Calif. Gov: Stoners Will Be Our Downfall If Pot Is Legal

Jerry Brown thinks legalizing marijuana would put California and the rest of America at a competitive disadvantage, because we'd have too many stoners. Toward the end of a brief Meet the Press interview yesterday, the California governor was asked about Colorado and Washington's legalization moves. It was just one quick part of the interview, but it's drawn attention from everyone from the AP to the LA Times:

• "A certain amount is OK, but there is a tendency to go to the extremes. And all of a sudden if there's advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation? World's pretty dangerous, very competitive. I think we need to stay alert, if not 24 hours a day, more than some of the potheads might be able to put together."

Host David Gregory chuckled. "I know a great soundbite when I hear one, and I think I just heard one," he said. And Brown might know what he's talking about; Gawker points out that in the '90s he was accused of hosting parties at which marijuana and cocaine were used "in large quantities." (More Jerry Brown stories.)