Bill Piper: What if Gov. Palin Had Been Arrested for Marijuana?
Sen. John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has admitted she smoked marijuana in the past, but says it’s not an issue because it was legal under Alaska law. She says though, that marijuana should be illegal. So what she did should have been a crime. And she should be considered a criminal. But it wasn’t, and she’s not; so it’s not an issue. That’s a more convoluted obfuscation than former President Clinton’s admission that he smoked marijuana “but didn’t inhale.”While possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use is legal in Alaska, it’s still illegal under federal law. That makes Gov. Palin a criminal in the eyes of the federal government. Does she think she should be sent to federal prison? Or should states be allowed to set their own marijuana policies and the feds should butt out? Eighteen states have marijuana policies at odds with federal law.
And what about the many law-abiding, taxpaying Alaskans who currently smoke marijuana. If marijuana is re-criminalized in Alaska like she proposes, many of these citizens will face arrest and life-long criminal records. Had Gov. Palin been arrested for marijuana, it is doubtful she would be running for Vice President now. In her heart-of-hearts does Gov. Palin really think that people who smoke marijuana belong in jail and not the Governor’s Mansion or the White House?
Yes.
I get tired of hearing “Both Candidates” or “The Two Candidates.”
I think a 3rd Party would have much more success in achieving that for which we all strive. Don’t forget about the libertarians (even though Barr is an idiot), Green, Independents, and Constitutionalists.
Chuck Baldwin has my vote.
Break through the cycle of voting for the lesser of 2 evils and vote consciously. Don’t let people tell you you’re wasting your vote. IMHO, the only way you can waste your vote is if you vote for someone you really don’t want in office.
- That just sounds stupid and obvious, but everyone does it and it’s about damn time we stop.
What are the twenty other reasons?
The only question I have is: EVEN THOUGH marijuana was legal according to Alaska state law, was it not illegal federally? Isn’t that why my fellow medical cannabis users in California are still worried about the DEA?
No offense taken. I could give twenty more reasons why an Obama vote is a smarter vote than a McCain vote, and none of them have to do with marijuana.
Obama admitted to having tried pot – a clever move to secure the vote of many pot smokers and activists alike. I am not saying that McCain is going to uphold any of NORML’s values, but it is irresponsible, I believe, to disregard other strengths and weaknesses of both candidates, considering than one may have more presidential-quality strengths (and possibly less weakness) than the other.
To be clear, I am not accusing anybody of being so fixated on the issue of legalized MJ that they forget about other things. I don’t know all of the thoughts within a given person’s mind.
I only would like to promote a broader consideration of the issues. Ending prohibition is an important issue to me. I’m not only trying to attack your post, but to illustrate my perception of possibly misleading or mislead facts and/or opinions. And to be sure, everybody is entitled to their own opinion just as surely as they are entitled to cast their ballot in the election if they so choose.
I believe in the power of groups like NORML, and hope that “we, the People” (yes, with a capital P) may still have the power in this country to change things when banded together.
Candidates who want to increase government presence in our lives are, I believe, not in the best long term interest of anybody. Through a more conservative (AKA less involved) government, we may some day be able to grow our own stash without worry of being taxed by the gram. Think Libertarian.
I mean no offense – I just need to get this kind of thing off my chest sometimes. Perhaps through this type of debate we can refine the best aspects of both of out thought processes and influence the best kind of change for our cause in the future.
I do not blindly promote the Democratic party and I’m well aware of Sen. Biden’s drug war credentials.
VPs are irrelevant, anyway. What do the presidential candidates say?
Sen. Obama is an admitted pot smoker who says he will end the DEA raids on medical marijuana states.
Sen. McCain will change nothing about the Bush Drug War policies, doesn’t believe medical marijuana exists, and literally turns his back on wheelchair bound patients.
Case closed.
Blind promotion of the democratic party and tolerance of their nomination of Joe Biden, a man who holds much responsibility for our archaic drug laws, is beginning to make me question whether the NORML Daily Stash is the gem I thought it was when I started listening. How could anybody associated with NORML show such support to these candidates?
Decriminalization is a grassroots effort. It is already obvious that decriminalization is making its way from small (cities making marijuana enforcement the lowest priority) to big (states with medical MJ). The feds will be the LAST to turn, and if some day enough states are in favor of a significant redrafting of cannabis laws we will finally see change on the federal level.
Beside the fact that basing a vote solely on marijuana laws is idiotic, we need to examine other issues, and whether the candidate can deliver on them. Do we want to elect somebody who tells us what we want to hear and does nothing to back it up? The president’s power is, as you know, very limited as far as the creation of laws is concerned.
It is possible that Palin’s assertions regarding the re-criminalization of marijuana in Alaska are partly a rhetorical attempt to appeal to her political base, just as Biden’s retraction of his idiotic drug policy may be nothing but political hot-air.
The fact of the matter is that Biden holds much more responsibility for lives ruined and revenues lost to the drug war than Palin ever will, and that whether you agree completely with Palin or not, she is not attempting to hide responsibility for previous decisions she has made which negatively affected countless lives, as Biden is doing.
Use your brain! Too many voters see only RED and BLUE without realizing their sometimes blinding contradictions because they are too fixated on their party of choice.