Republican Sen. Rob Portman: I Smoked Pot As a Youngster, But It Should Still Be Illegal
Republican Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said during last night's BuzzFeed forum that he smoked marijuana when he was younger, but that he disagress with Colorado and Washington's decision to legalize the drug (that he enjoyed without consequence). Here's BuzzFeed:
"Uhh…yes," Portman replied Monday when asked by BuzzFeed DC Bureau Chief John Stanton if he's ever smoked pot. "I think I've been asked that now, in 20 years, three times."
"I'm very involved, as you may know, on drug prevention," he said. "I have been since my first year in Congress."
In 2005, Portman told the Cleveland Plain Dealer he wasn't much of a smoker when he did smoke pot.
"He told The Plain Dealer in 2005 that he never bought or sold it and didn't smoke it often," the paper reported.
"This was an era when almost everybody did it," he said in 2005. "It's something I regret."
According to ABC's write-up of the event, Portman went on to say that Colorado and Washington's decision to tax and regulate marijuana "isn't the right way" to handle drug policy. Instead, he wants drug offenders to go through the drug court system.
Portman adds his name to the long list of powerful rich people who used marijuana without consequence, went on to have successful political careers, but now think anybody caught with an illicit drug should be funneled through the criminal justice system in the name of public health (and the children).
Watch Portman's interview here: