Here's an area where people don't understand Dr. Paul's liberty position. As a medical doctor, he is not for ANY kind of substance abuse (including legal drugs). What he is for is FREEDOM.
Almost every substance has good and bad uses, and just because some people abuse them doesn't mean they should be made illegal for everyone. Drugs have only been "illegal" for about 50 years. Notice most of our drug problems have come since drugs were made illegal. That created a black market for them and made criminals out of many people who never committed violent crimes.
It's really not a matter of "legalizing" any drug. The fact is, the federal gov't should not be able to rule on substances one way or the other. That was not one of the few and specific areas our constitution gives fedgov authority in. It should be up to states and localities if they want to regulate any substances, from hemp to heroin. Anyone who wants the fedgov to control substances is violating our constitution and asking their representatives to violate their oaths of office. If we want them to LIE as their first official act of office, why should we be surprised when they lack integrity thereafter?
The biggest thing is that a gov't that is powerful enough to ban a weed is powerful enough to control or ban vitamins, supplements, alternative remedies, organic fruits & vegetables, fast food, red meat, raw milk, and pure water. And they have tried to control every one of those things.
Then the same gov't that decrees these things should be banned allows all kinds of toxic additives (in addition to processed sugar, corn syrup, and salt) to be put into our food, rat poison (fluoride) into our drinking water, and they want to pop every misbehaving kid on cocaine-like Ritalin. Who are they to tell us raw milk is dangerous? What makes the gov't expert on drugs, or anything?
The hemp situation is simply ridiculous. Hemp is impotent marijuana. It would take a joint the size of a telephone pole to get someone high - and no one could ever ingest enough to get high. Hemp has many valuable uses, like clothing and fuel. It would be a huge boon to our economy. Yet our gov't has made it illegal.
The bottom line is that the fedgov should not be involved in regulating any substances at all.
*
