Though Against the War On Drugs, Bernie Sanders Questions the Legality of Cigarettes

It would seem as if Bernie Sanders only half-understands what makes the ‘War on Drugs’ such an issue.

As Politico reports, Bernie Sanders recently questioned the legality of cigarettes in an interview with Meet The Press. He stated “there is almost a question as to why it remains a legal product in this country.” To be fair and honest, Bernie did not call for an all-out ban on cigarettes. But the fact that he would even question its legality is alarming enough.

As with anything, the context is just as important as the actual rhetoric. Some will assume that he was just simply trying to compare the health hazards that come with smoking cigarettes as oppose to something such as marijuana usage. But that wasn’t the context at all, being as marijuana wasn’t even mentioned. Chuck Todd, host of Meet The Press, simply asked Bernie Sanders how he felt about taxing soda; something which he calls “a regressive tax.” Todd then asked if Sanders would apply the same logic to cigarette taxation, which brought about his questioning of its legality. Though he did link obesity with soda consumption, he was surprisingly against soda taxation. But in the next breath, he says that he’s not against cigarette taxation, however, linking it to cancer and other diseases.

So not only do we know that Bernie Sanders is slightly inconsistent in his reasoning for supporting or being against prohibitive taxation aimed to curb the usage of certain products, he also seems to unable to understand why the War on Drugs is even an issue. He has, on several occasions, frowned upon the War on Drugs and stated that it is a failed policy that has ruined lives. Bernie is correct in his assessment but for the wrong reasons. From the dangerous cartels that traffic the drugs to the criminalizing of non violent offenders who use the drug; all of these things stem not from drugs but from the fact that drugs are illegal. Prohibition only leads to a black market which creates crime and misery, so do we really want to consider making cigarettes illegal? Does Bernie somehow figure that making cigarettes illegal would result in a different outcome? It’s almost as if there are no current or historic examples that highlight the failure of prohibition.

This was the position that Sanders saw eye to eye with some of the more liberty-minded folks, but now it’s hard to say. Let’s hope that he is given the opportunity to actually explain what exactly he meant.