AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Famous Christian Televangelist Pat Robertson has shocked viewers. Coming out in support of legalizing marijuana. Blogs and Facebook have been buzzing with the news and people also voicing their opinion on the matter. Here's just a bit of what Pat Robertson said.
"We've got to take a look at what we're considering crimes and that's one of 'em. I'm not exactly for the use of drugs, don't get me wrong. But I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot, that kinda thing is costing us a fortune, and it's ruining young people. Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That's not a good thing."
It's that comment that took the internet by storm Thursday, with many comments supporting him, and many condemning him. Pronews 7 spoke with Randall County District Attorney James Farren, and he says Robertson's comment, saying young people are going to jail and coming out hardened criminals, is false.
"Teenagers are not going to prison because they pose 2 to 3 joints you have to pose quite a bit of marijuana to reach the felony level," said James Farren, Randall County District Attorney.
But Jeff Blackburn, a local attorney who supports legalizing medical marijuana, says the opposite.
"There are a good amount of people in many many counties who are being prosecuted to the max for penny menny marijuana offensives of a few grams at a time. Possession of any amount in Texas, as long as its usable, is some kind of crime. And once you get passed 4 ounces you're talking about a felony," said Jeff Blackburn, Amarillo Attorney.
Blackburn says right now, too many resources are being used to prosecute marijuana cases.
"The waste of time, energy and money going into enforcing anti-marijuana laws is no longer tolerable. We are in a country and a state that are going broke. We are going broke. And we're wasting money on this? For what reason? This is stupid," said Blackburn.
But James Farren says it's silly to argue for legalizing things that are detrimental to people.
"The laws that prevent us from using heroin, or wood grain alcohol or marijuana or methamphetamine or any drug which you have to have a prescription is that the unregulated use of those substances are detrimental to the person who uses it, it's detrimental to to their family and loved ones and detrimental to our society that's why those laws exist," said Farren.
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