Pubdate: Wed, 07 Mar 2012
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2012 The New York Times Company
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Jesse McKinley

PAT ROBERTSON SAYS MARIJUANA USE SHOULD BE LEGAL

Of the many roles Pat Robertson has assumed over his five-decade-long
career as an evangelical leader - including presidential candidate and
provocative voice of the right wing - his newest guise may perhaps
surprise his followers the most: marijuana legalization advocate.

"I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage
alcohol," Mr. Robertson said in an interview on Wednesday. "I've never
used marijuana and I don't intend to, but it's just one of those
things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn't succeeded."

Mr. Robertson's remarks echoed statements he made last week on "The
700 Club," the signature program of his Christian Broadcasting
Network, and other comments he made in 2010. While those earlier
remarks were largely dismissed by his followers, Mr. Robertson has now
apparently fully embraced the idea of legalizing marijuana, arguing
that it is a way to bring down soaring rates of incarceration and
reduce the social and financial costs.

"I believe in working with the hearts of people, and not locking them
up," he said.

Mr. Robertson's remarks were hailed by pro-legalization groups, who
called them a potentially important endorsement in their efforts to
roll back marijuana penalties and prohibitions, which residents of
Colorado and Washington will vote on this fall.

"I love him, man, I really do," said Neill Franklin, executive
director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of current
and former law enforcement officials who oppose the drug war. "He's
singing my song."

For his part, Mr. Robertson said that he "absolutely" supported the
ballot measures, though he would not campaign for them. "I'm not a
crusader," he said.

That comment may invite debate, considering Mr. Robertson's long
career of speaking out - and sometimes in ways that drew harsh
criticism - in favor of conservative family values. Recently, he was
quoted as saying that victims of tornadoes in the Midwest could have
avoided their fate by praying more.

But advocates of overhauling drug laws say Mr. Robertson's newfound
passion on their issue could help sway conservative voters and other
religious leaders to their cause.

"Pat Robertson still has an audience of millions of people, and they
respect what he has to say," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director
of the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for more liberal drug
laws. "And he's not backtracking. He's doubling down."

Mr. Robertson, 81, said that there had been no single event or moment
that caused him to embrace legalization. Instead, his conviction that
the nation "has gone overboard on this concept of being tough on
crime" built up over time, he added.

"It's completely out of control," Mr. Robertson said. "Prisons are
being overcrowded with juvenile offenders having to do with drugs. And
the penalties, the maximums, some of them could get 10 years for
possession of a joint of marijuana. It makes no sense at all."

Such talk was welcomed by some other religious leaders, especially
those in African-American communities who have long argued that blacks
are unfairly targeted in drug cases.

Iva E. Carruthers, the general secretary for the Samuel DeWitt Proctor
Conference, the Chicago group that represents hundreds of black clergy
members and lay leaders, said Mr. Robertson's remarks suggested that
he recognized that "if you're a Hollywood exec with money, you're
treated differently than if you're a poor kid getting off public
transportation and get arrested."

"I would hope and think that it would move the needle for the large
constituencies of evangelicals he represents," Dr. Carruthers added.

She said that she personally supported marijuana legalization, as did
a growing number of conference members. But whether Mr. Robertson's
endorsement would have a lasting impact was unclear, even to Mr. Robertson.

"I think they would agree if they understood the facts as I do," he
said of other evangelical leaders. "But it's very hard."

He attributed much of the problem of overpopulated jails to a "liberal
mindset to have an all-encompassing government."

Conservative groups that usually align with Mr. Robertson, meanwhile,
were largely silent when asked for comment on his stance. For example,
Focus on the Family - a Christian group whose disdain for same-sex
marriage and support for family values are in line with Mr.
Robertson's - declined to respond beyond saying that the group opposes
legalization of marijuana for medical or recreational use.

For his part, Mr. Robertson said he was "not encouraging people to use
narcotics in any way, shape or form." But he said he saw little
difference between smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, a
longstanding argument from far more liberal - and libertarian-minded -
leaders.

"If people can go into a liquor store and buy a bottle of alcohol and
drink it at home legally, then why do we say that the use of this
other substance is somehow criminal?" he said.

Mr. Franklin, who is a Christian, said Mr. Robertson's position was
actually in line with the Gospel. "If you follow the teaching of
Christ, you know that Christ is a compassionate man," he said. "And he
would not condone the imprisoning of people for nonviolent offenses."

Mr. Robertson said he enjoyed a glass of wine now and then - "When I
was in college, I hit it pretty hard, but that was before Christ." He
added that he did not think marijuana appeared in the Bible, though he
noted that "Jesus made water into wine."

"I don't think he was a teetotaler," he said.

And while Mr. Robertson said his earlier hints at support for
legalization had led to him being "assailed by those who thought that
it was terrible that I had forsaken the straight and narrow," he added
that he was not worried about criticism this time around.

"I just want to be on the right side," he said. "And I think on this
one, I'm on the right side." 
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