Pat Robertson Endorses Decriminalization
On Televangelist Pat Robertson's show "The 700 Club" on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) he and his co-host began their segment last Thursday blasting the "lock 'em up and throw away the key" approach to crime and how it has led to the world's highest incarceration rate (1% of the adult population). Later on in the video he criticizes mandatory sentences and gives his support for decriminalized possession of "a few ounces" on cannabis. Blew my mind. Pat Robertson is a beacon for the Religious Right in America--making up about 20-25% of the electorate--so this is significant.
The show also highlighted a new organization called "Right On Crime" which attempts to provide reforms to the current criminal justice system based on conservative principles. The group is a project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and has gathered support from other high-profile conservatives including Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist and Edwin Meese, III. Right On Crime favors greater accountability and better practices in the criminal justice system but provides no statement on drug laws, its mostly about reforms to save tax money. The coordination with Pat Robertson's comment about decriminalization is what ties this together nicely. It about time conservatives understood the steadfast arguments against cannabis prohibition. A criminal approach to drug policy has taken us nowhere but deeper into debt over the past 40 years, its time more public figures embraced the merits of a health-based approach to drugs. I'll be waiting for Right On Crime to take a stance on decriminalization soon.
Check out the video below, around 4 minutes in he gets to rant a bit on marijuana crimes and mandatory sentences.
The show also highlighted a new organization called "Right On Crime" which attempts to provide reforms to the current criminal justice system based on conservative principles. The group is a project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and has gathered support from other high-profile conservatives including Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist and Edwin Meese, III. Right On Crime favors greater accountability and better practices in the criminal justice system but provides no statement on drug laws, its mostly about reforms to save tax money. The coordination with Pat Robertson's comment about decriminalization is what ties this together nicely. It about time conservatives understood the steadfast arguments against cannabis prohibition. A criminal approach to drug policy has taken us nowhere but deeper into debt over the past 40 years, its time more public figures embraced the merits of a health-based approach to drugs. I'll be waiting for Right On Crime to take a stance on decriminalization soon.
Check out the video below, around 4 minutes in he gets to rant a bit on marijuana crimes and mandatory sentences.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation and Right On Crime do not and will not support drug legalization. The issue we raise is over how best to deal with drug offenders, and the proper balance between incarceration and rehabilitation. We invite you to read our policy recommendations which can be found at: http://www.rightoncrime.com/priority-issues/substance-abuse/.
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