Jimmy Carter on drug policy

“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use…” – President Jimmy Carter to Congress, August 2, 1977.

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25 Responses to Jimmy Carter on drug policy

  1. jean valjean says:

    hey pete why not post jimmys latest ramblings on cannabis reform alongside

  2. darkcycle says:

    I think the point of Pete’s post is that this chorus of disappointment from our cohort in president Carter is misplaced. He has never advocated “legalization”. His administration toyed with the idea, but the White House Coke scandal notwithstanding, never made any serious moves towards it. Many States were of their own accord decriminalizing cannabis at that time, but those moves were mostly reversed after Carter left and the Cult of Reagan took over. The closest he ever came was the much circulated quote above.

  3. allan says:

    but that quote…? that’s all we need from Mr Carter. It’s enough to hold his feet to the fire on that one quote. That way there’s no wiggle room for us to be accused of “misrepresenting” his position.

    If I’m not mistaken, isn’t there also a comment about his sons in there somewhere? like prefacing that one…?

    • allan says:

      besides, Pat Robertson (a fellow Baptist) gives him plenty of cover.

      I mean really Jimmy? You’re more conservative than Pat? Ouch, dude…

  4. Daniel Williams says:

    I was 26 when Carter was elected, a political junkie for almost a decade, and not impressed. No one is completely useless, of course, but his quasi-evangelical stlye put me off. And whether presidents are picked by the times or the opposite, the time of Jimmy Carter will unlikely be heralded as worthy. It should, however, provide an interesting footnote of an attack rabbit.

    His current ramblings are, I believe, just the long-term effects of believing in the God thing. Like some cancers, his has metastasized slowly, as have his silly and nonsensical statements. It can’t be known how much longer before Carter passes on, and I do wish him good health, but I doubt we’ll witness anything again as insane as his current reefer madness.

  5. kaptinemo says:

    Carter got the Presidential nod courtesy of having dinner with David Rockefeller and Zbigniew Brzezinski. Plug all the last names of the three together into a search engine and see what you get.

    And, just as with Carter, ‘Zbig’ was Obama’s political mentor/puppetmaster/handler/’brain’, too. See how far back this stuff goes?

    • B. Snow says:

      Zbigniew Brzezinski was/is a Former National Security Advisor for Jimmy Carter, a former professor, and he’s still a noted political scientist… and seen as an expert in a few areas = he’s a ‘Geo-Stategical’-Whachama-calist…

      He’s someone whom I could see many people (politicians & otherwise) seeking a opinion from – a consultant on a things related to Russia, Poland, and that part of the globe. As well as any number of “foreign-policy” & various ‘poli-sci’ topics, Yes he “participated in the formation of the Trilateral Commission” – which if you wanna go all “conspiracy theory” on so be it.

      As far as the Trilateral Commission *controlling the world* – ala the “New World Order” or “Illuminati” = I’d bet my money on another group = with an unknown name (otherwise it’s not much of a conspiracy), comprised of IDK… maybe Ancient-Aliens & Gnostic-Gospel-caretakers of a form of Pseudo-Freemasonry or something?

      But, (more on Topic) yeah, seeing Jimmy Carter going all, “Think About The Children” = is really fraking depressing.

      And that’s taking into account all the destruction I’ve seen in the last few days on TV & nearby = the first really nasty Tornado of the year (here on Wednesday) wiped out a sub-division between 1-to-2 miles from my home, we’re all fine but that thing erased houses from their slabs a bunch of them, and apparently Tornado Season is just starting up here – as a big stretch of Oklahoma got plowed-down yesterday – most folks thought we’d get a bit of a break from all that this year but, Nope.

      And getting on-line and reading That Carter is back-up Patrick Kennedy & K.Sabet’s “personal redemption program” just irks the hell outta me. They should KNOW damn well they aren’t going to make prohibition work, AND they can’t accept that their “Disease we’re powerless against” – *might become a non-excuse for their own fuck-ups* = so they’re trying to “split the baby”, hence this Third-Way crapolla!

      Which is anything but “Smart”, and anyone with a grip on reality should know better, sadly vested interests fiscal (Incarceration-related Industries)and personal (like 12-Steppers & Teetotalers), BUT since they’re offering a sort of bait & switch prospect to the ‘Private Prisons’ = to be able to become ‘Involuntary Rehab Centers’ – they might pull the wool over the general public’s eyes.

      Unless… One of the Guitherisms – “Americans are generally pretty brave… although some are apparently terrified of people who listen to Pink Floyd and eat Cheetos.” – Turns out to be WRONG… (Maybe so, IDK?)

      And, There are plenty of actual REAL Problems they could be spending those “For The Children” Billions on every year, you know with actual children = not theoretical ones – which they argue “for the sake of” – or statistical abnormalities/flukes of political science, not the REAL kids with real problems = ones you could line up down a road & back up over the horizon, and out of sight!
      (Which is where those folks seem to prefer *real kids* like those anyway = you know “out-of-” BOTH sight AND mind.)

  6. mofo says:

    Forcing people into marijuana re-education camps is more harmful than the drug itself. They are placed in the criminal justice system and if users don’t cooperate, they are placed in jails with real criminals. We don’t treat alcohol and tobacco users this way. What Carter now supports is trying to put a “caring” face on a sadistic policy.

  7. Carter can’t claim to be for decriminalization and support an organization dedicated to keeping it a crime. SAM’s only claim to fame is the idea that mandatory treatment should substitute for incarceration in personal use cases. SAM just adds another layer to the criminalization process.

    Forced indoctrination is not a good path to go down when it is being required by a government. I have a hard time viewing it as help in the framework of the criminal justice system. Are we combining the subject of psychiatry and substance abuse and addiction therapy with criminal justice and alloying it all to the justice department? Sharing enormous funds too? It all stinks to me, and Jimmy has done an about face. Sabat and Frum must run a good sales tag team.

    I fail to see how you can claim to support decriminalization and SAM at the same time. If you do all I can see is a bigger and badder government/industrial/treatment complex. With Kevin at the authoritative helm. Gives me the shivers.

  8. Servetus says:

    Carter’s trust in people and things is often misplaced. It’s caused Jimmy and the country big problems.

    He trusted organized religion, and religious organizations used him to burrow into American politics to bypass separation of church and state. He trusted Iranian mullahs, and they repaid Carter for ousting the Shah by seizing embassy officials.

    Now Jimmy Carter trusts SAM, an organization guaranteeing him and everyone else that SAM will stay-the-course on prohibition without persecuting or punishing anybody. At the same time, SAM promises to remove a pound of flesh without drawing blood. These magic tricks and more are awaiting development in the organization’s Department of Delusion.

  9. allan says:

    share this one:

    How the war on drugs has infringed on U.S. civil liberties

    America has lost its constitutional footing because of the war on drugs. More arrests equal more prosecutions, more convictions, more jails, and more police and prosecutors. The system benefits prosecutors, police and the prison industry.

    • UnSustainable Affairs Commission says:

      FAX: Origin; Fiji,

      Friends! Note the Commisioner has Scribbles in His Margins Concerning The Document Under Scrutiny. Mentions Orwell. Benefit=Detriment, Something Like That. Says Things will Take Care of Themselves, Not To Worry. Send Money as it is Made Available!

  10. DdC says:

    Jimmy Carter and the Trilateralists: Presidential Roots
    “service on the Trilateral Commission gave me an excellent opportunity to know national and international leaders in many fields of study concerning foreign affairs.”

    Trilateral Commission Membership List.

    Why Do You Think They Call it DOPE?
    * Cannabis Hemp: The Invisible Prohibition Revealed
    * The Elkhorn Manifesto
    * Marijuana and Hemp: The Untold Story

    Trilateral Commission: Grand Masters of Global Tyranny

    Hemp was a threat to the Rockefellers not only because it produces oil, but also because Cannibis has uses as a medicine, thereby threatening their pharmaceutical drug monopoly. Nelson Rockefeller, as governor of New York, in 1973, established marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic drug, through the “Rockefeller Drug Laws” which had harsh penalties for the possession and sale of drugs (including marijuana) that could result in a sentence of 15 years to life. As other States followed suit, this became the cornerstone of America’s abysmal ‘War on Drugs’.

  11. Irie says:

    Spreading the news……12 States with Pending Legislation to Legalize Medical Marijuana
    (as of May 9, 2013)
    1. Alabama..???
    2. Illinois…PASSED
    3. Iowa…Medical marijuana legislation introduced in Iowa
    4. Kansas..??
    5. Kentucky…78% support medical marijuana, bill still waiting to be heard.
    6. Minnesota..Bills that would allow medical marijuana use in Minnesota were introduced in the state House and state Senate 5/2/13 and referred to committees.
    7. Missouri..A proposal to decriminalize marijuana across the state was heard yesterday..still waiting results
    8. Ohio..Ohio’s attorney general certified a petition for a proposed amendment that would allow marijuana be used for industrial, medical and therapeutic purposes yesterday 5/17/13
    9. Pennsylvania…pending legislation
    10. New Hampshire…Senate Committee on Health, Education & Human Services voted 5-0 Monday to recommend the Senate approve the bill
    11. New York…PASSED BY COMMITTEE
    12. West Virginia

  12. Ian Elliott says:

    The late conservative commentator William F. Buckley, Jr., of all people, came out in favor of marijuana legalization. He sailed out beyond the five-mile limit and tried pot. His reaction was similar to that of, as far as I know, everyone trying it for the first time. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.” Then he made a remark which could well stand as a model for conservatives favoring legalization: “We may as well legalize it. They’re going to smoke the stuff.”

  13. Freeman says:

    Russ Belville has a good commentary up at the SAMUEL website on the recent Carter statements.

    My favorite jab:
    “President Carter’s endorsement of Project SAMUEL and rejection of his own statements from five months ago is completely in line with those of us who support mental health treatment and rehabilitation centers enjoying a steady stream of easily-rehabilitated paying clients. His leadership on this issue is profound, and we believe history will regard our efforts as well as it regards Carter’s presidency.”

    • claygooding says:

      I wish he had phrased it ” rehabilitation centers enjoying a steady stream of non-addicted addicts”,,,,just cause.

  14. mr Ikasheeni says:

    And,what does Carter know about peace?

    • Objection OverRuled says:

      !&#$&*, #!$&+%, Ouch, Jeez!!!! %!$*

    • Mahatma Coat says:

      .
      .

      Apparently he knows just as much about peace as Al Gore & Barack Obama, but it took Mr. Carter a lot longer to figure it out.

      Good grief I haven’t laughed this hard in a dog’s age. This list is just plain funny in the aggregate:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_Peace_Prize_laureates#Laureates

      Henry Kissinger! ROFLMAO! The United Nations Peacekeeping Forces! The frackin’ United Nations itself! 5 Star General George Catlett Marshall! I think that Adolph Hitler got robbed. Didn’t he used to be on this list?

      Mahatma Ghandi? No soup for you!

      I guess that’s what you get when you let a TNT manufacturer pick the winners.

  15. War Vet says:

    Hunter S. Thompson used to good friends with Jimmy Carter. I feel sorry for Carter when the ghost of Hunter comes and visits him now. Knowing Hunter, he wouldn’t come back as a ghost, but as a zombie (Maybe Captain Cook or the god Lono) carrying around a bottle of Chivas, some joints, his gun(s) and some dynamite.

    In our history books, we learned how Carter was a weak president . . . I guess he’s a weak ex-president as well. Why would you jump on the bandwagon of SAM . . . they don’t even have wheels to roll around on. Have any of you guys seen those pictures of Project SAM where they’re all running around the office playing ‘Cowboys and Indians’ with little cap-guns?

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