The Presidential Candidates on Drugs
Salon has an excellent piece on an issue that rarely gets discussed, except by pot smokers and conspiracy theorists. I say that with a bit of bitterness, as I find my pro-drug views sometimes get me in trouble with some people. But luckily I have never concerned myself with what other people think, or at least that’s what I try to tell myself.
I really liked reading about the personal experiences of Obama and Cindy McCain and how their lives were impacted by America’s horrific drug policy, which has been exported all over the world. American imperialism at its’ finest. When Cindy McCain was a drug addict and stole to support her habit, she managed to stay out of jail thanks to her money and connections. If she were young, poor and/or black, that would have been a highly unlikely outcome. It’s so damned unfair that there are different rules applied to your life depending on your social class. What a bunch of bullocks! In spite of that though, I am glad that Cindy McCain stayed out of jail and recovered from her addiction because I don’t believe anybody should go to jail for using or selling the wrong drugs. She clearly needed help, not to spend time in jail.
Now I just wonder when we will hear either of these presidential candidates say anything about drug policy. I’ll be waiting.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:05 am
I don’t think we’ll be hearing anything critical about the current drug policy from a national political candidate anytime soon. Too many people seem to be in the thrall of anti-drug rhetoric: even if they’re a minority (I have no idea how many people are really anti-drug), they have enough hold on the mainstream media that declaring an intent to legalize drugs is tantamount to political suicide.
I wish a lot of states manage to legalize some drugs through citizen petition, which would send a strong message. Unfortunately, we still seem to have far to go. Even in California, there doesn’t seem to be enough support for an initiative to legalize marijuana: I didn’t see it on the ballot for this election.