Zero Tolerance Zone

Mitch Daniels, Republican candidate for governor of Indiana, is an all American success story -- a geeky but popular kid who grew up to become a multimillionaire. I could like him for honestly admitting his 1971 conviction for marijuana possession and I would, except that he uses the experience to call for stiffer penalties for its use and I just don't like hypocrites.

His intelligence is legendary, so ignorance is no excuse for his failure to admit cannabis had no appreciable negative effect on his life or his mental capacity and that the draconian penalties for its use are unwarranted.

Daniels attended Princeton on scholarships. Under the penalties he supports, he would have become a victim of zero tolerance like 19-year-old Adam Gutin who was expelled from a public high school for the same infraction and as a consequence has already lost two years of educational opportunities. And of course, under the ill conceived HEA Act, Adam will also be barred from major sources of scholarship monies for an even lesser "crime" than Mitch committed. After all, Adam simply tested positive for past use whereas Daniels was actually caught using marijuana.

I think it stinks that Mitch would support such an inhumane and ridiculously severe level of punishment for the same youthful experimentation that he indulged in without serious consequence. I certainly wouldn't elect him as a governor but then again, Indiana keeps re-electing that prohibition profiteer Souder.

What's up with the Hoosier State anyway? I've never been there but I can't believe over 3 million voters could be so easily fooled by such self serving politicians.

Responsible cannabis consumers are good citizens and zero tolerance doesn't solve the problem of substance abusers, it only pads the pockets of those who profit by the ill-advised enforcement of prohibition.