Galbraith Advocates Legal Marijuana As Economic Stimulus
Bill Robinson
March 12, 2009
The Richmond Register (KY)
Kentucky can be the first state east of the Mississippi River to license marijuana, giving the state an economic stimulus that would boost it from near the bottom to almost the top state in prosperity, according to Gatewood Galbraith.
The Lexington attorney, who said he will run for governor as an independent in 2011, addressed the Richmond Rotary Club on Wednesday at Arlington House.
He predicted that California soon would be the first state to legalize marijuana.
State are free to legalize the controversial plant, Galbraith said, because President Barack Obama recently directed the U.S. Justice Department to expend no funds opposing state laws that run counter to federal laws.
Previous state actions to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes have been opposed by federal authorities.
By licensing and taxing marijuana, Kentucky could realize $500 million a year in revenue, Galbraith said.
Despite the best efforts of law enforcement, “Anyone who wants to get marijuana can get it now,” he said.
By licensing marijuana, the state also would save the money it spends apprehending and prosecuting those who grow or sell it, he said.
“As governor, the first thing I would do with (marijuana-generated tax revenue) is grant a $5,000 voucher to every Kentucky high school graduate for tuition or books at a college or trade school,” Galbraith said.
He said marijuana was not addictive, and unless used to excess, was not harmful.
Galbraith called the substance a natural, inexpensive medicine, and challenged skeptics to disprove his assertions.
Kentucky also could advance itself by ending partisan politics and corruption in state government, he said.
“Nothing gets done in Frankfort, because the two parties always are at loggerheads,” Galbraith said, pressing his fists together. “As an independent governor, I could end that impasse.”
If elected, he also promised to put an end to what he called political payoffs.
“In 1995, when Paul Patton became governor, the state spent $280 million on personal service contracts,” Galbraith said.
Today, personal service contracts amount to about $1.1 billion, he said.
“Personal service contracts are how politicians pay off the people who help them,” said Galbraith, who also has sought election in the past as attorney general.
Wearing his trademark straw hat, Galbraith carried boxes of his autobiography, “The Last Free Man in America,” into Arlington House.
Each person who attended the meeting was given a copy. | 
