Say What?!! Lawmaker Says Black People Can't Handle Marijuana Due To 'Genetics'--So It Should Be Illegal

A state representative in Kansas is in hot water after making some outrageously racist remarks about African Americans. Rep. Steve Alford thinks marijuana should be illegal due to his belief that black people simply -- can't handle it. Say what?!!

During a Legislative Coffee session at St. Catherine Hospital in Kansas, Zach Worf, president of the Finney County Democrats, argued for the legalization of marijuana on the grounds that the state could benefit from the economic boost. Kansas is one of the few states that still hasn't legalized some form of medical marijuana.

That's when State Rep. Steve Alford inserted himself into the conversation with his racist commentary, “What you really need to do is go back in the ’30s, when they outlawed all types of drugs in Kansas [and] across the United States." According to The Garden City Telegram, Alford added, "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.” ”

Here's the full clip of Alfords comments:

As expected, comments like these left those in attendance stunned. Worf went on to call the comments “the most racist thing [he had] ever heard.” And added that he felt like he had been transported back in time.

Despite the negative backlash, Alford is standing by his remarks. When questioned by The Telegram afterwards, he did however, admit that he shouldn't have singled out African Americans.

“There are certain groups of people, their genetics, the way their makeup is, the chemicals will affect them differently,” Alford said. “That’s what I should have said was drugs affect people differently instead of being more specific.” 

Alford denied that his remarks were racist -- despite not being able to cite a specific source to the science behind his skewed logic when speaking with AP. “To me, that’s neutral. Basically, 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.”

It's really hard to believe that in 2018 anyone could walk around with such racist beliefs yet still be blind to the notion that it's even racist. #GetItTogether