Jimmy Carter "okay" with legalizing pot

Former President Jimmy Carter.

As the Obama administration grapples with new laws legalizing marijuana in Washington and Colorado, former President Jimmy Carter is signaling his support for the measures, telling CNN during a panel discussion that he's "okay" with the new laws and the idea of legalization in general.

Carter, who during his presidency espoused support for the decriminalization of marijuana, said during the discussion that "we can watch and see what happens" in states that have passed measures making marijuana legal, and allow those examples to guide how the government addresses the situation.

Voters in both Colorado and Washington voted on Election Day to legalize pot, and the law went into effect in Washington state last week. But possessing marijuana is still a violation of the Controlled Substances Act, a federal law, and the Obama administration hasn't said how it will respond to the conflict.

• Poll: Americans side with states in pot laws
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Carter suggested that Colorado and Washington can serve as "experiment stations" and "let the American government and let the American people see, does [legalization] cause a serious problem or not."

"All drugs were decriminalized in Portugal about 10 years ago and the use of drugs has gone down dramatically and nobody's been put in prison," he said." So I think a few places around the world is good to experiment with and also a few states in America are good to take the initiative and try something out. That's the way our country's developed over the last 200 years, is by a few states being experiment stations. On that basis, I'm in favor of it."

He also reiterated his support for the decriminalization of marijuana on the grounds that minorities and those with mental illnesses are more likely to find themselves in jail.

"Putting everybody in prison because they have marijuana is a very major step backward, and it ought to be reversed not only in America but around the world," he said.

[quantum_analysis]

I agree with President Carter, that both Colorado and Washington should be left alone by the feds in this legalization experiment, that will only grow from coast to coast in the coming years.

If only to stem the flow of Americans into our overcrowded jails we can no longer afford, as well as stemming the flow of huge amounts of money to the Mexican drug cartels, it is well past time to end this prohibition on a plant that is not as dangerous as alcohol.

Luckily, America is becoming more tolerant with the younger generation!

[quantum_analysis]

Not to mention that medical marijuana is now legal in 18 states, and regulating and taxing this plant will bring in vast amounts of needed revenue just like alcohol.

[tenbender]

They should lighten up on drive by shootings also. Just too many people !! LOL

[bread58]

The War on Drugs is the ultimate in liberalism: big, bloated, expensive, intrusive government meddling in the private lives of the American People. Republicans should press for the decriminalization of drugs with all possible speed.

[amazed108]

If the amount of people who really want to smoke an hallucinogenic substance in the US is really as great as it appears the government is really missing out on a huge new source of revenue. We need to get a bill passed through Congress quickly for the President to sign that would legalize pot and tax it heavily. Maybe even sell it through government pot shops. This might be our answer to the fiscal cliff. Might need a study though to determine if this would be a progressive or regressive tax. Might have to pay a higher tax based on income.

[Social_Adjudicator]

Given the outrageous cost of getting dental work done, it sure would be nice to be able to get legal cocaine.

[justme-123]

This fellow Carter is crazy I tell you, crazy. Marijuana is a proven narcotic that turns anyone who smokes it into a heroin addict within 30 minutes. That's why we have more than 45 million heroin addicts here in the US. Ahh, but the strawberries that's... that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic... that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox DID exist, and I'd have produced that key if they hadn't of pulled the Caine out of action. I, I, I know now they were only trying to protect some fellow officers... What, time for my meds?

[bobbychuckles]

Here's lookin' at you kid.

[Topkitty27]

Republicans want less regulation on everything except the oppression of others that don't thump the Bible like they do. Undoubtedly they will discuss the evils of marijuana over Jack Daniels shots and top shelf margaritas.
I say bring back prohibition of alcohol or legalize weed. I'd bet all of these holier than thou hypocrites would start crying like babies.

[simon1549]

Jimmy carter is a goof.

[Ulgnud]

"Peanuts" was never too bright.

[ludvig1-2009]

Actually if you read his bio, you'd see he was way more intelligent than other President's including Reagan. He was a Nuclear Submarine officer.

[jensedr]

If you don't know anything about weed then you should probably keep your comments to yourself, if you are not in favor of legalizing it or using it then use your rights as an american and do so. Do a little research on up to date studies of weed and you will find our how long the gov't has been lying to you, sounds like most of you on here that are against it know nothing about so ****, millions of americans smoke weed everday, drive, go to work, and enjoy life, not one person has died from weed, not one, and if you think so then show me the death certificate that say cause of death is marijuana, you won't find one trust me. I know people who smoke weed and will not drive, I know people who smoke weed and love to drive because it helps them focus, the US Olympics banned the use of weed because they consider it a performance enhancer because of its ability to help you focus, check it our for yourself.

[Ulgnud]

No one has died from it? Since they don't routinely test for it after a wreck, how would anyone know? Since it slows reaction time I would definitely suspect there have been deaths attributed to drugged up potheads operating motor vehicles as well as dangerous industrial machinery.

[blakemcdaniel]

No surprises here. Carter is just another far left fool. He has been on the wrong side of most issues for decades.