[Peace-discuss] The Hill: former NM gov running for pres as R, wants out of Afghanistan

[Robert Naiman]

Known for stance on pot, former NM Gov. Johnson readies presidential bid

Christian Heinze, The Hill, 04/20/11 06:43 AM ET

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/156893-known-for-stance-on-pot-johnson-readies-2012-bid-

[...]

[Gary Johnson is] running for the Republican presidential nomination on a
platform that calls for withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq - a position
that's anathema to the party's ruling class. He also supports abortion
rights and, most controversially, favors legalizing marijuana.



Johnson hasn't formally announced his 2012 intentions - he's scheduled to do
so Thursday on the steps of the New Hampshire State Capitol in Concord - but
he's gotten a lot of media attention, mainly because of his stance on pot.



Last year, he teamed up with singer Melissa Etheridge and actor Danny Glover
for a Hollywood rally in favor of Proposition 19 - an initiative that would
have legalized marijuana in California.



He also spoke at Cannabis Revival 2010, joined comedy duo Cheech and Chong
at a gala for the Marijuana Policy Project and admitted to smoking medicinal
marijuana for three years.



Johnson was in a near-fatal paragliding accident in 2005, in which he broke
his back and some of his ribs along with blowing out his knees. He used
marijuana for pain control from 2005 to 2008.



"It is what it is," he said of his stance on the issue. "From the context of
'The Emperor Wears No Clothes,' I'm the only politician that's saying the
emperor is wearing no clothes. That's not such a bad deal."



His argument is that the U.S. spends far too much on its war on marijuana -
both in terms of real and human capital - to justify continued prohibition.
Johnson urges Republicans to apply a simple cost-benefit analysis to the
issue.



"Half of what we're spending on law enforcement, the courts and prison is
drug-related, and to what end?" he says.
[...]

-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
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