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Kernan acknowledges having used marijuana

MIKE SMITH | Associated Press | August 17th, 2004

INDIANAPOLIS - Gov. Joe Kernan used marijuana a few times while he was in his 20s, his campaign disclosed Tuesday.

Bellatrix; while you're at the site, check out this guys bio. He's done some impressive military service. The website is also tastefully understated. There aren't any federal gov't links on the site, which surprised me a little. It doesn't even say if he's if he's R or D (he's a Democrat, by the way). Am I blind, or is it obvious? Either way, this guy should not have to explain things that a) happened decades ago, and (b) are nobody else's friggin' business. If this guy should have to confess this crap about marijuana, then Commander Bunnypants better let us into Daddy's presidential library to find out about those coke allegations.

The disclosure to The Associated Press came in response to a question posed after some Democrats suggested that Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels had not been completely forthcoming about his 1970 drug arrest while a student at Princeton.

Bellatrix; way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, YA MORANS. Sheesh, what are they TRYING to lose???

Kernan campaign spokeswoman Tina Noel said Kernan, a Democrat, used marijuana "a few times in his younger days." She said that was the only illegal drug Kernan, now 58, had ever used.

Noel declined to provide any other details about the circumstances involved in the marijuana use.

Some Democrats, meanwhile, questioned Daniels' 1970 arrest.

"Voters deserve to know all the details of what went on," said state Rep. Ed Mahern, D-Indianapolis.

Daniels has long acknowledged that he pleaded guilty to a marijuana possession charge 34 years ago, and his campaign accused Kernan's campaign and its supporters of dredging up the arrest in a "pathetic, personal attack."

According to initial newspaper accounts, Daniels, 21 at the time, and two others were arrested in a dorm room May 14, 1970, after a five-month investigation that also led to other arrests.

Those accounts had Daniels and the other two in the room being charged with possession of marijuana, LSD and other drugs, and maintaining a common nuisance - allowing the sale or use of drugs. Daniels spent two nights in jail before he was released.

Daniels was later indicted on two charges - possessing marijuana and maintaining a nuisance. Prosecutors later dropped those charges, and Daniels pleaded guilty to a disorderly person charge stemming from his use of marijuana. He was fined $350.

The Daniels campaign has shared newspaper clippings, court papers and other documents involving the arrest and its aftermath with some news organizations, including the AP.

Those documents included background checks done by the FBI when Daniels was up for presidential appointments, including his nomination as budget director to President George W. Bush. That was a top-level clearance, the campaign said, since Daniels was a member of the National Security Council.

One FBI background document included interviews with two college roommates, including one who was arrested with Daniels. He said aside from recreational use of marijuana, he was not aware of any conduct that would "impact negatively" on Daniels' character. Another roommate said Daniels would occasionally use only marijuana.

The Indianapolis Star reported Sunday that the initial charges might have stemmed from activity in the dorm before Daniels moved in. V. Steven Harris, who lived there previously, said Daniels had "nothing to do with selling drugs." Harris said he - not Daniels - was the one "busted."

He told the newspaper he was a Democrat and no fan of President Bush and would gladly offer unflattering information about a Republican if he had any.

Bellatrix; alright buddy!! I'll bet that there are people like this all over the country. Why aren't the Dems using them?

Mahern said he understood that the Daniels campaign had a box of information related to the arrest, and "I am asking him here today to share the entire contents of that box with the citizens of Indiana."

Mahern made the request to reporters on the steps of the Statehouse and was joined by Democratic Rep. William Crawford of Indianapolis and two members of the Indianapolis City-County Council. State Democratic Chairman Kip Tew made a similar request to Indianapolis television station WTHR in a report it aired Monday night.

"I think we need to know more information about what his involvement was," Mahern said.

Daniels has said he has never sold drugs, and campaign spokeswoman Ellen Whitt said he has been forthcoming about the events of 34 years ago.

"He has been open about this. He has written about it over the years. He has answered any questions that have been asked of him," she said.

In an op-ed piece written by Daniels and printed by The Washington Post in August 1989, Daniels said it was easy to obtain marijuana and Budweiser beer during his college days, and, "For a time, I was a carefree consumer of both."

Bellatrix; and why the hell not?

He recalled his arrest and said, "My young Midwestern tail was jerked back into line, where it has remained through 20 years of life."

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