Posted on 01/12/2014 10:49:32 AM PST by Libloather
Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer (D) this week said he's opposed to laws legalizing marijuana.
While Maryland legislators are expected to take up several proposals to legalize the drug this year, the Democratic minority whip said he's concerned it’s a gateway to harsher narcotics.
"I'm not a proponent of the legalization of marijuana," Hoyer said Thursday during a taping of C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, which will air Sunday.
The position puts Hoyer on the same page as Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), but at odds with a recent shift in public opinion.
O'Malley said earlier in the week that he's "not much in favor" of the legalization proposals members of the state's General Assembly plan to introduce in both chambers this year.
“I’ve seen what drug addiction has done to the people of our state and the people of our city,” O'Malley said Wednesday in an interview with Baltimore's WEAA radio station.
Public sentiment, meanwhile, has shifted sharply in favor of legalization in recent years. A CNN/Opinion Research poll released Monday found that 55 percent of Americans support the move to legalize the drug — up 12 points from 2012 and 39 points from 25 years ago.
A Gallup poll released in October put the level of support at 58 percent.
Interest in decriminalizing marijuana has skyrocketed since voters in Colorado and Washington state voted last year to legalize the drug for recreational use.
While marijuana remains illegal under federal law, the Justice Department announced last year that it wouldn’t attempt to block state efforts to legalize it. Colorado venders began selling it openly on Jan. 1.
"By regulating marijuana like alcohol, Colorado voters hope to reduce crime and keep marijuana away from kids," Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) said as the sales began.
Along with Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Polis has sponsored legislation to eliminate the federal laws criminalizing the drug.
At least 18 other states and Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana to some extent, though most of those laws relate to the treatment of medical conditions and require a doctor's prescription.
Hoyer this week noted that a former Baltimore mayor, Kurt Schmoke, had advocated for legalizing pot several decades ago. Hoyer said he supported that move at the time, but has since changed his tune based on his discussions with drug-treatment experts.
"My initial reaction was a positive one," Hoyer said. "Then as I talked to people who deal with drug abuse issues, with rehabilitation issues, I became convinced that marijuana was, in fact, a threshold drug and that it would lead to the use of harder, very harmful drugs.".
“I’ve seen what drug addiction has done to the people of our state and the people of our city,”....
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What city is “our city” for OweMalley? Annapolis? If he means Baltimore, someone should smack that clown upside the head. It was his policies while he was mayor of Baltimore that allowed that city to become one of the heroin capitals of the US. That, along with his invitation for illegals to move in, is among his crowning mayoral achievements. Lordy, how I loathe that creep.
I am not in favor of legalization, but, as someone said upthread, Lil’ Marty and Hoyer are probably being paid by the drug cartels to keep the drugs illegal and, therefore, expensive.
It’s virtually impossible to keep kids from anything.But for kids trying to get booze unless it’s from mom and dads liquor cabinet they’re not often successful getting served in a bar or liquor store. Drugs laws certainly aren’t keeping it from them now. Kids find a way to get alcohol and cigarettes. Would outlawing those two things prevent them from getting it? Prohibition didn’t stop anyone from drinking. I understand the basic conservative principal but does taxing, say, coffee create less of it? Competition is what holds down prices.And as far as a good laugh I couldn’t think of anything funnier than you.
Then bring back alcohol prohibition and outlaw cigarettes. The drug war has been going on now for one hundred years. At this point what is the standard for failure? Drugs are ultimately a question of money. Get control of the money and then you’ll get control of the problem. But prohibition certainly works well for the drug dealers as prohibition did for Al Capone.
So making it worse by making it easier is a good response?
MY laws?
sorry to be so late, haven’t been keeping up
I really don’t remember the subject for which you attacked me, but I have to say, if you aren’t a lib, you are well on your way.
The insults and attacks are completely unnecessary and point to a person who really wants his comments to be relevant but fails completely.
Good luck with your next screed and have a good day.
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