Crazy Alert: According to NORML, Georgia Republican state Rep. Tommy Benton really, really thinks pot stinks. So much so that in a response to a constituent, who emailed asking the rep about his stance on legalizing weed, Benton opined that he is opposed to legalization. But that’s not all: “I think we should go to caning for people caught using and maybe execute dealers,” he wrote in the email. “That is what they do in Singapore and they don’t have a drug problem.”
Yeah, right.
While it is true that Singapore will execute drug offenders — which, argues the International Harm Reduction Association, violates international human rights law — it isn’t true that as a result the country doesn’t have a “drug problem.” At least not according to reports compiled by the government’s Central Narcotics Bureau.
But wait! There’s more: Apparently crazy Benton also doesn’t like being challenged on the issue. In response to another emailer, Benton said that he had forwarded the writer’s email to the county sheriff’s office “so that they can be on the lookout for you.”
Seriously. Benton seems a tad unhinged, wouldn’t you say?
This article appears in August 14 • 2009.