>> do you think this is just a committing center? it is more than that. >> students from low income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. comcast supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> next, john lott of the crime prevention research center and author of gun control myths, discusses gun violence in the u.s.. and later, the new republic's kate aronoff talks about the bipartisan infrastructure bill which he says is a gift to wall street and a detriment to the environment. ♪ host: good morning and welcome to washington journal. more states are reconsidering

the marijuana prohibitions with almost half of the country allowing either recreational or medicinal use nowadays. however, it is still illegal on the federal level and congress has not yet taken any steps to change that officially or to provide safe harbor for businesses that now deal in cannabis. our question, what is your view of marijuana laws in your state? if you support your stay's current marijuana laws, whether they are making marijuana legal or illegal, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8000. if you oppose what your state is doing as far as cannabis goes, we want to know your views. your number is going to be (202) 748-8001. keep in mind, you can always text us your opinion at (202) 748-8003 and we are always reading on social media on twitter at facebook.com/c-span,

on twitter at c-span wj, and now on instagram where you can follow us at c-span wj. once again, we are talking about your stay's marijuana laws and whether you support what your state is doing. we are going to start with setting the stage. right now, there is a story that we are going to bring to you from the hill newspaper that talks about how our laws are changing in this country. as we came up on july 1, we saw new laws go into effect and let me bring to you that hill story. new laws legalizing marijuana use for recreational and medicine all use in three states on thursday. expanding the number of americans who will have access to consumable cannabis products. new laws may give momentum to

the push to legalize marijuana across the country as supporters circulate new ballot petitions and legislative's drop their reluctance to marijuana reform. residence in virginia and connecticut will be allowed to legally possess and use marijuana for recreational purposes after lawmakers in those states approved new measures earlier this year. in south dakota, a voter past -- passed legalizing medical marijuana takes effect. those are new laws that came in just as july 1 came in. we are seeing more states allowing either medical or recreational use of marijuana. let's look at what is the situation around the country right now. right now, marijuana legalization in states, there are 18 states where recreational marijuana is illegal. 18 states.

and now, there are 16 states where only medical marijuana is legal. so, that should be about 34 states that allow marijuana in some shape, form or fashion. and you can see the map on your screen that shows where medical or recreational marijuana is legal in the united states. now, we have been talking about this issue on "washington journal" this week. and on yesterday, eric was on this program and he talked a little bit about this issue. here's a portion of what he said. [video clip] >> we are at a time of unprecedented momentum to legalize marijuana across the country. it is something the overwhelming majority of americans want to see happen. we have nearly 70% of all americans at this point, no matter party affiliation or demographic, supporting ending

our prohibition. not only do 70% support it, but quite frankly almost 50% of the country lives in a state now where the adult use of marijuana is legal. as you alluded to, and just the past six months, we have seen a lot more states begin to come on board through the legislative process this time, a lot of previous states were failed initiatives. we had new jersey who codified their legislation in the early part of the year followed quickly by new york, new mexico and virginia. i'm not even sure we are done for that momentum this year. i expect several more states to strongly consider it. it just goes to show the american people are sick and tired of wasting our money on this prohibition to lock up their fellow citizens for a plant that is objectively less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. 10 years out from one colorado -- from when colorado first

legalized america -- marijuana, there is no remorse. -- was no remorse. host: president biden has not agreed to making the change in any laws on the federal level. white house press secretary jen psaki was asked about his stance on the federal marijuana laws back in april. here is what jen psaki says. [video clip] >> president biden still opposes the legalization of marijuana. why does he still oppose taking this step at this point when two thirds of americans support legalizing marijuana, several -- the senate leader and his own party are pushing for it? why is he reluctant to take that final step in support of the legalization? >> as you know from covering this, rescheduling cannabis is a schedule 2 drug and would allow researchers to study its

positive and negative effects. he wants to look at that. he of course supports decriminalizing marijuana use, supports living decisions up to the states and legalizing medicinal marijuana, but he will look at research. >> but right now, why is he so reluctant to support legalization despite the movement happening toward it? >> of course, we understand the movement happening toward it. i am speaking for what his position is. he wants to decriminalize, but again, he will look at the research of the positive and negative impacts. host: let's go to our phone lines and let's start with mike who is calling from sun city, california. mike, good morning. caller: good morning. yeah. i oppose this. it is between this and the fact that the left controls the media and they really just break down

one taboo after another in this culture. it is really kind of sad to witness. they virtually eliminated wholesomeness in this country and replaced it with political correctness. while they assault judeo christian values every day. i really think this direction is quite deplorable as far as that goes. and it -- i am really tired of the elite level media driving issues that they are concerned about and want to pursue instead of what america wants, i.e., the wall, i.e. climate change. you have 31,000 scientists on record for saying climate change does not exist. but we have an elite level media that refuses to recognize them.

it is a little tired of the elite level media serving as the offensive team on the left while democrats serve the defensive team at the left at the expense of the american people. host: you live in california. california legalized recreational marijuana back in 2016. did you vote in that referendum or were you opposed to it back then? and what would you do with marijuana laws right now? would you make it just illegal all across the country or do you think states should make their own decisions? caller: i would leave it up to the states as far as that goes and not the federal government. we don't need a government knows best sort of philosophy as far as that goes. as a retired teacher, just the

overwhelming de-sensitization of judeo-christian values in this country and the assault all day long, just like with same-sex marriages. that was put on a referendum like 50 times because the american people did not want it. the left pursued by judicial fiat and was eventually able to get it that way, circumventing the will of the american people. host: if i am understanding you correctly, you are ok with the way things are right now, that states are making their own decisions on whether marijuana should be legal or not, and the federal government is saying it is illegal. you are ok with her weight with things -- ok with the way things are right now? caller: no. my personal opinion, i am against it for the reasons i already cited.

the whole tone is very unfortunate direction to see how america -- the problem with this country is the elite level media -- liberal media and their agenda. their responsibility is to report the news objectively, not to try to convince me to be a liberal democrat. host: let's go to patrick who is calling from lady lake, florida. patrick, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to remind mike that under jeb bush, florida was known as the pill mill capital of the usa. the capital bishop's association took out a full-page article in the "miami herald" asking jeb bush to get control of these pill mills. nope. the florida catholic nuns association did the same thing. nope. would not control them.

i know c-span leaves out that oxycontin made the newspapers, the liberal newspapers, as mike says, in 2003 as the hillbilly heroin. still did not get any control over it. so, c-span does not bring out either -- there was a front-page article on the "wall street journal," that in states that legalized marijuana, consumption -- high school or young people's consumption went down because they had no street dealers they could get it off of because they all went out of business. it is kind of amazing how c-span is always into opinions, but seems to always love to leave out the facts of the situation. one other little fun fact that your pro-life christians leave out is that the reason that

white kids have to move back in with their white parents, grandparents, because mommy and daddy od'ed on the prescription narcotic. host: you live in florida where florida only has medical marijuana. they don't allow recreational use of marijuana. would you be in favor of changing the law to allow both recreational and medical? or would you be in favor of changing the law making marijuana completely illegal in florida? caller: that is another thing. c-span misses the fact. florida voted on making medical marijuana, recreational marijuana legal. the state government said no even though the citizens wanted it. and truly, once most of all the medical marijuana dispensaries around here, as far as i know, there are canadian companies.

foreigners are making all the money instead of the local people. host: but do you support the current law that allows medical marijuana in florida and would you support a change to allow recreational use? caller: i am sick of the war on drugs. it is none of my business what people want to consume. let me just say one other thing. i am originally from new hampshire. new hampshire controlled all the liquor stores because they had to deal with all the aftermath of drunk drivers, putting them in jail and all of the medical reasons because nobody has insurance anymore and they just walk away from their bills and the state had to absorb that. i would like to see it legal, but the governments get all the money, not some private company. host: let's go to kelly calling from gloucester city, new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning.

i am an individual that has several chronic illnesses that require me to take some opioid medications. i have been able to lower the doses of my opioid medications because of medical marijuana. it has greatly changed my life. i am able to do so much more while taking the medical marijuana than i could on the opioid medications. i am 100% for the support to make marijuana legal. host: let me interrupt you real quick. new jersey, where you live, has legalized the recreational use of marijuana. just in 2020. do you see any change in your state now that cannabis is

legal? do you see any differences in your state? caller: i see no negative differences. none. i only see good. i only hear people talk about the good that it has done for them. host: are you worried about -- because sometimes we hear that the use of marijuana perhaps increases in children, in teenagers, in states where recreational use is allowed. are you worried about anything like that? caller: i am not because you can look at -- teenagers can get a hold of alcohol. the teenagers are still getting a hold of opioid medications. i believe there is responsibility starting with the parent. there is a responsibility to the

people that the children look up to make sure the children are not getting a hold of it. i believe there should be an age limit. if it is not for medical use for children, i'm not in support of that. i can say as far as the medical aspects of it, when i am in line to get my medical marijuana, the ages of the people that are in line are mostly elderly people. i would say the elderly people outweigh in numbers the younger people in line for the medical marijuana where i go for my dispensary. host: let's go to gary calling

from indiana. gary, good morning. caller: good morning. host: what do you think? caller: i think it should be legal. i think it should be legal in every state. i don't think it needs to be only for medical purposes. i personally don't use it, but i could very easily if i wanted to. if it weren't for -- it would make it a more competitive thing too where people are not paying ridiculous prices. that is basically how i feel about it. growing up, i have been around it for nearly my whole adult life and teenage life. i choose not to use it, but i also see the people that do use it. i don't see a negative effect other than if they are trying to

operate. drive equipment down the road and that kind of thing. it puts everyone in a good mood, as opposed alcohol, which i do use, that could go either way. i seen a lot of fights started when people are on alcohol as opposed to marijuana. host: you live in indiana where all uses of cannabis is illegal. do you see that changing in your state anytime soon, or do you think your state will keep marijuana completely illegal? caller: i think the state will keep it completely illegal. i came here from utah where it was the same conditions, except they approved medical use but then never let it go through. it is just the way it is. i ain't saying it is healthier

than alcohol, but it is healthier than tobacco. and stuff like that. now, there are people that i have known that used it for the ir medical reasons and it is a very good thing. i mean it, it is better than seeing them lie on the ground. host: let's go to david who is calling from liverpool, new york. david, good morning. caller: good morning. i support this. i would rather pay taxes than go underground and pay somebody on the outside or support the cartels, basically. i have always seen this as state run type liquor stores.

get 18 years and older, go in there, buy your own. i would even like to see all natural types, mushrooms, other types of recreational drugs be sold under a controlled environment. that is about all i got. host: let's talk to charlie who is calling from alexandria, louisiana. charlie, good morning. caller: good morning. i'm not in alexandria, louisiana, i am in los angeles, california. host: all right, go ahead. what do you think about california's marijuana laws? caller: i don't think they are good because if it is for cancer or something like that, sure. they should be using it. for medical purposes. i think it kills most people's spirit to educate themselves to

be the best that they can. i am talking from experience. i did drugs for most of my life and it just led from marijuana to lsd to other things, and i got nothing but negative stuff out of it. thanks to god, i am sober and i have been sober for 28 years. host: do you think allowing marijuana use in the united states will make people who use marijuana then transition to harder drugs as the years go by? caller: absolutely. without a shadow of a doubt. yeah. that is what happens. they go from that to heroin to this to that. it just kills our united states citizens. if it is for cancer, aids or something like that, sure. why not? or if they have trouble eating, you know, consuming food, why

not? but it leads to harder drugs. it really does. you know, my brother did it and it was no good either. it went. gee. host: let's go to thomas who is calling from birmingham, alabama. thomas, good morning. caller: good morning to you. host: what do you think about alabama's laws on marijuana? caller: the population here has never really had a say so much of what goes on. it is always legislative. the laws here are behind the times, you could say. i believe in legalizing, but we have to look out for our children.

the brain is in such development at these young ages, just like alcohol, we have to keep that stuff away from our younger people. the older people can make their own decisions. like a lot of people say, we have to be responsible, but marijuana is turning out to be such a beneficial drug to thousands of children that used to have severe -- i am trying to think of what the technical term is. but, you know, kids that would go through shaking 20 times a day. and now, they don't do it at all. they had to fight for years to get that approved for the children. but, you know, hey, it is one big grand experiment. host: alabama now allows medical use of marijuana.

that just happened earlier this year. would you agree with the state continuing to move forward to allowing recreational and medicinal use, or do you think alabama has gone far enough? caller: no. that seems to be the progress of most states. first, they ease and stick their feet in the water. usually, it ends up being legalized. host: let's go to howard who is calling from nashville, tennessee. caller: good morning. how you doing? i disagree with the man who said marijuana leads to other drugs. i have been a prostitute since i was 19 and i have never did other drugs beside marijuana and i do not think we would have

ever legalized marijuana. they do sell cbd in the stores, but as far as marijuana, i don't believe so because we are in the bible belt. host: i was surprised to find out that alabama had medical marijuana. mississippi has voted for medical marijuana. so, a lot of the southern states do seem to be making that change. you don't tennessee ever moving forward or staying exactly where they are with marijuana being illegal? caller: i think they will always stay where they are. i don't agree with it. i have been smoking weed since i was seven years old. i am 30 and i am rolling a blunt now as we speak. host: university of virginia visiting professor dr. james opposed virginia's move to legalize marijuana. here he is on fox news earlier this spring as the legislative voted. [video clip] >> in the last 15 years, the last decade has been the decade

of the brain in medicine. in the last 15 years, we found that marijuana is more problematic than we initially thought. no question about it. every expert will tell you that. but in the last 15 years, the average american views it as even safer than 15 years ago. we had this huge gap between the science evidence and what people believe. it is not that different than the early views of covid or the pandemic. people need medical education. i was in some of these hearings trying to get the medical evidence, the scientific evidence across. instead and stucco -- instead, they were debating how many plants can grow in your home, how do we regulate this. nobody seemed interested in really knowing what the medical science shows. >> why do you think that is? >> i think there are four major groups i found myself opposing.

one is corporations. this is not hippie farmers growing pot in their backyard. these are major corporations that have well-paid lobbies. number one. number two, politicians who would like a new tax revenue source. number three, you have a group of extreme libertarians who really want unlimited and no access and no restrictions on any drugs. and then the fourth group is celebrities. besides a few, most of celebrities, if they go on a talk show, it is all laugh and giggles about marijuana. they're not talking about car crashes, increase in mental illness, not talking about pregnant moms and the unborn. one hospital in colorado, 15% of the newborns had thc in the bloodstream. host: let's see what some of our social media followers are

singing -- saying about marijuana laws in their state. here's one post from facebook that says in mississippi, they voted in favor of medical marijuana over 70%. our legislatures overturned it. tell me again how our votes matter. here's a text that says i don't pay attention to the laws. i grow as much as i need every year and i have since i was 18. i am 53 now and i am still growing, also i've lived in just about every state in the united states. here's a tweet that says i support decriminalization, but i wonder about people who support the government taking over the role of supplier. if the government has no prohibiting it, they have no business profiteering on it. another text says my son just completed a four-month drug rehab program and is living in a sober living environment. i have had several opportunities to ask the counselor about early

stages of drug abuse, and every counselor said all of their patients started with weed. repeated use of recreational marijuana leads to stronger drug addition and leaves behind families and children who suffer greatly. i'm a victim of drugs. i do not support recreational drug use. it is a death sentence. let's go back to our phone lines and start with sheila who is calling from purcell, oklahoma. sheila, good morning. ler: good morning, sir. i live in oklahoma and the people voted three years ago on marijuana and i think our government wanted the revenue. they went ahead and -- there are hardly any regulations in oklahoma. i am glad you put the map up to

show what states had what. arkansas has medical marijuana and they have like $115,000 for a license. anyway, i think it has not helped our state. because we have illegal marijuana farm planneds growing -- farm plants growing, what they are doing is growing at here in oklahoma but they are sending it back east, which is against the law. we have a cartel that has come in here and they are helping to grow it. they are buying up our land. our farmland is being bought. i noticed in an ad, for 1000 acres in purcell so they can do

this marijuana and everything. the legislature is letting our land be bought. host: would you be in favor of going back to making marijuana illegal in oklahoma or do you think there needs to be more regulation? caller: there needs to be more regulation. i think it desensitized everyone. anyone can use marijuana, you will be safe, i do not believe that. they have a friend who works for -- pharmacy, business, she said 90% comment and buy it to get high and 10% use it medically. i am for the hemp, you cannot get high on that. let it be legal where you can use the medical part, the hemp part. you cannot get high on it.

i think it is ruining our state. our government refuses to regulate it. that is all i know. host: there are some studies that are coming out that show marijuana can possibly be blamed for crash rates jumping for people who drive automobiles. i will bring a couple paragraphs from this study to you. more evidence is emerging that crash rates go up when states legalize recreational use and retail sales of marijuana. crash rates spiked with recreational marijuana use and retail sales in california, colorado, nevada, oregon and washington. a new study on highway safety and another by the affiliated highway institute shows part however, the preliminary results of a separate study of drivers

who visited emergency rooms in california, colorado and oregon show drivers who use marijuana alone are no more likely to be involved in crashes than drivers who did not use the drug. that is consistent with the 2015 study by the national highway traffic safety commission that found a positive test for marijuana was not associated with an increased risk of being involved in a police reported crash spread that is coming from the institute for highway safety and the affiliated institute. let's go back to our phone line and talk to james, who is calling from manhattan, kansas. james, good morning. caller: hello, how are you? host: i am fine. go ahead. caller: i live in kansas, which is a prohibition state, and the biggest problem we have in these

little towns, even higher penalties on people. in our town of -- a $2500 fine for cannabis. the need to get away from these superhigh penalties for people. host: let's go to stan, who is calling from alabama. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. host: go ahead. caller: i live in alabama and -- i am opposed to the government sticking their nose in my business. i have been growing our wanda since 19 step -- i have been growing marijuana since 1971. host: you would prefer marijuana

state illegal? caller: yes. host: why? caller: it is not the government's business. they want to interfere in every damn thing. it is greed. it is pure greed in the state of alabama. host: wouldn't it make your life easier if it was legal in alabama? caller: no, sir. i have been growing and selling pot for 50 years. the government ruined my business. host: explain how making it legal ruined your business. caller: i am an illegal pot grower and i have been making good money. host: by making it legal they are sending your customers to other places? caller: yes, sir. the government is sticking their

nose in everything. they are sticking their nose in the pot business. they send airplanes and helicopters with machine guns for years and now they want to legalize it. i have something else i want to say, too. tell all of the hippies to get off the phone and let someone with good sense talk. host: let's go to rick from spokane, washington. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for this interesting topic. as someone focused on therapeutic applications and working with our medical school to design a pain management study that would allow individuals who are suffering from ptsd or long-term care,

pain related issues, to use cannabis and reduce the levels of opiates, this is the critical importance of legalizing cannabis and removing several draconian laws that still exist. it opens the door for healing, it opens the door for economic drivers, it allows marginalized individuals to have employment and be successful. all one has to do is look at washington state's 502.com, which will show you all the statistics and the data from our cannabis experiment, which went from medical to adult use. host: do you have any sympathy for the illegal dealers? we just have someone on air that's at the legalization of marijuana is putting him out of business because he has been

selling it illegally. do you have any sympathy for anyone like that? caller: that gentleman, who has the experience of growing the plant, and obviously he was successful in his world, needs to take the steps -- necessary to apply for licenses. as we end prohibition, you have to follow the rules. as someone who once was prosecuted by the federal government for having an excess of 10,000 plants, i personally was able to survive that because we were meticulous about following all of the state criteria. it is not that hard. just move forward and embrace the new economic drivers that cannabis presents for the community. host: let's go to tony, who is

calling from ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. good morning. host: go ahead, tony. caller: the medical marijuana bill in ohio, i voted against it. it was a joke from the beginning. the money they wasted on numerous studies, on a weed that 99% of them have already smoked in college, they know what he does to you. i agree with the guy who grows pretty i have grown it since 1976. i'm sure a lot of people have heard of weed from this county. here in ohio, one gram is $22.50. i can bite off the street for $8 and it is better weed. this bill was flawed from the

beginning because it is for the rich people -- it always is. you cannot grow your own, you cannot own a gun if you get a medical card in ohio. it costs you almost $400 to get the card. no insurance covers it. it is just a joke. it needs to be recreational nationwide. host: that was the question i was just about to ask you -- do you think your state should move forward and move it from medical to recreational, or do you think your state should go backward and make it illegal again? caller: no, i think they should move forward and make it recreational and keep their nose out of it. that is exactly what i think. i can grow just as good of weed as they can. host: jamestown, north carolina, good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to make a few points. first of all, on your map, where

it shows kentucky, mitch mcconnell's state, his second cash crop is marijuana, versus the first cash crop, tobacco. fox news first got their foothold by broadcasting sports events -- baseball, football and all the beer commercials that you see that fox news had to support the broadcasting of sports events. what i'm trying to say is the alcohol and tobacco lobbies have been the greatest force against the use of marijuana. also, i would like to say in terms of medicinal use of marijuana, and from a judeo-christian point of view in genesis, the bible says god gave us every plant for good use. i do support strict restrictions

on recreational use, and in terms of medical marijuana, my dad, god rest his soul, had cancer. my mom is a fantastic cook, my dad would not eat. but once he was given a thc tablet, his appetite snapped back quickly. i can talk from personal experience, i was involved in a very serious auto accident, my own fault, i was under the influence of marijuana and god save my life. i believe the penalties for dui for marijuana use, while using a motor vehicle, should be the same as someone under the influence of alcohol. the other thing is, one has to make a differentiation between

thc and cannabis. i think many callers have tried to make that differential and i appreciate the comment about hemp, too -- one more comment, here in north carolina, please let me say this, the rate of suicide for veterans is twice the national average. we are losing 22 veterans a day. in north carolina, if medical marijuana, thc, was made available, this might help slightly to offset some of the suicides that are happening in terms of using it in a medical way. host: congress has moved a little bit toward changing the laws in the united states when it comes to marijuana. the house has passed a bill called the marijuana opportunity investment expungement act.

it passed the house last september on it 228-164 vote. it would remove cannabis from the controlled substance act, which would make cannabis legal under federal law. it would allow people with cannabis convictions to have the records expunged, and it would create a federal tax on marijuana, with the revenue going toward reinvestment programs. that bill passed the house last december, 228-164, but there has been no action in the senate on that legislation. let's go back to the phone lines and talk to david, who is calling from atlanta, georgia. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. just listening to all the comments, i really appreciate the show because this portion right here is taking government people out of it and putting

regular citizens in to speak about the issue. i think what the illegal growers were talking about, there will always be a need for people who sell without licenses, the reason being the dispensaries will be higher because they have to pay more on utilities and whatever, but the guy on the street who grows, he does not have that overhead cost, so he can supply the marijuana for less. i think ohio, he was saying the dispensary, it is like $22 a gram and $8 a gram on the street. that is a part of it. i had a total knee replacement in may. i just happen to have some

marijuana and i smoke before i do my rehab exercise. i take one puff. it really helps me do the exercises i need to do to rebuild my knee. it has helped me in that way. i looked at the schedule for the controlled substances and on level 3 and 4, they had ambien as a schedule 4, and that is basically where marijuana should be because it does give medical benefits. i am in georgia, we have megan's law, -- we have -- the sad thing about their family, they had to leave the state to go to colorado so their baby could get treatment for seizures. here in georgia, we have the first state that have legal hemp

growing in south georgia. we are doing things commercially. the commercial aspect holds up when you have illegal marijuana because hemp does not have high thc content, it is less than 5%, but it gives you more from the plant. you can make clothes, oils, you can do industrial stuff for that, so it is a great way to get our economy -- i do support it. i feel sorry for the people who have to use dispensaries. they have to pay the government taxes, which they showed, but our government does not set it up to where they can take their money and bank it. they are just stacking their money up and cannot get any

interest off it. r.j. reynolds in virginia just put $2 million into research and development in trying to get marijuana into tobacco. budweiser just dropped money into research and development to try to use cannabis in beer. corporations are doing it. i just think by me living in the bible belt in an evangelical state, we will not see it -- i hope we would. host: let's go to jessica, who is calling from arlington, virginia. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i oppose legalization of marijuana for many reasons. first of all, i agree with what dr. avery was saying earlier, the medical health impact long-term on individuals is not clear.

i am sorry to hear the story earlier of children being born with levels of thc in their system. that is a concern. also, in virginia, recreational has been approved. i totally support medical marijuana nationwide. and i have personal experience smoking the stuff off and on when i was younger. the stuff that you buy today has often been treated. it is not the natural stuff. it has other elements in it, often come up that i think could be harmful to you. i purchased some in washington state a couple years ago and it was a completely different kind of experience than smoking the

original, natural weed many years ago. last but not least, we have millions of people in this country in narcotics anonymous programs, overeaters, various drug overuse programs, alcoholics anonymous, we have states where opioids are dragging people down. i do not think we need another drug out there. again, i am totally in support of medical, but that is it. host: let's see what some of our social media followers are saying about the marijuana laws in their states. here is one text that says, i support the laws in my state for marijuana, but i think that he to move forward with recreational use. they have held this for long enough that disagree with the last caller that said marijuana

leads to other drugs. it is not a gateway drug, it is a plant, needs to be recreational in all states. another text says pot is everywhere in the workplace. can america ride high and remain an exceptional country? think not. both recreational and medical marijuana should be legalized. the reality is people are using it either way. another text says i can tell you our children are high going to school. as a city bus driver, you can smell it on them. we have more deaths on our highways. stop with the getting messed up. another text says communist new york says it is funny how the people weed is so safe and useful as soon as the fiscal and morally bankrupt blue states

realize they can make a cashtown out of it. what could possibly go wrong when the feds become the drug dealers? leave crime to the criminals, nothing government. come on, man. it is time to legalize it on every level. it will eliminate the criminal element. the ills of alcohol are much more dangerous than the dangers of marijuana. let's go back to our phone lines and talk to don, who is calling from michigan. good morning. caller: good morning, america. good morning, c-span. another good program. marijuana use, i have been a marijuana smoker since i was 16 years old. i served in the military, retired from a great job after 25 years. now, i sit back -- marijuana in

the state of michigan, legally. i think the country needs to stop telling people how to live their lives. republican senators want to tell you when you can have a baby, when you can smoke weed, when you can drink, we need to start letting people live their lives. we live in america. we can do what we want in this country. if people want to smoke weed, they should be allowed to smoke weed. when we try to illegalize alcohol, what did we have? murders on the street. let's let people live their lives. host: let's talk to linda from northern virginia. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call.

i am in the appalachian mountains from southwest virginia. we are protected from richmond, generally speaking. i have to oppose the marijuana laws in virginia but i certainly see some benefit in marijuana. but once a goes into the hands of government, it goes straight into the hands, probably, of tobacco companies, would be my guess. we have the problem with the conflict of the federal laws in the state laws. i think it is too soon. we should have gotten the federal laws straightened out first if we were to have some sort of state law. our law sounds great in writing, in principle, but it will not work out. we have so much abuse here with alcohol. we have at least two drug cartels. we do not need to fool with this right now. but thank you for taking a voice

that is never heard in our country, and you have a great day. host: there seems to be some conflict between conservative lawmakers from states who have allowed marijuana use when it comes to trying to make a decision on whether the federal government will allow marijuana use. here is a story from politico. marijuana's popularity boom in red states is not breaking through with conservatives on capitol hill, pinching an already narrow path to legalization. a growing number of republican senators represent states that have legalized recreational are medical cannabis. without their support in congress to make up part likely democratic defectors, it falls critically short of 60 votes needed to advance legislation.

republicans say they do not support comprehensive federal cannabis reform. i oppose it, said one, was otherwise a lead sponsor of the safe banking act, which would make it easier -- the people of montana decided they want to have it legal in our state and that is why support the act, as well. it is the right thing to do but i do not support federal legalization. chuck schumer is vowing to push for a far-reaching federal legalization bill even if president joe biden is not on board. chuck schumer must convince at least 10 republicans, possibly more, since democratic senators are unlikely to back the measure to join the cause. let's go back to our phone lines and talk to raymond, who is

calling from nevada. good morning. caller: hey, how are you doing? i support -- i have multiple sclerosis and there are many benefits. this is not -- medical marijuana is not increasing car accidents. there is nothing negative about it. it is just people's bias about it. people are going to do it whether it is legal or not. we need to stop destroying people's lives over a plant when we have alcohol killing people -- i don't even know the rate -- but it is terrible.

if we are going to make stuff illegal, marijuana should be legal and alcohol should be pulled off the streets. host: let's go to john from ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i would like to remind america of what it used to be like back in the good old days, when they used to bust you for a joint and put you in jail for 20 years. they used to bust in your house and if you have the wrong poster on the wall, you would get in trouble for that. we have come a long ways from those madness days, but people still have it, don't they? they want to hurt people know matter what. they will not give you health care during a pandemic. they love passing out misery

like it is their job, like it is their duty. hell no, it ain't. i am against them and what they stand for. what they stand for is not freedom. host: let's go to matt who is calling from westwood, new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you. let's not confuse the medical -- i have no issue with the medical marijuana. however, look at the facts. colorado, which has legalized it for over seven years, the traffic accidents have doubled, and that is not to mention all the serious injuries because driver reaction is slowed. that is a fact. it is also a fact that the marijuana of today is not like back in the day in the 1970's. it is like 10 times more potent and there are possibly other chemicals mixed in with some of it.

it affects children negatively with school performance -- that is a fact. it slows driver reaction, as i said. and the stuff is getting into the hands of very young people because they infuse gummy bears and soda-type drinks with that. unfortunately, it filters down to kids and is being resold for profit, and that causes other problems. i have no problem with the medical, ok? but it is counterproductive for the health and psychological well-being, and the safety of drivers, especially in states like new jersey, but happens to be the most crowded state congestion-wise. look at what happened in colorado. thank you very much. host: let's go to michelle, who is calling from wisconsin.

did i pronounce the name of your city right? caller: yes. thank you for taking my call. wisconsin, of course, has not legalized it in any way, shape or form, not even for medical. i have a son who has grand mall seizures and marijuana relaxes the brain enough where those seizures can get under control. unfortunately, they will not even take up. they would rather be in bed with pharmaceutical companies and push medications that have a lot more side effects than marijuana. i do not understand up. it is a benefit for those who have seizure disorders, who are in cancer treatments. it helps with your appetite. i do not understand this. wisconsin is a farming state and a dairy state, and our farmers

are struggling and i could not tell you how many farms have been shut down because they cannot make it. these farmers have often said if they could grow marijuana, they could get back on their feet. they could change their productivity from dairy to marijuana, yet our state will not even take it up. our farms are being closed. they are being bankrupted, basically, because they cannot afford to keep farming, and it is so sad because we are a farming state and a dairy state. that could be a big revenue in our state to help out everybody with medical and recreational. host: let's go to raffael, who is calling from staten island, new york. caller: i am calling to oppose marijuana in new york. if it is not legal, you give the power to illegal organizations

who call for force and violence to sell their product. if it is legal, it is regulated. you now take power away from the cartels, the people who supply it and bring it to the country in order to make a profit. at the same time, it reduces the amount of people who go to jail for marijuana crimes. i do not get it. lobbying, cartels, the people who push the war on drugs. at the same time, it helps insurance companies. they make you take one medicine, there is a side effect, they take another medicine for the side effect. legalizing it is more effort, more money and more blood spent to preserve something we could

be investigating. host: let's talk to catherine, who is calling from st. joseph's , michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. i oppose it and the reason why i oppose it is i grew up in the 1960's, i know what the 1960's did for our whole generation. when we would see somebody who was a marijuana smoker, you would say the are a pothead because it does alter your brain. nobody is saying anything about the mental problems you have after using marijuana. when you are high, you are not 100% and -- all of these people who have smoked marijuana over

the years, they are all in counseling. i just do not see how it will help our society if everybody is walking around high all the time. i do not think they should legalize the marijuana for medical reasons because all it does is give them the opportunity to want to do it recreational. i think we should have left it in the hands of the pharmaceuticals and let them be the ones who took care of people who needed it for medical. i think we are opening a whole can of worms that this whole society does not want to address. host: let's talk to terry, who is calling from lafayette, indiana. good morning. caller: good morning, everyone. yes, i would like to claim that

i had trouble with alcohol, i went to jail many times for using alcohol. resisting arrest, fighting the police, running from the police. i started using marijuana to stay away from alcohol. the 26 years i have been sober, i have been using marijuana instead of alcohol and i have not been in trouble since. the facts i would like to show to you is before they made the laws for alcohol, there were no alcohol gangs. before they made the drug laws, there were no drug gangs. after they made the laws, murder and crime rates went up 70%. they repealed the alcohol law 13 years after they passed it and the murder and crime rate went down 70%, broke up all the alcohol gangs. it does not take a rocket

scientist to figure out what they should do about the drug laws. you will cut the murder rate and crime rate in half or more. host: thank you to all of our callers and viewers for that segment. coming up next, john lott of the crime prevention research center will be here to discuss gun violence in the united states. later on, in our weekly spotlight series, the new republic's kate aronoff will discuss the bipartisan infrastructure bill which she says is a gift to wall street and detrimental to the environment. stick with us, we will be right back. ♪ >> today, on the communicators -- >> republicans and democrats have been attacking big tech from all sorts of angles and antitrust is just one of them,

but they have coalesced on we need to toughen antitrust laws to go after tech companies, but they have different reasons for doing so, even of a sort of coalesce on the same solution. for democrats, it seems to be rooted in something very typical for democrats, animosity toward big businesses in general and reservations about corporations, wanting to shrink the size bird for republicans, it is tied to this culture war against technology companies, where they perceive them as being biased, the way they moderate content or their corporate culture, so it is tied to their general feeling that tech companies get that. >> watch the communicato onr the recent article thes bipartisan antitrust crusade against big tech today at six theater -- at 6:30 p.m. eastern

on c-span. ♪ >> weekends on c-span2 par -- c-span2 are an intellectual feast. on sundays, the book tv gives you the latest on nonfiction authors. learn, discover, explore weekends on c-span2. ♪ >> washington journal continues. : we are back with john lott, who is the president of the crime prevention research center and is here with us this morning to discuss gun violence in the united states. john, good morning. guest: thank you for having me on. i appreciate it. host: tell us what the crime prevention research center is,