marijuana smokers are lazy couch potatoes [...] Successful and honorable people who have smoked some pot are all around us, from President Barack Obama to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg [...] Once someone is convicted of a drug offense, they can lose college financial aid, food stamps, public housing and, in some cases, even voting rights. Money wasted and lives ruined … and for what?" Phelps didn't need to apologize!