Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this piece of legislation says that basically the District of Columbia should not and shall not make marijuana a legal substance. Of course, marijuana federally is an illegal substance. This is a Federal district. I think that is just logical. Let us talk a little bit about what marijuana is and what it does. If we think that kids should not smoke tobacco, then I think it is a logical step that probably we should not make this available for kids or anybody to be smoking marijuana. A lot of people say marijuana produces no ill-effects to the people that use it. That is a fallacy. We find that marijuana affects motor coordination, reasoning and memory, and marijuana has a much higher level of carcinogens than tobacco. Some people say marijuana is not a dangerous drug. Let me tell you, a study of patients in shock trauma who have been in automobile accidents found that 15 percent of those who have been in a car or motorcycle accident have been smoking marijuana. Seventeen percent have been smoking both marijuana and drinking. When the City of Memphis, Tennessee, tested all reckless drivers for drugs, it was discovered that 33 percent showed signs of marijuana use.”