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Sarah Palin: Marijuana Policy Reformer?
Sarah Palin says she doesn’t support making marijuana legal, but during an appearance on Fox Business News this weekend, she agreed with fellow panelist Ron Paul that police have better things to do than arrest nonviolent marijuana offenders.
Check out the video and read her comments below:
“I think we need to prioritize our law enforcement efforts. And if somebody is going to smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody else any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and clean up some of the other problems we have in society that are appropriate for law enforcement to do and not concentrate on such a, relatively speaking, minimal problem that we have in the country.”
A few months back, MPP offered the former Alaska governor $25,000 to give a speech to supporters of a regulated marijuana market, but she did not accept the offer. When she ran as the Republican nominee for vice-president in 2008, Palin admitted to using marijuana in her youth but said she opposed making marijuana because of the “message” it would send to her children. At the time, MPP issued a statement saying, “That she used marijuana is no big deal, but what is a big deal is that she thinks that the 100 million Americans who have used marijuana, including herself, belong in jail. That wouldn’t be good for her kids.”
What’s frustrating about this is seeing, once again, a prominent politician acknowledge the ridiculousness of marijuana prohibition but not have the courage to call for its end. If Gov. Palin truly believes in the limited government she so often promotes, she should not only acknowledge that the government’s war on marijuana users is an enormous infringement on American civil liberties, but more importantly, that it needs to stop.
We’ve already seen one prospective 2012 presidential candidate, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, clearly voice his support for making marijuana legal. Will others follow?
MPP’s Steve Fox to Appear on ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ Tonight
MPP director of state campaigns Steve Fox will be interviewed on Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor” tonight about the recent offer that an MPP-backed Nevada group made to former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.
Following Palin’s speech in Las Vegas this week to the national convention of Wine & Spirits Wholesalers, Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws offered the possible 2012 G.O.P. presidential contender $25,000 to make a similar speech to supporters of a regulated marijuana market. “Such a speech would convey a simple message,” Steve wrote this week on Alternet. “If we can defend and even celebrate the individual freedom to use alcohol, we should certainly allow individuals the freedom to use marijuana, a substance objectively less harmful than alcohol.”
Steve will discuss the offer, as well as the relative harms of marijuana and alcohol, with guest host Laura Ingraham at 8 p.m. ET tonight. Keep in mind that TV schedules are often subject to last-minute changes if there’s breaking news.