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THE SILVER & GREEN

War on Marijuana Should End, Says Jimmy Carter

The ex-Prez calls the war on doobies a dubious crusade

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by Dain Fitzgerald

Staff Writer t +

Image: CNN

Former commander-in-chief Jimmy Carter spoke out in favor of marijuana decriminalization (as opposed to legalization) today in a talk with CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.

The 88-year old Democrat shared his thoughts on the negative effects of marijuana prohibition on the incarceration rates of black and Latino youth, and reminded folks that he called for the decriminalization of pot as far back as 1979 during his own tenure as POTUS (though he declined to comment on Willie Nelson's antics at the time).

"I called for decriminalization, not legalization, to keep people from being put in prison just for smoking a marijuana cigarette," said Carter. "Putting everyone in prison because they have marijuana is a major step backwards, and it ought to be reversed in America and the rest of the world."

Via CNN.
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Should we decriminalize marijuana, as Carter suggests?

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83 Comments (view in Forum)

  • Cool_voter
    !
    @bsking Reagan made ketchup a vegetable.
    Bush started a huge war against the views of the American people.
    Reagan tripled the economic debt.
    Bush doubled it.
    Reagan had Alzheimer's and said what ever they told him too.
    Bush acted like he had Alzheimer's.

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  • Chromalord
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    Like him or not, Carter was one of the smartest and blatantly honest presidents we ever had. But to this topic, how is something decriminalized still illegal? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't legal mean lawful? Isn't the act of criminal one who breaks the law?
  • MRMacrum
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    I may be wrong, but decriminalizing just means no penalties for possession. Legalizing seems to be the avenue to make pot a commercial and taxable product. Fine distinction maybe, but that is how I see it after looking at it these past few years. Maybe someone here can fine tune the distinction better.
  • MBernard
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    @MRMacrum yup, besides, decriminalizing is better. There shouldn't be law for it in the first place, it should just be like buying coffee at Starbucks.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @MRMacrum You are correct. What a lot of people fail to realize is decriminalization does not do away with civil penalties. Forfiture of property, tickets for non-criminal offense which if ignored can result in warrant and jail for failure to appear, loss of employment if you fail a drug test for use when you are not working, etc. I am not complaing here about arrest for driving or something of that nature, just so I am clear. What is needed is to end decriminalize and end civil sanctions for possession and growing for personal use. Legalization in some form, with bans on advertizing is something else I favor...
  • PoliticalSpice
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    There is a difference between conduct that is illegal, which subjects one to criminal sanctions including imprisonment, and unlawful, which violates civil law, and can only be punishable by non-prison sanctions, usually monetary. Although contempt of court, or failure to answer a summons for a non-criminal infraction can sometimes result in jail time...

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  • TheJimmy
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    Isn't Jimmy Carter the same guy who hosted The Gong Show in the late 70's but claimed to have been an assassin for the CIA? All of that pot, coke, and disco back then has clouded my memories of that once prosperous era in American history.
  • TheJimmy
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    @PoliticalSpice
    No it isn't but I think that I once hung out with him and his half-brother Tony Manero at Studio 54 sometime in the late 70's.
  • gammler
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    As much as I hate to do so I have to agree with Jimmy Carter on this point. So there is no doubt in anyone's mind, I didn't like Jimmy Carter's Administration. I almost pulled the voting booth down voting AGAINST him. The failure of the "War on Drugs" is ample evidence that prohibition doesn't work. We are expending a whole lot of resources chasing a "will-o-the-wisp. It would be better to legalize it, tax it, and regulate marijuana.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    The fact is, no matter what anyone says, I think Carter was one of the better president of modern times, I didn't initially vote for him, but voted for him when he ran for re-election. Almost every time I picked up the paper over the next 4 years I knew I had done the right thing.
  • jessejaymes
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    Carter was everything the Bible Belt claimed they wanted in a president. A deeply devout Christian man, an honest man, a caring man. He just wasn't a Republican and after all that's all that matters to the rednecks. Party. Nothing more or less.
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @jessejaymes Don't fool yourself, they don't want a caring man either. They want someone who cares for their selfish needs. And honest? They picked W, and defended him for lying to get us into war, they re-elected vitner. Lets not kid ourselves. They like snake oil salemen who say what they want...
  • PoliticalSpice
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    @Deb2me he did what he could to integrate morallity back into u.s. policy and put the breaks on imperialism. Gave back the panama canal, stpped aid to countries violating human rights, did not intervene in nicaragua and iran when people through out oppressive govts. Did not bomb a whole country to pieces and go to war with Iran even though that would have guaranteed his re-election. A decent man. I didn't support all he did, but if we'd had others who thougt like him we would have avoided countless wars and coa operations, almost everyone of which has come back to damage this country beyond any supposed benefit...
  • RobertJHarsh
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    Step 1) Legalize Pot, Step 2) TAX pot, Step 3) more tax revenue into the medical funds, medicaid, etc. Step 4) Munchies in the fridge. nom nom nom
  • Zazziness
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    As I see it, I think he is honored for being honest, compassionate, and willing to be unconventional if it means bringing us closer to world peace. But he was not, alas, a good president. Good person, wrong job.
  • KyleMFb
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    Weed should have never been illegal its has zero ill effects....the only reason it's illegal is bc a homophobic homosexual power hungry bastard that lived in his moms basement his whole life didnt like how blacks and Mexicans relaxed after work so to that I say F@*k j Edgar Hoover
  • DogLady_1
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    Ad Hominem Fallacy of Logic: The act of attacking the character of the person instead of their statements/claims... most often used when you have no valid argument against the statement/claim, or you know nothing about the issue.

    What is it with people who'd rather call people names and impune their character than actually discuss the issues at hand? I see where our legislature thinks that is accpetable!
  • Sharpshooter
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    Stupid is as Stupid Does..... and Stupid Says stuff to remove all doubt.

    Jimmah needs to go build a few more houses with Habitat for Humanity, he should however use a sledge hammer to break up concrete rather than his forehead... He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer to start, now a well worn "Steelie" could challenge him.
  • DogLady_1
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    There are approximately 60,000 known LEA's, judges, prosecuters and DEA agents who agree with Carter...

    "Around the world, governments are squandering precious resources on fighting the drug war while society suffers." -Sean Dunagan, Former DEA Senior Intelligence Research Specialist...

    "This is Not a War on Drugs - it's a War on People." - Jack Cole, Retired State Police Lieutenant - Undercover Officer...

    "If a country, as controlling of its citizens as the Soviet Union was, still had such a large a problem - drug-dealing on Moscow street corners, meth labs in Leningrad - how could a free society such as ours handle the problem from a law-enforcement perspective?" - Russ Jones, Narcotics Detective...

    "Drug Prohibition has resulted in a greater loss of civil liberties than anything else in the history of our country. The United States of America leads the world in the incarceration of its people, mostly for non-violent drug offenses... Force is not the only way to change behavior; education and example can be powerful weapons." -James Gray, Retired Superior Court Judge
  • truthsayer
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    I agree with judge Gray. Personally I believe restriction of civil liberty's is the goal and drug prohibition is just a tool in that goal. It allows for a intrusive state and people have to consent to loss of privacy for fear if they don't they will be perceived as a supporter of drug use. Its just one more way to circumvent the complexity's the Constitution puts on the government to enter your home,seize property or record and track you moments. As with most things that involve government its a slight of hand that uses some pious prejudice as the distraction to it's true agenda.
  • DogLady_1
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    @truthsayer - well said... we are moving toward tyranical rule under statism and hegemony... Prohibitions such as these only lend to controlling and limiting liberty...

    "The experience of past ages may inform us that when the circumstances of a people render them distressed, their rulers generally recur to severe, cruel, and oppressive measures. Instead of endeavoring to establish their authority in the affection of their subjects, they think they have no security but in their fear. They do not aim at gaining their fidelity and obedience by making them flourishing, prosperous, and happy, but by rendering them abject and dispirited. They think it necessary to intimidate and awe them to make every accession to their own power, and to impair the people's as much as possible." --Alexander Hamilton
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