Law & Politics

Bill Maher Champions Legal Weed On Real Time, Source: http://collapse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/real-time-with-bill-maher-12.jpgBill Maher recently used time on his show, Real Time with Bill Maher, to discuss marijuana legalization. He does a deft job at describing the issue in a historical and social context.

Definitely watch the clip, it’s pretty spot on. But the following are a few of my favorite points.

In light of the revelation that Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz admitted to smoking weed, Maher suggested it’s time to stop asking every presidential candidate if they’ve ever smoked pot, “because the answer is always yes and nobody cares.”

Maher mentioned he was surprised by Ted Cruz admitting to sparking a doob, pondering, “Who would get high with Ted Cruz?” Which prompted the show’s guest, Bill Nye, to chime in, “Well, if you’re drunk enough, maybe…”

Maher said the generic, canned justification politicians give about their pot past is to claim that they were just young and stupid; a silly child who learned a lesson and never did it again. To which Maher said, “But that’s not an acceptable defense for the 700,000 Americans who get arrested every year, so if we’re going to be honest with our kids about drug laws in our country we should tell them the truth: If you’re going to experiment with drugs, make sure your parents are white and well-connected.”

Maher is particularly hard on Jeb Bush. As a boy at prep school, Jeb not only smoked weed, but he sold it as well. Bush brushed off his dealing days by saying, “I was a cynical little turd at a cynical school.” Yet when Jeb was the governor of Florida, he pushed for laws that installed a system of mandatory sentences for drug crimes and a no-treatment, jail only policy for users. However, when his daughter got in trouble with drugs he made an exception. Maher quipped, “that sounds like something a cynical turd would do.”

At one point, Maher talks about the evolution of presidents admitting to smoking weed. Clinton tried it but “didn’t inhale.” W. refused to answer at all. Obama freely admitted to smoking it quite a bit. He then calls them all out and says they owe something to the 40,000 Americans in prison for the exact same thing.

Maher to Obama: “C’mon man, you’ve gone down the list correcting the stupidities of the past: healthcare, torture, gay marriage, immigration, Cuba… It’s pots turn.”

Maher finally suggests that Obama doesn’t stop with legalization, he should acknowledge that putting people in jail for non-violent offenses was a mistake in the first place and he should use the presidential pardon to free them all. Maher points out that three Republican presidents have used mass pardons in the past. Lincoln pardoned southern rebels, Ford pardoned Vietnam draft dodgers, Reagan signed amnesty for 2.7 million Mexican illegal immigrants.

Maher ends with, “If Republicans can forgive people for armed insurrection, desertion, and speaking Spanish, a Democrat can forgive us for getting high.”

Check out the video. And it is pot’s turn, damnit.