KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
On Wednesday’s of Talk of the Rock, KMXT will talk about marijuana legalization with an unlikely advocate of the movement. Larry Kirk is a Chief of Police in Old Monroe, Missouri, and outspoken critic of prohibition.
Kirk said he first started researching the United States’ “War on Drugs” movement about five years ago to see if it was worth the money federal and state governments were pouring into it.
“And I started actually looking at the history of drugs such as marijuana – cannabis, and try to find out exactly why it became illegal to begin with and to see if we were actually making any kind of dent on addiction rates here in America, or drug use here in America or the importation of drugs.”
Kirk said it became clear to him that current drug policies have failed, and something else needed to be done. One option that is a ballot measure for many states in the upcoming election is legalizing marijuana – something Kirk believes might actually help the war on drugs.
“I think every state should have the opportunity to do it. I think federally the federal guidelines definitely need to be changed. I think this is easily something that should be regulated and treated just as we do with tobacco and alcohol. It’s something that responsible adults can use just like they do alcohol and we can set standards just as we do for the consumption of alcohol as well.”
Alaska is one of many states considering the legalization of marijuana and Kirk will join KMXT live, Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. for Talk of the Rock to discuss his ideas on the matter more in depth. Folks will be allowed to call in during the program and ask questions of Kirk directly by calling KMXT at 486-3181.
