The fact that Ron Paul supports the legalization of all drugs should be very old news by now, but somehow his sudden ascension to legitimate presidential candidate in 2008 continues, and the public is still figuring out what Paul is all about. 
For many, they are attracted by Paul’s support for a much small government and an end to the Federal Reserve Bank.
Some Republican commentators pretend to like the Texas congressman while conveniently ignoring many of his libertarian views.
Paul, the 2000 presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party, has a few unusual items on his agenda. Let’s see, he: supports decriminalizing drug use and prostitution; opposes any restrictions on immigration; opposed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and does not believe the U.S. should ever deploy troops overseas; and supports the elimination of Medicare, Medicaid, the U.S. Dept. of Education, the EPA, food inspection programs, and child safety laws.
If Republicans were surprised at the heavy resistance to Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare overhaul plan, try nominating (Ron) Paul for president and see what happens.
For many years, Libertarian Party candidates who typically garner 2-4 percent of the vote, have complained that they can’t attract more support from voters because they don’t receive sufficient media coverage. I have always believed that if they received more publicity, if people really, fully understood what they stand for, Libertarians would receive far fewer votes than in the past.
Along those same lines, supporters of Paul’s newest presidential bid have complained that he is not being treated as a first-tier candidate. Then the candidate opened his mouth.
At the South Carolina GOP debate, Paul delved into his libertarianism and espoused the freedom to engage in prostitution, or to use cocaine and heroin. These freedoms, he said, are no different than the freedom to pray.
Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson responded in a column by pointing out that Paul’s absolute faith in “free will” fails to take into consideration the rampant drug abuse that has ravaged many urban neighborhoods, including some within blocks of the U.S. Capitol.
“The de facto decriminalization of drugs in some neighborhoods — say, in Washington, D.C. — has encouraged widespread addiction,” Gerson said. “Children, freed from the care of their addicted parents, have the liberty to play in parks decorated by used needles. Addicts are liberated into lives of prostitution and homelessness. Welcome to ‘Paulsville,’ where people are free to take soul-destroying substances and debase their bodies to support their ‘personal habits.’”
 Gerson points out that Paul, in a mocking voice, asserted on the debate stage that drug laws are a form of government control for people who can’t control their own addictions. The columnist summed up this way:
“In determining who is a ‘major’ candidate for president, let’s begin here. Those who support the legalization of heroin while mocking addicts are marginal. It is difficult to be a first-tier candidate while holding second-rate values.”

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