cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Taints Presidential Bids Marijuana Taints Presidential Bids Posted by CN Staff on February 21, 2004 at 23:33:06 PT By Charles Hurt, Washington Times Source: Washington Times If either of the two top Democratic presidential contenders defeats President Bush in November, he will become the first American president to openly acknowledge having smoked marijuana — and inhaled. Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards both have admitted publicly to using marijuana as younger men. Mr. Bush — a product of the same generation — refuses to say whether he has. Massachusetts' Mr. Kerry first admitted during a 1990 Senate re-election campaign that he'd smoked marijuana as an antiwar protester after he returned from fighting in Vietnam. "About 20 years ago, I tried marijuana," Mr. Kerry said through a spokesman in 1990. "I didn't like it. I have never used or tried any drug since." During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine last November, Mr. Kerry elaborated on his views about casual marijuana use. "I've met plenty of people in my lifetime who've used marijuana and who I would not qualify as serious addicts — who use about the same amount as some people drink beer or wine or have a cocktail," he said. "I don't get too excited by any of that." Like Mr. Kerry, Mr. Edwards — the freshman senator from North Carolina — said during the "Rock the Vote" debate last November on CNN that he'd smoked marijuana before. He did not elaborate. But in general, Mr. Edwards has maintained a stronger view against illegal marijuana use. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has given Mr. Edwards two thumbs down for his opposition to the decriminalization of the drug and his "little concern" for medical marijuana use. NORML gives Mr. Kerry a green thumbs up for his "mild support for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes." The group isn't as pleased with Mr. Kerry over his hesitancy to decriminalize marijuana, although they don't give him an outright thumbs down on the issue. In his Rolling Stone interview, the former prosecutor said he didn't "quite" support making marijuana legal. "What we did in the prosecutor's office was have a sort of unspoken approach to marijuana that was almost effectively decriminalization," Mr. Kerry said. "We just didn't bother with small-time use." Mr. Kerry also joined his senior Massachusetts senator, Democrat Edward M. Kennedy, in a letter last October to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration seeking approval for the University of Massachusetts to grow high-quality marijuana. For 30 years, the University of Mississippi has been the sole supplier of high-grade marijuana used in research by the government, creating "an unjustifiable monopoly on the production of marijuana for legitimate medical and research purposes in the United States," according to the letter. Mr. Kerry and Mr. Kennedy were concerned that the lack of competition "may well result in the production of lower-quality, research-grade marijuana, which in turn jeopardizes important research into the therapeutic effects of marijuana for patients undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from AIDS, glaucoma, or other diseases." Mr. Bush never has directly answered questions about whether he used marijuana or other drugs. When asked in August 1999, he replied: "I made some mistakes years ago, but I learned from my mistakes." The next day, he elaborated — but only a little. "Not only could I pass the background check and the standards applied to today's White House, but I could have passed the background check when my dad was president, a 15-year period." Source: Washington Times (DC)Author: Charles Hurt, Washington TimesPublished: February 22, 2004Copyright: 2004 News World Communications, Inc. Website: http://www.washtimes.com/Contact: letters washingtontimes.comRelated Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Rock The Votehttp://www.rockthevote.com/Will Youth Rock The Vote This Year? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18325.shtmlJohn Kerry and Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18324.shtmlKerry: End Medical Marijuana Prosecutionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18114.shtml Senators Back UM Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17685.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #15 posted by FoM on February 22, 2004 at 21:42:11 PT Interesting Comments To Read I thought some of you might want to read this thread.http://www.lucianne.com/threads2.asp?artnum=116822 [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on February 22, 2004 at 17:36:51 PT Thanks The GCW Thanks for the links. I heard him answer about marijuana use in a TV interview. He said everyone was smoking marijuana and he did too but he liked beer. He mentioned Alice's Restaurant to explain how he got out of the Service because he didn't want to go to Vietnam. I wish I could remember what TV Program but I just can't recall. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by The GCW on February 22, 2004 at 17:06:28 PT FoM, Dean and cannabis? US CO: Aspen Recalls Dean's Stint As '70s Ski BumPubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 Source: Denver Post (CO)http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n197/a08.html?18916http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E29805%257E1921441,00.html?search=filter"from the restaurant owner who employed Dean as a dishwasher and remembered him as a pot-smoking "loser" to a buddy who said they were there simply to ski, no one anticipated his future in high-stakes national politics.""Dean - who has acknowledged that he tried marijuana and drank too much beer in his youth - and fellow Yalie Greg Wylde rented a cabin named Trout in a valley near Aspen."Cont. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 22, 2004 at 13:37:35 PT Excerpt from The New York Times Article You Can't Skip Vietnam TwicePublished: February 22, 2004Maybe that other "hippielike" activity, drug use, will be the next up to bat. But in Douglas Brinkley's best-selling chronicle of Mr. Kerry's Vietnam years, "Tour of Duty," this candidate not only admits to smoking pot upon return from the war but also adds that he "certainly enjoyed it." I have yet to hear anyone so much as remark upon this revelation.If Mr. Kerry is anomalous as a presidential candidate of the Vietnam generation, so in his way is Mr. Bush. By all reports neither a true hawk nor a dove at Yale, the president was AWOL from the culture wars back then even if he wasn't AWOL from guard duty. Though Mr. Kerry was in a pick-up rock band, the president, by his own account, didn't even listen to the Beatles once they entered what he called their "weird, psychedelic period."http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/22/arts/22RICH.html?pagewanted=all&position= [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 22, 2004 at 13:02:47 PT This Isn't Right? Kerry smoke when he was an antiwar protester. It seems to say in the second sentence he tried it and didn't like it and never smoked again. Wasn't that Dean that said he didn't like it but liked Beer better?****Massachusetts' Mr. Kerry first admitted during a 1990 Senate re-election campaign that he'd smoked marijuana as an antiwar protester after he returned from fighting in Vietnam. "About 20 years ago, I tried marijuana," Mr. Kerry said through a spokesman in 1990. "I didn't like it. I have never used or tried any drug since." [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on February 22, 2004 at 12:59:23 PT cloud7 That's OK. It's hard when the date isn't on the page but generally if I do a few searches I can find the date. I've seen old news get in circulation in e-mail groups that wasn't new and cause problems. If I can't find a date on an article I won't post it so as not to confuse anyone. It's easy for all of us to get confused these days! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by cloud7 on February 22, 2004 at 12:50:14 PT FoM Whoops, I found the link from another site and didnt realize it was almost three years old! The link in my comment below didnt have a date on the article. Keep up the good work! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 22, 2004 at 10:24:57 PT cloud7 Thanks for the link. I was going to post it but I couldn't find the date it was published. I did a search and it is a few years old. I try to do news that is current because it can confuse people if the article is older and seems like it is just happening now. It's from September of 2001. Good article though! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3073419/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Patrick on February 22, 2004 at 09:00:03 PT What if Bush were a girl? The following link was in my email basket this morning and provided excellent comedy relief...If Bush Was A Girl? What Would He Look Like! http://www.superlaugh.com/view.php?go=1/bushgirl.htm&mid=21411My apologies in advance to any women who find Bush offensive posing as a supermodel!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by cloud7 on February 22, 2004 at 08:05:30 PT Sioux fight Feds, this time over hemp http://www.msnbc.com/news/616149.asp?cp1=1VOTE: Should industrial hemp be legal to grow in the United States? * 13054 responses Yes 94% No 6% Sorry if this was posted already [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by ekim on February 22, 2004 at 07:38:10 PT why did Tim not ask Ralph if Jessie will be VP come on Jessie give em hell like on your show. tryen to blame Ralph for everything is a big mistake. more people are able to vote than do vote. as far as this artical goes does anyone realy think that the current office holder never did, just not able to come clean. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by mayan on February 22, 2004 at 07:11:45 PT 255 & Countin' Two more...Elko County, Nevada Cleveland Heights, Ohio These are the latest in the long list of 255 cities, towns, and counties that have passed resolutions or ordinances to protect the civil liberties of their residents. There's another for Ohio, FoM! Sorry I'm so off topic, but the news is so slow this time of year & I'm just surfin' around.http://www.bordc.org/index.htmlOn an actual cannabis related note, it looks like some co-sponsors were recently added to the Illinois House mmj bill...http://www.legis.state.il.us/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=4868&GAID=3&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=9532&SessionID=3 [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mayan on February 22, 2004 at 06:22:30 PT fgdfsiouygoiuyds For what it's worth, my state will vote Kerry(or Edwards(or Kucinich!!!)) by a wide margin & I have no fear that my single vote may tip the scale towards the shrub. I will probably cast mine towards whoever the Lib's throw up. I have no squabble with Nader if he decides to run as an indy or another third-party. He is a greater part of the truth than the two evils put together. The way I look at it, where has voting for the lesser of two evils gotten us? LP Candidates for Presidential and Vice-Presidential Nomination: http://www.dehnbase.org/lpus/library/pres-cand-2004.htmlNader to announce election plans Sunday: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-02-22-nader_x.htmOn another unrelated note, remember a month or so ago when a German news outlet reported that Osama had been caught, although it was never confirmed. A few days later one of our top generals in Afghanistan predicted we would have him by the end of the year. Never mind that Osama has been cozy with our CIA for some time. The shrub's approval ratings are getting awful low. The scary thing is...what will they do when the "rebound" from Osama's capture wears off?Bin Laden 'surrounded': http://www.sundaytelegraph.news.com.au/print/0,9362,8752173-28778,00.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by John Tyler on February 22, 2004 at 05:30:23 PT The Times they are a'changin' This is a pejorative title that indicates the Washington Times position on cannabis in general. I don’t think it “taints” anything at all. It may show up some hypocrisy though and just might get to a little truth. Besides, what is wrong with people with different ideas, especially about the failed drug war, running for president? Shouldn’t government policies, especially really bad ones, be examined from time to time and adjusted as the people see fit? We don’t need or want a “Council of Guardians” pre-selecting a group of acceptable candidates based on some weird idea of neoconservative ideological purity. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by mayan on February 22, 2004 at 05:00:57 PT Poke Smotters Oh, yeah. Clinton didn't inhale. Eveybody pokes smot. Only Bush BLOWS(& sucks - simultaneously)! I don't care if they stick Quaaludes up their butts as long as they're straight up about sh*t. Give me some truth. Im starving. Sorry if this next link has been put here already. It's a real piece...Asst. Principal Admits Planting Evidence: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-assistant-principal-marijuana,0,3764798.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlinesThe only way out...The 9/11 Truth Movement: Widows Lead Growing Effort To Expose What The Government Knew: http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=64&mode=thread&order=0&thold=09/11 Families Issue Challenge over Integrity of Investigation: http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=66&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0The Family Steering Committee Statement and Questions Regarding The 9/11 Commission Interview With President Bush: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/021904_911_commission_questions.html...is the way in. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment