TheHill.com – Former anti-marijuana lobbyist switches sides
The last time the House debated medical marijuana, David Krahl trod the halls of Capitol Hill lobbying against the legislation as deputy director of the Drug Free America Foundation.Now, he’s ready to lobby for allowing medicinal use of marijuana, and do anything he can to support it.
So far, no one has asked him for help, but in a recent letter to medical marijuana bill sponsor Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), he proclaimed that he’d reversed his position on whether cannabis can be a medicine.
“Being away from the Drug Free America Foundation allowed me an opportunity to take a fresh look at the issue,” Krahl said. “I don’t have skin in the game anymore.”
He had joined the foundation in July 2006. At the time, the foundation’s executive director, Calvina Fay, noted his 25 years of experience in criminal justice and human services and said, “His anti-drug philosophies, along with his experience, will be a great fit.”
Foundation officials were caught off guard by Krahl’s reversal, saying they hadn’t heard of the letter until a reporter called about it. But they said they’re happy that lawmakers still aren’t trying to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.
“I don’t believe one person changing their position gives any credibility to the other side on this,” said foundation spokesman John Pastuovic.
Yet when they find former marijuana users who had a problem with harder drugs, the drug warriors won’t hesitate to use ex-potheads’ change of position to lend credibility to their “gateway theory”.
Earlier this year former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr, the author of the Barr Amendment that squashed DC’s overwhelming vote in favor of medical marijuana, has switched positions and now lobbies for Marijuana Policy Project. Then there are the thousands of members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition who want sensible marijuana regulation.
Lots of former prohibitionists have switched over to our side. I can’t think of any of us who have switched over to support arresting people for marijuana.
“I can’t think of any of us who have switched over to support arresting people for marijuana.”
Robert Dupont, former drug Czar went from,
“… But I would balance that health message with a message that says we don’t want to use the criminal law to try to solve a public health problem. We’ll do this by education. It was called a policy of discouragement. You wanted to have a non-criminal policy of discouragement.”
To,
“So when I left the government in 1978, the first thing I did was have a press conference and say, “I was wrong. I made a mistake. Decriminalization is a bad idea. Marijuana is not non-addictive. In many ways, it’s the worst drug of all the illegal drugs.” That was a dramatic departure, and I haven’t wavered since, although many of my friends on that side of the argument are always waiting for me to go back the other way. I switched once, I might switch again. I don’t think that’s going to happen. . . .”
He was right the first time to treat it as a health issue not a criminal one.