Transcript
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Larry Kudlow: This story coming out of Washington has lit up Twitter and Facebook. Congressman Ron Paul and Barney Frank will be introducing a bill to end marijuana prohibition. A short time ago, Texas Republican Ron Paul spoke with me about exactly what he’s advocating. Take a listen.
Ron Paul: Well, removing it from the jurisdiction of the federal government and allowing the states to regulate it, like they would alcohol. And this seems to be strange for a lot of people, but I’m only going back to 1937 when that’s the way it was handled. The states always did this, and I’m motivated strongly also because the states legalize it for the use of medicinal purposes and it is helpful to people who have cancer or are getting chemotherapy. So this is not a huge radical idea, it’s something that was legal for a long, long time. And the war against marijuana causes so much hardship and accomplishes nothing. So I would say that marijuana, as far as causing highway problems, is miniscule compared to alcohol, and yet we knew prohibition of alcohol was very bad. So this is just getting back to a sensible position on how we handle difficult problems. And, for me, it should be the states.
Larry Kudlow: Alright, let the states regulate, yes, I agree with that, that’s a free market position, it’s a 10th Amendment position. Mr. Paul, in one of the debates, though, you came out for the legalization of marijuana and heroin. Is that still your view?
Ron Paul: Well, you know, I’ve never used the word heroine in my life when I talked about legalizing freedom of choice. And that one, too, was once legal and I concluded that argument and they sort of got the point when I said when they were making a big deal, your freedom philosophy means somebody could use heroine. I said, “You know, if tomorrow we legalize, how many of you in this audience would you heroine? Of course, nobody would.” So it’s a moot point, it’s how you regulate things and whether or not this trillion dollars we spend on the war on drugs … really since the early 1970s, the modern day war on drugs started with Richard Nixon and it’s a catastrophe, just as the prohibition was a catastrophe. So yes, they’re regulations for children and the way the states want to handle it. But, you know, it’s sort of like saying, “I believe in the first amendment”, and they say, “Oh, that means you’re pro-pornography”, or something like that. It’s ridiculous. Permitting something to happen does not mean that you authorize it or endorse it, it’s not an endorsement of what people do.
Larry Kudlow: Do you worry, sir? I mean, look, I’m recovering alcoholic and drug abuser. I’m coming after 16 years, with God’s grace. Do you worry, sir, that this opens the door to more drug use, sets the wrong example, sends the wrong single? It’s an honest question on my part, do you ever worry about that? You yourself are a doctor..
Ron Paul: No, because I think it’s much worse because kids today have an easier time finding marijuana than they can alcohol. And how many cases of drug addiction were prevented by the laws? Do the laws really do it? Would putting you in prison for about 5 years, do you think that would have helped you? Would that have cured you? No, this is a medical problem, it’s not a legal problem. You shouldn’t be a criminal because you have a problem with drugs. So I just don’t think putting you in prison would have been helpful at all.
Larry Kudlow: Alright, well, I did it through a faith-based self help program, but I appreciate your point of view.
Ron Paul: The market, Larry, that’s the market way of taking care of a problem.
Larry Kudlow: I guess I do. I want to agree with you on why the states should have the jurisdiction on this and so many other things. I think that’s exactly the right position.
Ron Paul: We should be very consistent.
Larry Kudlow: I got to go. Congressman Paul, you’re terrific for helping us out tonight, I appreciate it.
Ron Paul: Alright.
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Paul Rocks! I live in a sustainable community called Osa Mountain Village in Southern Costa Rica. Libertarian all the way
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One of my clients CEO chief surgeon of our famous hospitals here a smoker
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One of my clients CEO chief surgeon of our famous hospitals here a smoker
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I started a little later but now 45 and smoked more than half life daily… As a designer I have drawn 90% of my customers projects while smoking! It helps w/my creativity, focus and motivation! AND when I was dying from Candida blood poisoning and Celiac it was the best blessing for all ailments! I am completely 100% pharm drug free! But weed is my medicine!
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Now I started smoking pot much earlier than I would recommend to a youngster today at the age of 15. I graduated 12th in my graduating class of over 600 seniors. My 760 SAT score in mathematics put me in the top 0.5th percentile in the nation. I graduated third in my college class of over 200 seniors. I attained my Ph.D. in 3 and a half years in a subject that usually requires 5 years. I published my first paper in a medical journal at the age of 22 as an undergrad. Sound unmotivated?
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Remember, the last three Presidents all smoked pot. Here are3 examples that do not fit your stereotype. Shall I go into all the Nobel prize winners, Ivy League professors, and scientists who all smoked pot? The list is pretty long. So none of these people had ambition? None of them furthered the nation? I smoked more pot in graduate school at the medical college dormitory parties than anywhere else. Just because your lawyer or physician doesn’t wear a tie-dyed tee-shirt to work……
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class is now a very successful vascular surgeon). I never saw any apathy demonstrated by any of my friends. I suppose some people are naturally lazy and they probably tend to smoke weed at an earlier age, but it never effected anyone I knew adversely. The same can not be said about alcohol. I would recommend you avoid that for a lifetime. You are really just too inexperienced in life to know what you are talking about. You are repeating what others have told you. Learn to think critically
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You are too young to be using any recreational drugs. That being said, your also too young to have formulated an informed opinion of the subject matter. Your comment is filled with inaccuracies, myths, and comments that I have heard incorrectly repeated for 40 years. I smoked a lot of cannabis in college as did all my friends. I am a Ph.D. toxicologist, my friends are professors at Ivy League universities, bank presidents at large financial institutions, MD’s (one graduating first in his
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GOD gave us the herb bearing it’s own seed and said it was good. God also said it was food.
It’s impossible to have a higher opinion than your maker. He gave you your opinions.
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I smoke weed helps with my back pain but i could quit tommorow, you sir are thick.
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bet you dont feel the same about booze, you have only been around pot head kids who have no reason smoking it. It should be used for people with medical conditions instead of taking drugs from the doctors which kill i’e heath ledger.
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I am 17. I am in highschool. I am exposed to drugs, and could use and a buse any number. I don’t use them not because of the physical health risk, but because of the intended affects. Low ambition, apathy, lack of critical thinking ability, relaxation, etc. are not good things. I have homework to do, sports, work, volunteering, and everything else. Imagine a nation of people with zero ambition or opinion. Pot heads and junkies are not the ones that further our country and world.
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Why? I’m a toxicologist and every single death I’ve ever seen from heroin is directly related to the fact that is illegal. Heroin has been used safely for a lifetime by certain individuals. I would refer you to Goodman and Gillman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, the chapter on opiates involving the case study of the retired physician in his 80′s.
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How crazy is it that Ron Paul was alive when pot was legal?
»crosslinked«
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If it’s soooooo unhealthy, then why has there never been a death from its use?
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exactly it is unhealthy
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exactly it is unhealthy
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