Televangelist Pat Robertson's remarks on marijuana have legalization camp astir
By Sandhya Somashekhar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 23, 2010; 6:23 PM
Televangelist Pat Robertson has made inflammatory remarks in recent years that offend gays, Muslims and others, but a recent comment he made on his Christian Broadcasting Network was more notable for whom it pleased: people who want to see marijuana legalized.
"We're locking up people that take a couple of puffs of marijuana, and the next thing you know they've got 10 years," the controversial pastor said on "The 700 Club" on Dec. 16, in a clip unearthed by bloggers this week. "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 and that kind of thing, I mean, it's just, it's costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people."
It was a surprising admission from a Christian conservative and favorite target of liberals, who have pounced on his assertions that the earthquake that devastated Haiti's capitol city in January was because of a pact with the Devil, for example, or that Hurricane Katrina was punishment for abortion and the country's general moral decay.
His views on marijuana lit up the Internet on Thursday because they seemingly aligned him with liberal groups that have long complained of the punitive nature of the nation's drug laws. The comments have been seized on by pro-marijuana groups that cite them as evidence that their message is gaining traction not only in the mainstream but even within the religious right.
"His voice is respected by hundreds of thousands or millions of people who might not otherwise think about this issue seriously. His comments were a very important step forward," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports legalizing and taxing marijuana. "The only way that this country's going to end up with more sensible and sane drug laws is if people call for it from across the political spectrum."
LOL
On Thursday, a CBN spokesman said in an e-mail that Robertson is "unequivocally" against illegal drug use and that he does not support legalizing marijuana.
By Sandhya Somashekhar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 23, 2010; 6:23 PM
Televangelist Pat Robertson has made inflammatory remarks in recent years that offend gays, Muslims and others, but a recent comment he made on his Christian Broadcasting Network was more notable for whom it pleased: people who want to see marijuana legalized.
"We're locking up people that take a couple of puffs of marijuana, and the next thing you know they've got 10 years," the controversial pastor said on "The 700 Club" on Dec. 16, in a clip unearthed by bloggers this week. "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 and that kind of thing, I mean, it's just, it's costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people."
It was a surprising admission from a Christian conservative and favorite target of liberals, who have pounced on his assertions that the earthquake that devastated Haiti's capitol city in January was because of a pact with the Devil, for example, or that Hurricane Katrina was punishment for abortion and the country's general moral decay.
His views on marijuana lit up the Internet on Thursday because they seemingly aligned him with liberal groups that have long complained of the punitive nature of the nation's drug laws. The comments have been seized on by pro-marijuana groups that cite them as evidence that their message is gaining traction not only in the mainstream but even within the religious right.
"His voice is respected by hundreds of thousands or millions of people who might not otherwise think about this issue seriously. His comments were a very important step forward," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports legalizing and taxing marijuana. "The only way that this country's going to end up with more sensible and sane drug laws is if people call for it from across the political spectrum."
LOL
On Thursday, a CBN spokesman said in an e-mail that Robertson is "unequivocally" against illegal drug use and that he does not support legalizing marijuana.
