PAT ROBERTSON CALLS FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION!
by Stephen Webster
“Count this among the 10 things nobody ever expected to see in their lifetimes: 700 Club founder Pat Robertson, one of the cornerstone figures of America’s Christian right movement, has come out in favor of legalizing marijuana.
“Calling it getting ‘smart’ on crime, Robertson aired a clip on a recent episode of his 700 Club television show that advocated the viewpoint of drug law reformers who run prison outreach ministries.
“A narrator even claimed that religious prison outreach has ‘saved’ millions in public funds by helping to reduce the number of prisoners who return shortly after being released.
“‘It got to be a big deal in campaigns: ‘He’s tough on crime,’ and ‘lock ’em up!’ the Christian Coalition founder said. ‘That’s the way these guys ran and, uh, they got elected. But, that wasn’t the answer.’
“His co-host added that the success of religious-run dormitories for drug and alcohol cessation therapy present an ‘opportunity’ for faith-based communities to lead the way on drug law reforms.
“‘We’re locking up people that have taken a couple puffs of marijuana and next thing you know they’ve got 10 years with mandatory sentences,’ Robertson continued. ‘These judges just say, they throw up their hands and say nothing we can do with these mandatory sentences. We’ve got to take a look at what we’re considering crimes and that’s one of ’em.
“‘I’m … I’m not exactly for the use of drugs, don’t get me wrong, but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot, that kinda thing it’s just, it’s costing us a fortune and it’s ruining young people. Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That’s not a good thing.’
“Robertson has in recent years come under fire for increasingly flamboyant comments, such as calling for the assassinations of foreign leaders and blaming gay people for the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina.
“The segment, while significant for illustrating a key conservative stalwart’s shifting opinion on the drug war, was mainly a plug for a new conservative group called ‘Right on Crime,’ which parlays the arguments of groups like the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) into conservative-leaning messages.
“‘Our marijuana prohibition laws, which send people to prison for merely possessing a plant, are clearly immoral,’ LEAP executive director Neill Franklin, a former Baltimore narcotics office, told Raw Story.
“‘As a Christian, and as a former law enforcer who is now working to undo the damage these laws have done to our families and our communities, I’m glad to see Pat Robertson joining the chorus of faith leaders calling for reform.'”
Christians are mandated to, “be of sober mind”. If the penalty of intoxication is different between intoxicants; is that justice? 1 year for alcohol, 2 for marijuana, 3 for sniffing glue.
In the end it is all about money. The love of money. We need to remove access of the money from the government. Only then will the new laws reflect justice.
I have to express some aoiceriatppn to the writer just for rescuing me from this type of dilemma. After surfing around through the world wide web and obtaining strategies which were not powerful, I figured my life was well over. Existing without the presence of approaches to the issues you’ve fixed as a result of your main guide is a critical case, and ones which could have in a negative way affected my entire career if I had not come across the website. Your actual training and kindness in playing with all the details was precious. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if I had not come upon such a subject like this. I can also now relish my future. Thank you so much for this impressive and result oriented guide. I won’t hesitate to refer the blog to any person who should receive direction about this situation.