Comments on: TheHill.com – Former anti-marijuana lobbyist switches sides http://stash.norml.org/thehillcom-former-anti-marijuana-lobbyist-switches-sides The Growing Truth About Cannabis Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:08:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: the independent http://stash.norml.org/thehillcom-former-anti-marijuana-lobbyist-switches-sides/comment-page-1#comment-1129 the independent Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:09:36 +0000 http://stash.norml.org/?p=1487#comment-1129 "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. “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.

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