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Ben Carson on Drugs
Tea Party challenger in Republican primary
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Change national narrative so fewer die from drugs
In the two hours of this debate, five people have died from drug-related deaths, $100 million has been added to our national debt, 200 babies have been killed by abortionists, and two veterans have taken their lives. This is a narrative that we can
change, not we the Democrats, not we the Republicans, but we the people of America, because there is something special about this nation, and we must embrace it and be proud of it and never give it away for the sake of political correctness.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate
, Nov 10, 2015
Addiction results from weakened values
Q: There was a poll that showed the biggest problem facing New Hampshire, according to voters there, 25% of the people thought that drug abuse and drug addiction was the biggest problem. As a doctor, what is your sense of the human side of addiction?
Where does it come from? CARSON: Well, there are all kinds of addictions. Usually addictions occur in people who are vulnerable, who are lacking something in their lives. And so we have to really start asking ourselves, what have we taken out of our
lives in America? What are some of those values and principles that allowed us to ascend the latter of success so rapidly to the very pinnacle of the world? And now let me specifically talk about a type of addiction that's going on that is very alarming,
heroin addictions, because there is a transportation of heroin through our southern borders that is unimaginable. This is not a good thing for us. We need to not give up on this war on drugs and certainly not to facilitate it.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2015 interview by Bob Schieffer
, Nov 8, 2015
Exposure to marijuana results in decreased IQ
Carson has said he's a fan of the war on drugs, and he told "The Blaze" he would "intensify it." He also supports medical marijuana "in compassionate cases." At a June campaign event in Colorado, he noted that "regular exposure to marijuana in
the developing brain has been proven to result in a decreased IQ. The last thing we need is a bunch of people running around with decreased IQ." Therefore, he says, he'd enforce federal drug laws in which the use of marijuana is considered a crime.
Source: Mother Jones 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Oct 28, 2015
Marijuana is a starter drug; keep barriers to hedonism
Ben Carson, the neurosurgeon in the field, told Fox News in 2014: "I think medical use of marijuana in compassionate cases certainly has been proven to be useful. But recognize that marijuana is what's known as a gateway drug.
It tends to be a starter drug for people who move onto heavier duty drugs--sometimes legal, sometimes illegal--and I don't think this is something that we really want for our society.
You know, we're gradually just removing all the barriers to hedonistic activity and you know, it's just, we're changing so rapidly to a different type of society and nobody is getting a chance to discuss it because, you know, it's taboo.
It's politically incorrect. You're not supposed to talk about these things."
Source: PolitiFact Texas fact-checking on 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Oct 28, 2015
Intensify the War on Drugs at federal level
Ben Carson told Glenn Beck this week that he wants to "intensify" the so-called War on Drugs. The exchange came during a series of rapid-fire questions. When Beck asked Carson if he wanted to continue the War on Drugs, Carson responded, "Absolutely."
A slightly confused Beck clarified "You do?" And Carson replied confidently, "I would intensify it."
After his initial answer, Beck pressed the retired neurosurgeon on his enthusiasm for the War on Drugs. "Let me ask you a question,"
Beck said, pausing to figure out his next words. "How -- I mean, it doesn't seem to be working now."
Again, Carson appeared steady. "Yeah well, go down to the border in Arizona like I was a few weeks ago. I mean, it's an open highway, and the
federal government isn't doing anything to stop it," Carson said. Beck then asked if Carson would legalize marijuana and Carson said, "I disagree with it."
Source: International Business Times on 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Oct 23, 2015
Maybe medical marijuana, but recreational use is a gateway
Carson has previously called marijuana a "gateway drug" and spoken out against it: "I think medical use of marijuana in compassionate cases certainly has been proven to be useful. But recognize that marijuana is what's known as a gateway drug.
It tends to be a starter drug for people who move onto heavier duty drugs--sometimes legal, sometimes illegal--and I don't think this is something that we really want for our society,"
Carson said in a 2014 interview with Fox News. "You know, we're gradually just removing all the barriers to hedonistic activity, and you know, it's just, we're changing so rapidly to a different type of society and nobody is
getting a chance to discuss it because, you know, it's taboo. It's politically incorrect. You're not supposed to talk about these things."
Source: International Business Times on 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Oct 23, 2015
Marijuana for medical use, but not for recreational use
Medical use of marijuana in compassionate cases has been proven to be useful, but recognize that marijuana is what is known as a gateway drug--
a starter for people who move on to heavier duty drugs. I don't think this is something we really want for our society.
Source: Fox News Politics: "Ramifications of legal marijuana"
, Jan 2, 2014
Religion kept me away from 1960s sex and drugs
Plenty of hippies and flower children around me smoke pot, used illicit drugs, and engaged in free love as part of that utopian dream.Because of my love of God and my religious upbringing, I didn't become involved in sex or drugs, but I still
identified strongly with the antiwar protesters and revolutionaries. I was quite unhappy when McGovern was soundly defeated by Nixon in 1972. I was a senior in college at the time and starting to think more about medical school than social justice.
[At Yale in the late 1960s], I was proud to see groups such as the Black Panthers standing up to brutal police tactics, and though I never joined any radical student organizations, I kept abreast of the activities of the Students for a Democratic Society
(SDS), the Weathermen, and other groups willing to use aggressive tactics to accomplish "social justice."
I voted for George McGovern enthusiastically along with multitudes of young people, all of us looking forward to a utopian world of peace & love.
Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.155-156
, Jan 24, 2012
Reducing blood alcohol limit to .02 reduces drunk driving
An example of how responsible policies can change a society's behavior is found in Sweden, where they decided in the 1990s that their nation's incidence of drunk driving was too high. They changed the legally tolerated blood-alcohol limit from 0.05 to
0.02 (in the US, the average tolerated blood-alcohol level is 0.08--4 times higher than that in Sweden) and enforced severe penalties for drunk driving, including mandatory jail time, astronomical fines, and confiscation of one's vehicle. As a result,
there was a dramatic decline in alcohol-related traffic accidents and fatalities. The behavioral changes are so enculturated that hardly anyone even considers driving if they have consumed a single can of beer. This shows that people respond to
appropriate legislative changes and that there is still great potential for our nation to use government in a responsible and uplifting manner that will not break the bank and that will encourage the development of responsible citizens.
Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.106
, Jan 24, 2012
Page last updated: Mar 13, 2021