Former Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens was asked in an interview with NPR’s Scott Simon, if he thinks that the federal government should legalize marijuana. Retired Justice John Paul Stevens, according to NPR, then replied “yes.”
“I really think that that’s another instance of public opinion [that’s] changed. And recognize that the distinction between marijuana and alcoholic beverages is really not much of a distinction. Alcohol, the prohibition against selling and dispensing alcoholic beverages has I think been generally, there’s a general consensus that it was not worth the cost. And I think really in time that will be the general consensus with respect to this particular drug,” John Paul Stevens said.
According to the Weed Blog, this will make Justice Stevens the first-ever Supreme Court Justice to endorse legalizing marijuana. John Paul Stevens believes marijuana should be legalized by the federal government, and according to the Huffington Post, that the public will soon decide prohibiting the substance is “not worth the cost.”Appointed by U.S. President Gerald Ford, the 94-year-old Justice Stevens has been reportedly making waves recently with a new book, Six Amendments, in which he proposes six changes to the U.S. Constitution.
NPR has reported that among the proposed changes are, the banishment of capital punishment, a limit on the amount of corporate money that can be pumped into elections and a curb on the individual right to bear arms. Chairman of Marijuana Majority, Tom Angell, said that “Justice Stevens is right. Public opinion is shifting rapidly in favor of marijuana legalization.” He said that according to the Weed Blog, “Polls now consistently show that a clear majority of the public supports ending prohibition and, as this trend continues, we’ll start to see more prominent people and politicians saying it’s time to change the laws.”
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