Stephen Colbert presses John Kasich pretty hard on marijuana prohibition

Stephen Colbert grills John Kasich on drug policy

(Image credit: Late Show)

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) argued against legalizing marijuana during the last Republican presidential debate, and he reiterated his rationale on Friday's Late Show, telling a skeptical Stephen Colbert that he doesn't want to send kids a mixed message about drugs. "We don't want to tell our kids, 'Don't do drugs, but by the way, this drug's okay.'" Colbert had the obvious rejoinder: "Isn't that what alcohol is?" Kasich pivoted to a story about how drug addiction led to the suicide of a man he met in Mississippi, and the argument that hard drugs are ruining lives at an unprecedented level.

Colbert responded that marijuana convictions are ruining people's lives. "Did you ever smoke marijuana?" he asked Kasich. "Yes," the governor replied. "Were you caught smoking marijuana?" Colbert asked. "By who?" Kasich asked, trying to inject a note of levity. Colbert wasn't having it. When Kasich acknowledged that he had never been caught by the police, Colbert asked: "If you had been caught smoking marijuana, and had it on your record, would you be the governor of Ohio right now?" Kasich said maybe, and only later explained that Ohio gives nonviolent drug offenders the right to get their felony convictions expunged (kind of). Also, he said he isn't opposed to medical marijuana, "if the experts come back and say we need this for people who have seizures." Which suggests that, like Hillary Clinton proposed the following day, Kasich is in favor of lowering marijuana's federal classification so researchers can legally study its effects. That's a good question for the next debate, Fox Business. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.