On Aug. 6, 2006, the Anchorage Daily News reported, “Palin said she has smoked marijuana — remember, it was legal under state law, she said, even if illegal under U.S. law — but says she didn’t like it and doesn’t smoke it now. “‘I can’t claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled.’”
The paper quoted Palin as saying she opposed legalization of marijuana because of the “message” that would be sent to her children. Let’s ponder that a bit.
Gov. Palin is one of many millions of Americans who have acknowledged using marijuana and gone on to live productive, wildly successful lives. That list famously includes California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Sen. Barack Obama, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and astronomer Carl Sagan, and many others. That Palin used marijuana is no big deal. What is a big deal is that she thinks that the 100 million Americans who have done so — presumably including herself — deserve arrest, jail, and a criminal record.
The Hill Blog
This won't be a problem for Governor Palin because Drug Use is not a significant national issue, however, it does point to the duplicitous approach of Republicans when it comes to the law and "traditional American Values". Republicans are just as human, and therefore curious, as everyone else in this country. They too have experimented with drugs and premarital sex and vice of every kind. However, the Republicans seem willing to support the harshest possible penalties for vice. How can someone who has used drugs in the past, but who was never caught, and therefore never went to jail (accepted responsibility for their vice) support putting others in prison for the same behavior?
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