Isn’t it kind of ironic that Ron Paul and NAACP both see U.S. drug laws as a civil rights issue?
The NAACP has come out in support of Proposition 19 (on California ballot in November) which would legalize recreational use of marijuana.
Their argument is almost identical to the one Ron Paul made at the Tavis Smiley Republican debates in 2008. (It’s a legit argument.)
What do you think?? If these two can agree, shouldn’t the drug laws be changed ASAP??
“I would like to believe if we have a freer society, it will take care of blacks and whites and everybody equally because we’re all individuals. To me that is so important. But if we had equal justice under the law, it would be a big improvement. If we had a repeal of most of the federal laws on drugs and the unfairness on how blacks are treated with these drug laws it would be a tremendous improvement……..a system designed to protect individual liberty will have no punishments for any group and no privileges. Today, inner city folks, minorities, are punished unfairly in the War on Drugs. For instance: blacks make up 14% of those who use drugs, yet 36% of those arrested are blacks and it ends up that 63% of those who finally end up in prison are blacks. THIS HAS TO CHANGE. We don’t have to have more courts and more prisons. We need to repeal to the whole war on drugs. IT ISN’T WORKING. (APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)…..”
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/07/naacp.marijuana.support/?fbid=ujO1xXy3Om_
(CNN) — Legalizing marijuana is a civil rights issue, according to one of California’s most prominent African-American advocacy groups.
The California State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, led by President Alice Huffman, recently announced its “unconditional endorsement” for Proposition 19, a legislative initiative on the November ballot that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California.
Huffman said African-Americans are disproportionately affected by the criminalization of marijuana which makes passing the law a civil rights issue.
“We have empirical proof that the application of the marijuana laws has been unfairly applied to our young people of color,” Huffman said in an official statement.
scott b………….”Why is it ironic? Both of them are on the radical fringe.”
So I guess dumb@ass policy (ie Obama) is “mainstream”. Good to know.
football…………..calling someone an idiot works better when you spell the word correctly.
Why is it ironic? Both of them are on the radical fringe.
On this same issue……………………..
conservatives agree with Ron Paul, but disagree with the NAACP. Just watch…………..
Yes, Ron Paul is a genius. I wish the Republican puppet masters would get out of the way and let him be our nomination in 2012. He is arguably the only person who could fix this mess.
He would own–and I mean own–Obama in those debates. In fact, I think Obama’s little ego would shrink upon hearing that he would have to face Paul in the election.
And yes, I agree with Paul on the drug issue.
They are both Idoits
Anytime a group wants to do something and the law prevents them, they argue they should be allowed because it is a ‘right’. Or, how else would you argue against current drug laws. You could not do so on the basis that they are good for people.
People often believe in the same thing for different reasons.
Ron Paul is a libertarian. He thinks the govt. has grown too big and that it affects parts of our lives it should stay out of. He sees drugs as a personal prerogative, a ‘victimless crime’. I don’t agree with him entirely, but I see where he’s coming from. At least he’s being honest about his motives, consistent with his principles, which Democrats and Republicans often aren’t.
The NAACP sees that drug laws and drug enforcement often comes down harder on minorities and the disadvantaged. For instance, the punishment for crack cocaine is sometimes 100 times more severe than the same amount of powder cocaine, because crack is used mostly by blacks. Marijuana is illegal today largely because it was seen in the 1920s and 30s as a drug used mostly by blacks and Hispanics. In fact Wm Randolph Hearst, in his lurid newspaper campaign against the drug, chose to call it ‘marijuana’ because it sounded more foreign.
People who care about civil liberties (I sure do!) see that the War on Drugs really never had very much to do with drugs. It was a justification for giving more power to police and prosecutors. It allowed cops for the first time to just stop someone on the street and question him without probable cause, just on a ‘hunch’. It allowed cops to break down doors for the first time, to search without a warrant, to tap phones, etc. Even to confiscate money or property without due process. The Patriot Act goes further in this direction.
and yet they called Ron Paul a racist (his son, too, even though he shares similar libertarian ideals).
Actually, there’s an internal struggle at the NAACP – some are on board with legalization, while others are vehemently opposed.
However, I agree with you – I don’t smoke, but I definitely think it should be legal, provided that it is regulated like alcohol (no minors, and no driving).
It makes absolutely no sense that cannabis is illegal while alcohol and tobacco (both of which are MORE harmful and MORE addictive) are legal.
Legalization would:
– Create thousands of (legal, income-tax paying) jobs
– Devastate drug cartels, which would suddenly be without 75% of their income
– Provide an enormous windfall for the government, which would bring in billions in taxes and SAVE billions more on law enforcement (ending Prohibition played a big part in getting the U.S. out of the Great Depression)
– Allow police, courts and prisons to focus their resources on DANGEROUS criminals, rather than harmless potheads
I know I’m preaching to the choir here, so now it’s time to do something – donate (if you can) at the link below, then contact your representatives in government! If you don’t know who they are, find out at http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml. Tell them that you are a VOTER, and that this issue is important to you.
If they hear from enough of us, they’ll HAVE to start taking this issue seriously. As Gandhi once said, “first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
Ron Paul has supported the NAACP on this issue and has championed it in any event. That racist.