California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom stopped by HuffPost Live Monday morning to discuss his new book Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government. And unsurprisingly, the conversation quickly turned to one of the Golden State's hottest issues: marijuana.
"It's disappointing," the former San Francisco mayor said to host Josh Zepps of the Obama administration's renewed crackdown on California's medical cannabis operations. "The fact that we're having raids, the likes of which wouldn't have even happened in the Bush administration, has been frustrating."
Citing the myriad politicians who have recently publicly declared their support for gay marriage, Newsom suggested it was time for leaders to "come out of the closet" on marijuana, too.
"I am sick and tired of politicians saying one thing in private and saying another in public," he said. "It's time to tax and regulate [marijuana]. The consequences of this war on drugs is an abject failure; it has disproportionately hurt the African American and Latino communities. It's time for politicians...to do the damn right thing on this."
Last week, Newsom expressed similar sentiments on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," claiming most politicians secretly support legalizing marijuana.
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