Jay Selthofner Q/A on Blogger Conference Call with Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson

gary-johnson-republican-2012-presidential-candidate-pic — Republican Presidential Candidate 2012

JAY SELTHOFNER, WISCONSIN NORML: Hi, good afternoon.

GARY JOHNSON: Good afternoon.

JAY SELTHOFNER: My question is a two part question on the same topic. And these – I guess I look at it as, in these trying times, the economic recovery, the alternate energy solutions, and really the overall increased public safety are vital to our country, we believe that we have a wrongfully forbidden alternative to petroleum, pharmaceuticals, alcohol, and it seems that hemp, cannabis, or marijuana is the solution, and possibly an alternate tax base that’s growing right underneath our nose. With public support overwhelming, why are Republicans so intolerant to adjust the marijuana laws?

GARY JOHNSON: I, of course, Jay, that’s one of my crusades here. I think it’s indicative of dozens of other issues. I happen to think that our marijuana laws, though, affect more people, criminalize more behavior that any other law that we might cite. And I mean that from the standpoint that if taken to their extreme, why might have one hundred million people in this country behind bars. And, of course, we wouldn’t have a hundred million people behind bars in this country because we realize we can’t enforce these laws, and so, we can’t enforce them, so that’s what ends up making them so discriminatory. And the hypocrisy that goes along with laws, that those that, politicians that have done the same, pass legislation that, under the wrong set of circumstances, they are behind bars. So, this is a – these are very hypocritical laws, that are also very, very discriminatory.

JAY SELTHOFNER: Discriminatory. You know, with – I guess, with – the current Republican Party, seems to still be about Cannabis Prohibition, continuing to fund the War on Drugs, continuing to spend taxpayer dollars on Prohibition. What three ways do you think you can change that agenda within the intolerant Republican Party?

GARY JOHNSON: Well, running for President of the United States. I think that a significant portion of the Republican vote would shout that Republicans are just as committed to drug reform as anyone else. And that’s my experience, and I’m putting that to the test here, believing that I will have enough support to shout that, shout the notion that, “let’s reform our drug laws.”

JAY SELTHOFNER: Fair enough. Thank you very much for your time today.

GARY JOHNSON: Thank you.

Although he did not give me the three reasons, I feel that running for elected office is key to success in the marijuana movement and one of the ultimate forms of activism. This is especially true in Wisconsin and other states without ballot initiatives for the citizens and residents to directly get involved in changing the laws. These are just some of the reasons I ran for Wisconsin State Assembly in 2010 and continue to work with the Friends of Jay Selthofner to grow my political campaign.

The conference call closed out with Peter St. Cyr of Wordcab/New Mexico Independent and a continued conversation about cannabis reform. You can read the entire transcript at Gary Johnson Blogger Conference Call Transcript July 26 2011 and the additional excerpt about marijuana reform below.

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PETER ST CYR: I believe that you’re in New York today, but along the border in Juarez, the drug cartels and violence there continues to escalate. Would changing drug laws affect the violence in some of those five Mexican states that are being rampaged by the drug cartels?

GARY JOHNSON: I am advocating – what I’m saying is – legalize marijuana and 75% of the border violence with Mexico goes away. I think we legalize marijuana, you might argue that 75% of the drug cartels activities are not engaged in the trade of marijuana, I think that we legalize marijuana and we just take giant steps toward this whole notion of looking at this drug problem first as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue, and we really take giant steps with regard to the recognition that all of this border violence is Prohibition related. That’s the problem. These are disputes that are being played out with guns, rather than the courts. Twenty eight thousand deaths south of the border in the last four years. If we can’t connect the dots between prohibition and violence, I don’t know if we ever will.

PETER ST CYR: And prohibition seems to take shape by the federal government and local law enforcement agencies. I’m reading on a medical marijuana blog that eradication efforts, as always during the summer, are underway today across six California counties, and apparently they’ve seized 300,000 marijuana plants and it’s led to 77 arrests. Earlier this year, you’re aware, the US Attorneys in several states started sending out letters warning Governors and Attorney Generals that their states’ medical marijuana programs were in direct conflict with federal law. What are your predictions, and what are your feelings about what Obama had campaigned on during the 2008 election about, you know, maybe giving the states the right to have these kinds of medical marijuana laws?

GARY JOHNSON: I thought clearly that he stated that states would have the right to implement their own laws, so I see this as a direct conflict between his dialogue and the reality of drug policy in this country, which is as bad as it’s ever been.

PETER ST CYR: Thank you.

GARY JOHNSON: Thanks.