Pat Robertson Jumps Back Into Marijuana Controversy
A few years after declaring his support for marijuana decriminalization, televangelist Pat Robertson has recently stated his opposition to legalized weed.
Robertson's long-running television program "The 700 Club" featured a negative story on the effect of Colorado's recent legalization of marijuana.
Hosting the program, Robertson commented that the Colorado marijuana legalization was harmful to the state's children.
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"Now everybody … the little kids are getting high. They've got marijuana cupcakes, marijuana soft drinks, marijuana gummy bears," said Robertson.
"Do you want your little eighth grader to be stoned when he goes to school? Well, welcome to Colorado, where pot is legal."
Robertson went on to state that while he still supports the decriminalization of marijuana, in part, to curb the high incarceration rate in the United States, he has never supported full legalization.
"I think it's a right cause, the decriminalization of marijuana, but apparently the next step is the legalization of it, which is a totally different matter," said Robertson.
"It is not good for people's health, it is destroying their minds and it is destroying their lungs and the addiction is pretty heavy."
Over the past few years, Robertson has expressed his support for less strict laws against marijuana.
On a December 2010 broadcast of "The 700 Club," Robertson expressed opposition to using drugs yet also felt marijuana's criminalization was "ruining young people."
"I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot — that kind of thing it's just, it's costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people," said Robertson.
In March 2012, Robertson stated his concerns that young people were being ruined by being arrested for weed possession and usage.
"I just think it's shocking how many of these young people wind up in prison and they get turned into hardcore criminals because they had a possession of a very small amount of controlled substance," said Robertson.
"It's time we stop locking up people for possession of marijuana. We just can't do it anymore."
At present, Colorado and Washington allow for the sale of marijuana for both medicinal and recreational usage.
According to Matt Ferner of the Huffington Post, sales for marijuana in Colorado have been good business for the state.
"Colorado's first retail marijuana shops opened to long lines and high sales. In the first week, Colorado shops raked in more than $5 million," wrote Ferner.
"To date, with more than 100 shops now open, recreational marijuana retailers have generated sales of about $70 million."
