Marijuana Policy Project

Rep. Tommy Benton, a Republican state lawmaker in Georgia, is raising eyebrows with the seemingly brutal content of his email exchanges with voters. In a missive to one correspondent, he suggested caning marijuana users — beating them with sticks as is done in Singapore — and executing dealers. In response to another email challenging his pro-caning comment, he said he'd forwarded the note to law-enforcement "so that they can be on the lookout for you," suggesting that his tolerance for political debate is as limited as his patience for marijuana smokers.

Benton's email exchanges have been compiled by the National Organization for Marijuana Laws, which urges supporters to question government officials about their positions on drug policy and then forward the responses to the organization. The original email, dated July 29, read:

    Thanks for the email. We will have to agree to disagree on this and whether or not money is wasted. I am opposed to the legalization of marijuana. I think we should go to caning for people caught using and maybe execute dealers. That would solve the problem as well. That is what they do in Singapore and they don’t have a drug problem, but then they have less liberty than we do here.

    Rep. Tommy Benton
    tommy.benton@house.ga.gov

NORML published the note, prompting inquiries to the legislator, resulting in an August 11 follow-up.

    You don’t want to legalize weed because of your conservative values. Pardon my French but that is a big old pile of bull crap. You and your cronies want it legalized so you can get a hit anytime without having to worry about getting arrested. I have forwarded your email to the Lowndes County sheriffs office so that they can be on the lookout for you. Consider this my last correspondence on the the subject to you or anyone else who shares your similar “conservative views’.

    Tommy Benton
    HD31

As NORML explains, "caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of up to 24 violent lashes with a long rattan cane that has been soaked in water. The procedure inflicts intense pain and deep, bloody lacerations that can take several months to heal." Singapore's regular use of the punishment has prompted criticism on human rights grounds and even caused international incidents. U.S. relations with the city state were severely strained after American Michael Fay was caned for vandalism in 1994.

The practice often produces permanent scars.

Appropriately, Singapore has also been criticized for suppressing political speech opposed to the government. Even major newspapers, such as the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal, have been penalized in the country's courts for publishing editorials considered derogatory to government officials. Private citizens can be arrested for participating in public protests. The U.S. State Department says, "in practice, the Government significantly restricted freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The Government's authoritarian style fostered an atmosphere inimical to free speech and a free press."

Not only caning, but forwarding the names of critics to law-enforcement officials, would fit right in in Singapore.