Pot People for Kerry

The Drug War Chronicle reports that the organizers of Seattle Hempfest, "the country's largest annual pro-marijuana event," last week "broke with tradition by calling on pot people to help elect Democratic Sen. John Kerry president in November." Although Hempfest my have been officially nonpartisan until now, this endorsement sadly reflects a longstanding tradition among leftish antiprohibitionists of deluding themselves into believing that Democratic politicians are better on the drug issue than Republicans.

The main complaint against the Bush administration is its crackdown on medical marijuana, but that cruel crusade began under the Clinton administration, during which marijuana arrests reached record levels. Kerry, meanwhile, has been an enthusiastic proponent of asset forfeiture, an aspect of the war on drugs about which many Republicans have qualms. If anything, Democrats tend to bend over backward to show they're not "soft on drugs." It's their way of displaying their law-and-order bona fides.

For more on Kerry's drug policy history, see the discussion introduced by Al Giordano, the Drug Policy Alliance's summary, and a site with the promising title "John Kerry–Drug Warrior."