Florida, Lee

[Midnight toker]

Commission candidate espouses marijuana legalization

The News Press
Originally published on July 10, 2006



Lee County Commission candidate Gerard David, running as a no-party candidate against Republican Commissioner Doug St. Cerny, has an issue for an oft-overlooked constituency: legalized possession of small amounts of marijuana.

That's beyond the usual role of a commissioner, but David's ready to use the bully pulpit.

He suggests such a move might lower the crime rate.

"All they do is sit home and smoke and eat and sleep," David said, referring to the infamous marijuana munchies.

"I'm a child of the '60s. If you can drink a beer or have a drink, you should be able to smoke a joint."

Approval for medical marijuana would be absolutely essential, he said.

Drugs such as heroin or crack should stay off-limits, he said.

"But locking up kids for a joint is a waste of energy when we have so many serious problems out there," he said.

He points to other politicians' admissions of pot smoking — including current GOP gubernatorial candidates Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher, former U.S. Sen. Connie Mack and former Gov. Lawton Chiles — as evidence it's not political suicide.

None of those politicians, however, advocated legalization.

David readily admits many of his views are in line with the Libertarian Party.

But running as a no-party candidate gives him a break on qualifying fees, he said — paying about $3,000 to run rather than the $4,000 required of party candidates.

He plans to borrow money for qualifying.

That won't be an issue for St. Cerny. The incumbent raised about $90,600 soon after opening his account. Of that, only about $1,500 came in the quarter that ended June 30.