Is Bob Barr An Ex-Drug Warrior?

When Bob Barr joined the Libertarian Party, everyone wanted to know if he'd changed his mind on the drug issues that helped make his name in Congress. He has. According to the Politico, Barr has signed up with the Marijuana Policy Project.

"I, over the years, have taken a very strong stand on drug issues, but in light of the tremendous growth of government power since 9/11, it has forced me and other conservatives to go back and take a renewed look at how big and powerful we want the government to be in people's lives," Barr said.

Aaron Houston, the project's government relations director, said Barr brings a "great deal of credibility, particularly among people on the Republican side of the aisle."

"He certainly would not have been the first person I would have expected to sign off to us, but I'm very pleased that he has," Houston said. "I'm very pleased that he has come around, and I hope he serves as an example to his former colleagues."

Ironically, Barr said he will help lead the fight to give District residents a say on whether to allow medical marijuana — the very thing the "Barr Amendment" denied them in 1998. He will lobby for the rights of states to set their own medical marijuana policy without federal interference.

I interviewed Barr when he joined the LP; Jesse Walker interviewed him in 2003, pre-change of heart.