A Kansas state Republican lawmaker supported the racist and discredited policies of the Jim Crow era when he told a crowd gathered at a legislative coffee session that African Americans are genetically predisposed to handle marijuana worse than other races.
Kansas is one of the few remaining states that haven’t legalized some form of medical marijuana, including low-THC marijuana derivatives that can’t get a user high, CBS reported. But interest is not subsiding.
At the public legislative coffee on Saturday, Zach Worf, president of the Finney County Democrats, argued that legalizing marijuana could be a financial boon to cash-strapped Kansas.
State Rep. Steve Alford (R) responded by telling the all-white crowd of about 60 people that marijuana was criminalized during the prohibition era of the 1930s, mainly because of black marijuana use, Garden City Telegram reported.
“What was the reason why they did that?” Alford said. “One of the reasons why, I hate to say it, was that the African Americans, they were basically users and they basically responded the worst off to those drugs just because of their character makeup, their genetics and that. And so basically what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to do a complete reverse with people not remembering what has happened in the past.”
No one addressed Alford’s comments during the legislative coffee event — something that got a lot of attention on Twitter.
I was thinking that even walking out wouldn't be objection enough. Flipping the table is exactly the response I was trying to think of! pic.twitter.com/guMKaOb4us
— Emct (@eileenmct14) January 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/sylvinuunyango/status/950522255271903232
How could anyone sit still and not react when someone says such a thing? Like nothing just happened?
— CDC (@CyndiCaldwell) January 8, 2018
tell me again how republicans aren’t racist
— Kevin Trezise (@ArkCowboy) January 8, 2018
Those that aren’t seem terribly comfortable being affiliated with those that are. No one spoke up in this video. It’s a recurring scenario.
— R.N. Bennett (@relle1982) January 8, 2018
Vote him out! Vote him out! #BlueTsunami
— Deb Rodriguez (@DRod_AngryDeb) January 8, 2018
VOTE THEM OUT!
— William Nathans (@ogbill1) January 8, 2018
And Moonshine gets white folks all looney.
— Rude Dog (@rrjr724) January 8, 2018
After the Q&A session had ended, Worf said Alford’s comment was “the most racist thing (he) ever heard,” according to the Garden City Telegram.
Darrell Pope, the president of the NAACP’s chapter in Hutchinson, said Alford “is an idiot and that shows how oblivious Kansans are to selecting representatives to put someone like that in there to represent them.”
Rep. Valdenia Winn, a black Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, said Alford should apologize to people of color in his district. His remarks are bizarre, she said.
Alford, 75, issued a written apology Monday for his remarks after lawmakers and state officials condemned his remarks.
“I apologize, I regret my comments and I sincerely apologize to anyone whom I have hurt,” Alford said in a statement, clarifying that what he was referring to was the “damaging effects on the African American community.”
The Republican-controlled House’s top GOP leaders, Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. and Majority Leader Don Hineman said they were “completely taken aback” and disappointed by Alford’s remarks, according to CBS:
Alford was first elected to the House in 2010 and is chairman of its Children and Seniors Committee as well as a legislative task force on child welfare issues. As speaker, Ryckman has the power to strip members of committee chairmanships. If another lawmaker files a formal complaint over Alford’s remarks, Ryckman would be required under the House’s rules to appoint a special investigating committee that would make recommendations on whether the chamber should take formal action, such as a censure. It wasn’t clear Monday whether any other lawmaker would push for such a review. Ryckman said GOP leaders would consult with other lawmakers and their staff on how to respond.”
Alford’s Jim Crow-like comments refer to a period in U.S. history when Harry Anslinger, the founding commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), got famous for being racist and for fighting against marijuana. Under Anslinger’s leadership, the FBN helped pass the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, regulating cannabis and taxing it to the detriment of the then-booming hemp industry.
From 1930 to 1937, Anslinger campaigned for prohibition of the cannabis plant. He said marijuana caused crime and violence. These are some quotes attributed to Anslinger:
Alford told The Associated Press he is not a racist. “I got called a racist, which I’m really not, and it’s just the way people … the interpretation of people. To me, I’m trying to look at what’s really the best for Kansas.”
