State representative candidate in favor of legalizing some drugs
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Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart is sworn in during the inauguration ceremony at Brockton City Hall on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012.
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BROCKTON —
State representative candidate and city councilor Jass Stewart has caused a stir with his comments on legalizing drugs.
“It gives the government an opportunity to regulate something that’s very difficult to defeat,” Stewart said in a Democratic candidates debate on Thursday which was taped at Brockton Community Access.
The debate was among the four Democratic candidates for the seat now held by Rep. Geraldine Creedon, D-Brockton, who is retiring at the end of this year. The primary election is on Sept. 6 and the winner will square off against Easton Republican Daniel Murphy. The district includes west Brockton and most of Easton.
The debate moderator, Steve Foote, chairman of the Brockton Democratic City Committee, and the three other candidates peppered Stewart with questions about his stand on drugs.
Stewart said the federal government should legalize some drugs – including cocaine and heroin – to remove the “black market” and so drugs can be controlled and taxed and the tax revenue used for education, rehabilitation and enforcement programs.
But he opposes the legalization of medicinal marijuana – an issue on the state ballot this November – saying marijuana is considered a gateway drug that can lead to users trying more drugs.
Legalizing some drugs, Stewart said, is a better alternative to continuing a costly and ineffective war on drugs while putting drug users away in crowded prisons.
“I’m not certain that anyone thinks that our drug policy is successful,” said Stewart, who first made the legalization remark during the July 19 taping of Foote’s “Democratically Speaking” local access TV program.
Stewart’s opponents were blunt in their reaction to the idea.
“When I first heard about it and watched the comments, my question was, ‘Are you kidding me?’” said Mark Linde of Brockton, chairman of the Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical School Committee.
“You will never hear that from me,” added Robert Sullivan, an at-large Brockton city councilor. He called the idea “insane” and “crazy.”
“Absolutely never,” he said.
Claire Cronin, an attorney who lives in Easton, said: “No way, no how.”
“The idea of legalizing all drugs is abhorrent to me,” she added.
Sullivan asked Stewart to further explain his stance.
Stewart said the U.S. has been fighting a drug war for generations.
“It’s a war that we’re not winning,” Stewart said. “We’re spending millions of dollars and losing many lives.”
On the state’s ballot question to legalize medicinal marijuana, Stewart said studies show it could lead users to further experiment with other drugs.
Read more: http://www.enterprisenews.com/topstories/x181548456/Jass-Stewart-defends-legalize-all-drugs-remark-during-state-rep-debate#ixzz23Sa3ICqy
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