The Legalization Of Marijuana Is Debated At CPAC

[Jacob Redmond]

The arguments were, "Think of the children," versus, "Everybody's doing it" - and if those two cliches weren't enough, the debate kicked off at 4:20 p.m.

The debate over marijuana legalization at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference re-filled the conference's main ballroom after a few hours of venue-emptying panels Thursday afternoon.

Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico and libertarian presidential candidate, took the pro-weed side while former New York Republican Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle argued against legalization.

"Having a debate right now over whether or not to legalize marijuana is kind of like having a debate over whether the sun is going to come up tomorrow," Johnson said, drawing cheers from the audience.

"I am one of the 100 million Americans who have used marijuana," he added. "I am anything but criminal for having done that."

While Johnson donned the mantle of sometime-weed-smoker, Buerkle burnished her credentials as a "mother of six and grandmother of 16," setting the tone she'd adopt for the entire debate.

"We are on the cusp of finding out just what kind of damage this drug can do," Buerkle said, comparing marijuana today to tobacco in the 1950s. "Do we want to stupefy our youth? That's what marijuana and drugs do."

She also harped on the damage that drug addiction can wreak on families, and referenced "brain-scrambling mental effects," cancer-causing properties and addictive qualities of marijuana smoking.

Buerkle decried the "softening of the conservative movement" on marijuana legalization as Johnson disagreed.

"Conservatives ought to embrace the fact that these are people making their own decisions," Johnson said of marijuana smokers. "Freedom, liberty!"

He went on to call cannabis a "miracle drug," predicting, "In 20 years, 20 percent of all pharmaceuticals will be cannabis-based. This stuff really has genuine, healing properties to it."

He called marijuana "a safer alternative" to alcohol and harder drugs, and hammered the point that, "half of everybody you know has done marijuana."

Legal weed is taking over the U.S. in an inevitable wave – and that's a good thing, Johnson said.

Buerkle took umbrage at what she perceived to be Johnson's cavalier take on marijuana use.

"It isn't funny that we're putting our kids and the future of this country at risk," she said. "Can anyone tell me that legalizing marijuana will increase our greatness?"

Where will the Republican party end up on the issue of marijuana legalization?

If the hearty cheers for both speakers at the 2015 CPAC debate is any indication, the rift within the party on the weed issue is hard and deep – and its unclear if it's bridgeable.

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[DrRootswell]

The divide within the Republican party is bridgeable. The wisdom of such uber republicans such as Ronald Reagan's speechwriter and the similarity between republican ideals and the liberty personal responsibility will give them political cover if the republicans do not want to be irrelevent in next 10 years. See aricle in last newsletter about reagan speechwriter

 

[Graytail]

I keep waiting for someone to confront people like Rep Buerkle with one simple question: Who can't buy cannabis now?

She's a mother and grandmother, and her offspring are far more important to her than some poor law-breaking, slacker loadie who finds his life got ruined when he got busted - tough noogies, she says - she's protecting the children - there's nothing nobler than that, eh?

But ... ahem ... we're already "protecting the children" with the laws that we have ... and I really can't imagine the child who simply can't find cannabis anywhere. Does she honestly believe that her kids can't get their hands on marijuana because it's illegal? If so, she's a fool. If not, she's a fraud.

Right?

What an absurd thing to believe! The issue is not whether kids should smoke pot. The issue is whether laws have anything to do with kids smoking pot. Who could possibly believe that laws prevent it? Really?

Just once I'd like to see someone pin one of these people down. Who the hell do you think can't get cannabis now, with all the laws we have against it and all the resources used to enforce those laws. As far as I know, the rule still holds: High schoolers have the best drug networks in town.

So, the question is whether Rep Buerkle wants her kids buying their pot from a criminal gang or from the older brother of a friend, who bought it from a licensed store. If they want it, they're going to buy it one way or the other, and almost 100 years of law has been unable to prevent that.

How can any Republican support ineffective laws? Republicans don't like useless laws. Right?

 

[DrRootswell]

Republicans are starting to see this as a personal rights issue, see article in 420 about uber republican speechwriter Dana Rohrarbach( sp) Ronald Reagan's speechwriter, who is galvanizing the republican party. see also articles by Jacob Redmond, who is doing a great job getting relevant interesting news onto the site, by the way, concerning the difference in views by Young Republicans. The OLD republican party has the real potential to become irrelevant in the not too distant future, and Republicans, anxious to gain " market share" will be confronted with the hypocracy of continuing this " war" in the face of mounting evidence. The Funniest thing Buerkle said was that there is a 1 in 5 chance that you will have a heart attack, which was met by the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson falling on floor with a feigned "heart attack". The veneer is cracking away. Often times in history, those generationals that hold irrational fears have to literally " die off" or become politically inactive due to age, disease, etc. for the new world to be born. Look at all the gains of Gay Rights over last 5 years. Amazing. Cultural change happens slowly at first, but then picks up steam inevitably as the new generation surplants the old dying out one. drrootswellspowerplantproducts.com