Pat Robertson: The War on Drugs Has Failed; Legalize Marijuana!

Pat Robertson probably just shocked a large number of his followers when he made this statement on Wednesday the 7th:

“I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol,” Mr. Robertson said in an interview on Wednesday. “I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.”

Mr. Robertson’s remarks echoed statements he made last week on “The 700 Club,” the signature program of his Christian Broadcasting Network, and other comments he made in 2010. While those earlier remarks were largely dismissed by his followers, Mr. Robertson has now apparently fully embraced the idea of legalizing marijuana, arguing that it is a way to bring down soaring rates of incarceration and reduce the social and financial costs.

“I believe in working with the hearts of people, and not locking them up,” he said.

One commentor on the Daily Paul article stated The “700 club” will henceforth be known as the “420 club.” Bravo, sir. You just made my day.

I’ve long felt that the war on drugs was by and large unnecessary. It makes criminals out of people who otherwise wouldn’t be, and forces many to have to deal with unsavory people to get their “stuff.” As Presidential candidate Gary Johnson has stated numerous times, it should be treated as a medical issue, and not a criminal one.

There’s a great fear that if it’s legalized, then everybody will do it. That’s just plain silly. To my knowledge, it’s perfectly legal for you to go jump off a bridge (though it wouldn’t surprise me if you would find something silly on the books in regards to this). That doesn’t mean that everybody is running out to the nearest bridge and jumping.

If you don’t want to do drugs, it’s dead simple: Don’t do drugs. Alcohol is legal (if you’re over 21 that is), and yet there are plenty of people out there who simply don’t drink. Just because you don’t want to do something doesn’t mean we need laws against it to keep you from doing it.

Here’s Presidential candidate Ron Paul’s take on the whole thing:

Ron Paul Discusses Legalization of Drugs (5-5-11)

And Presidential candidate Gary Johnson’s take:

How Far Would Gary Johnson Go in Legalizing Drugs?

Anyways, I’d like to get your feedback – sound off below!

Update

I stumbled across a good article on Republic Report that makes a case that lobbyists are getting rich off the war on drugs. Give it a read.

Aaron Graves

Aaron Graves is a veteran and a staunch libertarian, consistently breaking ranks with his Conservative friends on social issues, and with his Liberal friends on economic issues. He is also the guy that wrote the crap that you just read. Sic Semper Tyrannis