"In my district they know where I stand, and I’ve always been very clear that the Drug War is a lot worse than the drugs themselves.”

--Texas Congressman Ron Paul

The national media has been buzzing about Texas Congressman Ron Paul since the May 15 presidential primary debate in South Carolina, where he traded shots over foreign policy with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Regardless of what one believes about the reasons why jihadists hate America, or how one believes a lasting peace can be achieved, it’s easy to see that the passionate exchange provided a major boost to Dr. Paul and an even bigger boost to the issue he raised. His call for a reexamination of our nation’s foreign policy touched a nerve and reinvigorated a serious discussion that has long been considered taboo, at least in Republican circles.

In case you haven’t yet heard the growing buzz about Ron Paul, perhaps the best visual evidence of his newfound celebrity status can be seen in his second appearance on Bill Maher’s HBO show. When Maher first interviewed Paul March 30, the host seemed skeptical and even dismissive of Paul and his campaign. Paul’s May 25 appearance was a different story altogether.

It’s really picture perfect if you’re a Paul supporter: you have Ben Affleck sitting there, clapping, and appearing to be deep in thought throughout the segment, you have Dr. Paul appearing laid-back and cracking jokes (he can be a little stiff sometimes), and most importantly you have multiple bursts of thunderous applause from the studio audience. And you also have YouTube, where who knows how many people will eventually watch the clip and others like it?

Now imagine a similar program, except this time a host and candidate are talking about the so-called “War on Drugs.” The host tosses up prohibitionist softballs, the candidate knocks them out of the park, and the crowd goes wild. It’s just one of many ways the anti-prohibitionist message can quickly become contagious if we can only gain a little more momentum in the public eye. But which candidate or candidates will carry the torch?

Several candidates have taken favorable positions on marijuana policy reform (each will be explored in future articles), but the most staunchly anti-prohibitionist candidate is probably Dr. Paul himself. Despite his personal dislike for drugs, the 71-year-old obstetrician (who has delivered over 4,000 babies) says he believes in the somehow radical yet simple notion that adults should be free to choose for themselves what they want to ingest, provided that they bear the responsibility for their actions. He articulated these views in a May 24 interview with Chris Goldstein on Norml’s Daily AudioStash.

Paul also directly addressed some of the political realities associated with Drug Prohibition, explaining that many of his colleagues in Congress know the truth but are afraid to speak out against prohibition for fear of reprisal at the ballot box. “They think they can’t possibly be elected or reelected to government if they tell the truth about the Drug War,” Paul explained. “And yet that’s one thing I’ve always been able to overcome. In my district they know where I stand, and I’ve always been very clear that the Drug War is a lot worse than the drugs themselves.”

If Ron Paul can get elected and reelected with this message in a conservative Texas district, shouldn’t we be able to get more anti-prohibitionists in government across the country?

The answer is a simple yes. So let’s do it…

(Edit: After this article was published, Dr. Paul pulled off an even bigger media upset with his June 4 appearance on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, and he is scheduled to appear on The Colbert Report June 13.