GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin is an ex marijuana consumer. Mrs. Palin smoked her pot in Alaska, which her campaign points out was legal in Alaska at the time. This is a curious defense as John McCain is an advocate for the federal arrest and prosecution of medical marijuana patients and providers who operate legally under California law.
Like any good politician Mrs. Palin she now claims she didn’t enjoy her marijuana, and that adults (besides her) should still be arrested, even though she wasn’t.
“‘I can’t claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled.'” The paper quoted Palin as saying she opposed legalization of marijuana because of the “message” that would be sent to her children.
The arrest of 800,000 adults a year for cannabis does send a message- about the perpetual ignorance of government. A better message for children is that one day they will be adults, and they will have adult decisions to make. Mrs. Palin’s marijuana stance seems to be typical political hypocrisy; convenient and intellectually dishonest.
Today, Alaska still has the country’s best marijuana laws. According to NORML an adult can posses up to one ounce of pot at home, with no penalty. Of course, the logic behind Alaska’s policy ends there as possession of over 4 ounces is a felony offense.
If legal marijuana is good enough for the GOP Vice Presidential candidate, why not for all Americans? After all, where would John McCain be if Mrs.Palin had been arrested and put through the drug court deferred probation nonsense so many other defendants face?