Presidential Candidate Wants to Treat Drugs like Tobacco

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb recently became a presidential candidate and thinks the U.S. should focus on a public health approach to drugs that does not involve incarcerating people.

Webb mentioned the country’s success in reducing tobacco use by educating people instead of criminalizing them in his recent comment: “one of the most fascinating changes in our society in my adult lifetime has been the approach towards cigarette smoking. If you think about this, we didn’t make cigarettes illegal. We just got the information out there and educated people about the potential harm.” And he added that “there have to be similar approaches when it comes to drug use.”

Webb’s comments came during an appearance at the National Sheriffs Association conference and appear to indicate that Webb favors legalizing or at least decriminalizing drug use in the U.S.