The audience in the conference hall at CPAC seems pretty amenable to legalizing marijuana. Of course, a debate on the issue is most likely to attract attendees with strong opinions on legalization. The applause for the session’s advocate for legalization, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, is definitely louder as the discussion begins. But as it progresses, and the crowd grows larger (for everyone getting in their seats for Governor Scott Walker), the applause for legalization foe Ann Marie Buerkle grew louder.
The moderator, Mary Katharine Ham, notes that the athletic Johnson has climbed the seven summits. So he’s been high a lot of times.
In his opening remarks, Johnson mentioned he has been engaged to a wonderful woman for five and a half years. That may not help his forthcoming argument that pot does not make you unmotivated and slow a person’s focus on important tasks.
At one point, Johnson declares, “Is [smoking pot] the smartest decision you’ve ever made? We can debate that all night.” Er . . . really? Does anyone want to argue that smoking pot is the smartest decision they’ve ever made? If so, just how bad are all of the other decisions you’ve ever made?
Can we at least acknowledge that marijuana can be a gateway drug to a terrible presidency?