CANDIDATES UNABASHED BY PAST POT USE
Presidential Watch
( AP ) - The question during the debate, held in front of an audience of twenty-somethings in Boston, was inevitable. The answers showed how much the times have changed.
"Which of you are ready to admit to having used marijuana in the past?" Anderson Cooper, the moderator of Tuesday's "Rock the Vote" debate on CNN, asked eight of the nine Democratic presidential candidates. ( Rep. Dick Gephardt was not there. )
"Yes," said Sen. John Kerry, leading off.
"Yes," said Sen. John Edwards.
"Yes," said former Gov. Howard Dean.
None of these three baby boomer candidates said anything beyond their short, declarative affirmations. The implication of their answers seemed to be, "Yeah, so what?"
In fact, the defensive answers tended to come from those replying in the negative.
"No," said Rep. Dennis Kucinich. "But I think it ought to be decriminalized." >{? "I grew up in the church," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "We didn't believe in that."
"Well, you know, I have a reputation for giving unpopular answers at Democratic debates," said Sen. Joe Lieberman. "I never used marijuana. Sorry!"
The next day's news coverage of the debate focused on the attacks on Dean for his references to appealing to people who fly the Confederate flag. The admissions of marijuana smoking by three of the Democratic candidates for president were largely ignored. -- NEW YORK TIMES
Gephardt asks staff to take a pay cut
Democratic presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt, facing a huge cash disadvantage against Howard Dean, has asked his senior staff to take a pay cut."We want to make sure we spend the bulk of our resources in the early states on the ground and on the air," said campaign manager Steve Murphy. - -- ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kerry backs UMass effort to grow pot
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry supports the University of Massachusetts' effort to grow marijuana for medical research. The University of Mississippi is the only legal grower of marijuana for research. Kerry and fellow Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy say that amounts to an "unjustifiable monopoly."
"The current lack of such competition may well result in the production of lower-quality research-grade marijuana, which in turn jeopardizes important research into the therapeutic effects of marijuana for patients undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from AIDS, glaucoma or other diseases," Kerry and Kennedy wrote in a letter to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration dated Oct. 20. . -- ASSOCIATED PRESS
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