Former Representative Bob Barr (R-GA) has surprised nearly everyone by signing up to work with the Marijuana Policy Project to convince Congress to go easy on the anti-pot crusading:
"You reach the point where you realize the federal government has become so big and so intrusive that it really forces you to take a look at a range of issues in a new light," Barr said in an interview.
As of this month, Barr has signed a contract to lobby for the Marijuana Policy Project. That's the same group that once sued the government over the "Barr Amendment," a law that forbids D.C. residents from legalizing pot for medicinal purposes. Now, Barr said, he may be working to overturn it.
Ironic, huh?
While Dems usually get the 'credit' for being more friendly to drug reform, it is small-government conservatives who often give the movement a more sober appearance. Witness the late great Milton Friedman of the Hoover Institute.
Like when former New Mexico gov. Gary Johnson came out in
favor of drug policy reform in his second and last term, this strikes me as a bit too-little, too-late.
Still, with the generally well-respected (in Rep. circles) Bob Barr now on our side and a more liberal Congress in power, maybe we'll see some softening of the federal government's stance.
Waiting is...
