Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny
Gary Johnson is a vocal proponent of legalization of marijuana, making a compelling and rational argument for it. America's decades long war on drugs has produced little if any positive results. It has cost the American taxpayer billions, helped to create an expanding and violent illicit industry, and increased the number of incarcerated to record levels. It is time the nation rethink it's drug policies. Gary Johnson is on the forefront while President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are less than interested in addressing an issue that should be of growing concern for all Americans.
OPPOSING VIEWS - Gary Johnson, this year’s Libertarian Party candidate for president, spoke at a rally on Tuesday outside the Democratic National Convention. He criticized both President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for avoiding one of the nation’s most important political issues. Obama has laughed off or ignored persistent questions about marijuana legalization, while Romney is equally dismissive, calling the issue insignificant.
During his two terms as governor of New Mexico, Johnson established himself as the highest-ranking public official to call for a dramatic shift in the nation’s drug laws. He explains that during his two terms, he applied a cost-benefit analysis to every issue. Regarding costs of the war on drugs, he has cited the United States’ world-record incarceration rate and the fact that approximately half of current criminal justice expenditures deal with drug cases.
On his campaign website, the former governor also refers to the harms of alcohol prohibition and the parallel harms of current drug prohibitions, including the enrichment of organized crime and the associated violence. The site clearly states his support for legalizing marijuana, specifying that the federal government should “end its prohibition mandate” and allow the states to determine their own policies. This is one area where he agrees with former Republican presidential contender and libertarian icon Ron Paul, to whom he has compared himself and whose supporters he may be courting. {Read More}
Clearly Gary Johnson is once again acting like the only adult in the field.
