It's official: Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski (R) just suffered one of the worst primary defeats ever, getting only
19% of the vote, coming in third to Sarah Palin (51%) and John Binkley (30%). On the Democratic side, former governor Tony Knowles brushed past Eric Croft, winning 69-23%. Knowles and Palin will face off in November, with former Republican Andrew Halcro running as an independant.
What does this have to do with marijuana? Aside from Murkowski, the other five candidates all admitted to smoking marijuana.
Here's a fun fact: Marijuana is legal under Alaskan law. Of course, the courts have found federal law trumps that, but since 1975 small amounts of marijuana were not prosecuted under Alaskan law. Murkowski made overturning that a priority, and succeeded in reducing the amount that could be considered for private use, though the new law remains contested in court.
Sarah Palin made a point of marijuana's unique status in Alaska, as if trying to absolve herself of responsibility for her past use. But blaming its pseudo-legal status doesn't hold up when you look at the sheer number of people in other states that have tried marijuana.
Reliable statistics are hard to come by, but the numbers I've seen indicate anywhere from 80 million to 120 million Americans have used marijuana. Among the more well-known:
President George W. Bush
Former President Bill Clinton
Former Vice President Al Gore
Senator John Kerry
Former Senator John Edwards
DNC Chairman Howard Dean
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
And that's just off the top of my head. Surely there are many more Congressmen and other elected officials who have confessed at some time or another. And surely the list of those who have escaped questioning or lied is greater than those who have admitted. If you know of any more politicians, please say so.
What do all of those politicians have in common besides their past use? They all support keeping marijuana illegal, i.e., police should waste their time arresting users. Some make a point of supporting medical use, or lowering the priority of prosecuting marijuana crimes, or supporting other punishments besides prison...but none will say what is obvious: that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol, and we would all be better served by legalizing and regulating just as we did after Prohibition.