PAST MARIJUANA USE NO LONGER A POLITICAL STIGMA

Voters accept youthful indiscretion

WASHINGTON - When it comes to marijuana, youthful indiscretion has come of
age.

Lots of politicians, including three of the Democratic presidential
candidates, show no fear of fessing up to lighting up in their wild-oats
days. Indeed, some who deny dabbling in illegal drugs give the impression
that they're a little nervous about coming across as dishonest or just
square.

Times have changed since one of President Reagan's Supreme Court nominees
was jettisoned because of pot smoking in his past and even over the decade
since candidate Bill Clinton felt obliged to equivocate about whether he
inhaled.

"We're just facing reality. People do a lot of things when they're young,"
said Joseph Califano, chairman of Columbia University's National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse and a former U.S. health secretary.

As young people who were part of the drug explosion in the 1970s matured and
moved into public service, voters gradually have become more accepting of
drug transgressions.

"If we disqualified guys that had used drugs in those years, we'd probably
eliminate half the potential candidates or more," Califano said.

Former Vice President Al Gore, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, former
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and several past senators and Cabinet
secretaries have admitted to at least trying marijuana. New York Gov. George
Pataki says he inhaled, as did New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Character was a big issue in movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger's election to
California governor, but film of him smoking pot was not. President Bush,
who speaks in broad terms about overcoming a drinking problem, refuses to
answer questions about his past.

Eight candidates at a recent Democratic presidential debate were asked
whether they ever had used marijuana. Sen. John Kerry, Sen. John Edwards and
Howard Dean each answered with an unadorned "yes," drawing enthusiastic
applause from the "Rock the Vote" event's youthful audience. It was
candidates who said they hadn't smoked pot who felt the need to elaborate.

"I grew up in the church. We didn't believe in that," the Rev. Al Sharpton
explained.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich said he never tried marijuana, "but I think it ought to
be decriminalized."

Sen. Joseph Lieberman offered a joking apology: "Well, you know, I have a
reputation for giving unpopular answers in Democratic debates. I never used
marijuana, sorry."

Only Wesley Clark offered a straightforward, "Never used it."

The candidates' admissions caused barely a ripple in the media, launched no
significant Republican attacks and no signs of public outrage. But
conservative moralist Bill Bennett, co-chairman of Partnership for a
Drug-Free America, said he was disappointed by "this kind of tee-hee, ha ha,
winking and nodding at marijuana."

"It's not a lighthearted issue. It's a serious issue," said Bennett, who
served as director of drug control policy under the first President Bush.
"They wouldn't joke like this about smoking cigarettes."