Time to Decriminalize?

" It's interesting as you have said in fact I don't advocates smoking marijuana and all. It's just met with the mature adults should be able to do one good policy is the Internet out there advocating get the start smoking marijuana. "

" No I'm not I mean what I what I would do. Personally and privately is there's not an issue the point is. You know intellectually is that the civil liberties. You know logically are we embracing. A futile war and an expensive lie that. Right. Eroding credibility among parents teachers and and police officers when it comes to the real dangers of heart drugs. I I think you can make a lot of cases for. Just of the fact that we should take a look at our marijuana allies and realize that state -- there is the option of respecting the fact that responsible recreational a dual use of marijuana. May just -- civil liberties and what's interesting in Europe -- you know most of Europe is stopped arresting people for Maryland 25 years ago. And you -- has not gone up much as a matter of fact. By all estimates there are estimates and there's. Americans smoke about twice the pot per capita that Europeans do and over there about the pretty easy -- you're the laws are pretty arts."

" Any idea that legalization decriminalization would lead to widespread or greater use is not necessarily the case here. Based on that data."

" Yes Alan I've been talking about this all over the country and it it seems like there's a lot of Americans that think there's just step -- people who would. Would love to ruin their lives would be using marijuana if only it was legal and and the -- anybody wants to smoke pot now. And you know it's -- And it's just ashamed that they have to do it in hiding and it's a shame that it's a criminal activity. And I just you know I just think there's a lot of common sense when you look at the European approach."

" Early on some of the other social issues for example gay marriage where it is European way to other countries come in. Relative to that issue in the United States. "

" You know it's hard -- generalize about Europe because. There are countries in Europe that are as aggressive as we are when it comes to has -- use terror or gay rights or whatever. And and there are countries that are way ahead of it so it we think of Europe as the European Union. But -- a lot of this is these issues are quite different the main thing for me is. These drug issues like what you think of hard drug abuse I was just in have -- and a cafe in Switzerland went downstairs to the toilet and they're blank stare and -- realized elect couldn't see my veins you know and it's got a lot of junkies out in the -- looking for a warm but I drive place to shoot up and they don't want him got an approach kidnapped across the street would be a machine that used to -- Cigarettes out shells -- government has subsidized. State syringes. And on the street there's a place called cafe six where there's nurses. Helping people. Maintain their our our deal with their heroin addictions in -- counseling and getting them back on the road. This is so progressive -- so compassionate. And so pragmatic. And when you look at how hard drugs or are wrecking both societies he senior they're losing less than half of the people per year that we are they heroin overdoses and they're not in their -- they're counseling -- getting back in the workforce since and -- really -- Fired by the way here can try and fail and be idealistic and and check out this and try that and talked about this. And here in the United States. You can't even talk about these issues."

" No no politician whoever wants to get reelected even talk about decriminalize it can I think urged wealthy former. A -- mayor of Baltimore talked about it limit Buckley was for legal as they were decriminalization. For the most part very few. Very few can have candidates will ever talk about."

" Or police and other retired when they retired they're much more comfortable talking common sense you know we have to distinguish between marijuana and all drugs and right now the focus is on marijuana there's. 80000 Americans in jail to date because they were smoking marijuana there's Lester we arrested -- Merrill more people on marijuana charges than ever before over 800000 people and you know we're -- billions of dollars and where criminalizing a lot of decent people. And then I'm you know I'm always talking about -- the civil liberties aspect of it we work with normal and so on. There's a whole another parallel thing going on with the medical use of marijuana and I've been kind of reluctant to get into that that it's part of the same sort of fight and I really gained a lot of respect for that. The whole medical marijuana -- things just aren't learning more about that too."

" That -- here in Newark Delaware with Rick Steve's joke I had."

" You Portugal has legalized old drugs and the usage of all drugs have gone down in the population. You know that's a good point -- matter effect in 2004 when they had the World Cup there. That put that in the English soccer hooligans -- and under the gonna rip things that the police that that. Forgive or forget or marijuana lasted for the World Cup and media all -- soccer hooligans who smoked pot instead of drink alcohol. It was a tremendous success much less violence much less the rest. Portland had a very good experience with the realizing that if you legalize these things. They used does not go up substantially you'd take the crime out of it and you treat it ethical problem and it's better for society altogether."