Reason.tv: "Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine"—John McCaslin on the biggest pot smuggler of the 1970s and drug policy in the age of Obama

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie recently sat down with John McCaslin, the co-host of radio's America's Morning News (listen online here), a writer for The Washington Times, and the author of the new book Weed Man: The Remarkable Journey of Jimmy Divine.

Weed Man tells the story of Jimmy Moree, who literally stumbled into drug smuggling when he tripped over a bale of marijuana that had washed ashore on a Caribbean island. Moree, soon to be nicknamed "Jimmy Divine" rapidly became the biggest pot smuggler of them all in the 1970s and his story, expertly told by veteran newsman McCaslin, is a potent tale of drug policy, racially charged social relations, substance abuse, law enforcement perfidy, and much more.

In this interview, McCaslin discusses the likely future of drug policy under President Barack Obama (whose drug czar just announced that "legalization is not in the president's vocabulary" and that "marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal value") and the rampant hypocrisy among DC pols when it comes to using illegal substances.

Approximately nine minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Meredith Bragg.

Go here for embed code, and downloadable iPod, HD, and audio versions.