Democratic Jr Senator (CT, retiring 2012), ran for V.P. with Gore, ran for president 2004
Apologizes for never having smoked marijuana
At the �Rock the Vote� debate, the moderator inevitably asked,. �Which of you are ready to admit to having used marijuana in the past?�
�Yes,� said John Kerry, leading off. �Yes,� said John Edwards . �Yes,� said Howard Dean.
None of these three baby-boomer candidates said anything beyond their short, declarative affirmations. None followed with a hurried explanation that it was just a few times, that it was some kind of �youthful indiscretion,� or that he didn�t inhale.
The implication of their answers seemed to be, �Yeah, so what?�
In fact, the defensive answers tended to come from those replying in the negative. �No,� said Dennis Kucinich. �But I think it ought to be decriminalized.�
�I grew up in the church,�
said Al Sharpton. �We didn�t believe in that.�
�I have a reputation for giving unpopular answers,� said Joe Lieberman. �I never used marijuana. Sorry!�
In the next day�s news coverage, the admissions of marijuana smoking were largely ignored.
Source: [X-ref Kerry] Steven Holmes, NY Times
, Nov 9, 2003
Increased penalties for drug offenses
Lieberman�s voting record on drug-related issues:
Voted YES to increase penalties on certain drug-related crimes. (S.625 11/10/1999)
Vote IN FAVOR of an amendment that would increase funding for state juvenile court systems and
establish juvenile drug courts. (S.254, 5/12/1999)
Vote YES to authorize funds for anti-drug programs and would prohibit federal funding of needle exchange programs. (S.1415 6/9/1998)
Source: Vote-smart.org �Voting Record�
, Nov 10, 1999
Voted YES on increasing penalties for drug offenses.
Vote to increase penalties on certain drug-related crimes. The amendment would specifically target the manufacturing or trafficking of amphetamines & methamphetamines and possession of powder cocaine, and set stronger penalties for dealing drugs
Reference:
Bill S.625
; vote number 1999-360
on Nov 10, 1999
Voted NO on spending international development funds on drug control.
Vote to add an additional $53 million (raising the total to $213 million) to international narcotics control funding, and pay for it by taking $25 million from international operations funding and $28 million from development assistance.
Reference:
Bill HR 3540
; vote number 1996-244
on Jul 25, 1996