Bill Maher Smokes Weed Live On Air — Says Don’t Wait For Government To Legalize Pot

“Somehow, this is the year that everything from socialism to mass deportation is on the table and voters love the authentic guys who speak their minds, but when it comes time for Congress to consider common-sense pot legislation, it’s like smoking a joint with Woody Harrelson; they just won’t pass it.”

Maher asked fellow pot lovers to “get your heads out of your grass” and realize that progress on social issues is not a given.

He contrasted the legalization of marijuana with abortion, highlighting that although there is a momentum towards legalization, progress can be rolled back, as has been the case with abortion.

Maher hits the nail on the head when explaining that legalization of weed is taking so long because there is a vested bureaucratic interest in keeping the War on Drugs money machine rolling. The DEA, prisons, and law enforcement stand to lose massive amounts of funding if the drug war is ended, and industries such as big pharma and alcohol conglomerates would lose market share.

“It’s not a tenable situation,” he said of the drug’s limited legality. “When I leave Colorado, Oregon, Washington or Alaska, my back pain doesn’t go away. Or whatever it is I have. I’m kidding — I use medical marijuana because my third eye has glaucoma.”

He attacked states that are taking away rights and then, he went out in a blaze of glory: The medical marijuana card-carrying user just lit up a joint.

Watch Maher make his pitch for full marijuana legalization below:

At any one time, 59,300 prisoners charged with or convicted of violating marijuana laws are behind bars. Of those, 17,000 are behind bars for possession ONLY, not trafficking. Enforcing marijuana laws costs an estimated $10-15 billion in direct costs alone. Not to mention the sustained costs of incarceration of the individual who has done nothing to harm anyone. It is estimated that the money spent enforcing useless marijuana laws is double what we spend on education in this country.

It is time to end this ridiculous, murderous, and outright criminal “War” on Drugs. To quote comedian and activist Joe Rogan, “Prison is for Rapists, Thieves and Murderers! If you lock someone up for smoking a Plant that makes them happy, You’re the f- ing Criminal!”

Jay Syrmopoulos is a political analyst, free thinker, researcher, and ardent opponent of authoritarianism. He is currently a graduate student at University of Denver pursuing a masters in Global Affairs. Jay’s work has been published on Ben Swann’s Truth in Media, Truth-Out, Raw Story, MintPress News, as well as many other sites. You can follow him on Twitter@sirmetropolis, on Facebook at Sir Metropolis and now on tsu.