Our Current Drug Policy Is Not Working | Jim Gray | TEDxBakersfield

Judge Jim Gray wants America to rethink their drug policy. “The best thing I can do for my country is to help us repeal drug prohibition,” Gray said in an interview with Reason.tv. “It’s the most patriotic thing I’m able to do and we’re going to be successful.” Judge Gray was a conservative superior court judge in typically conservative Orange County, Calif. Prior to the bench, he served as a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica and in the US Navy JAG Corps in Guam and Lemoore, Calif. In 2012, he was the Libertarian vice presidential candidate, running mate of former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. He’ll discuss ways that the current drug policy is not working. After graduating from UCLA, James P. Gray served as a Volunteer in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. Then, after graduating from the USC School of Law, he served in the US Navy JAG Corps at the Naval Air Stations in Guam and in Lemoore, California. He then served as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and as a civil litigator in private practice, until he was appointed as a trial court judge in Orange County, California, where he served for 25 years. During that time, Judge Gray did something unusual for a trial court judge: he held a press conference in April of 1992 and told all who would listen that our nation’s policy of Drug Prohibition was not working and must be changed. Along the way, Judge Jim Gray has been the 2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President of the United States, along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President, and the recipient of several honorary degrees as well as “Judge of the Year” awards. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx