The real lesson of David Brooks' lame anti-pot column

News flash: Smoking weed won't stop you from being successful

Marijuana retail
(Image credit: (Theo Stroomer/Getty Images))

In David Brooks' latest column, "Weed. Been There. Done That," the Times' elder conservative statesman cops to smoking pot as a youngster while also deriding the habit and those who encourage it. The column predictably aroused mockery from the peanut gallery, leading many to question whether or not he was actually high when he wrote it. (In the wake of Colorado's recreational marijuana rollout, commentators like Ruth Marcus, Joe Scarborough, and Tina Brown have expressed similar viewpoints, but Brooks has a unique way of evoking anger from the Twitterati.)

In addition to the many jokes, critics have been poking plenty of logical holes in the column, too. For example:

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Matt K. Lewis

Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.