30 most controversial Bill Maher moments

26. Maher points out the hypocrisy in marijuana prohibition

Bill Maher is obviously a staunch supporter of cannabis legalization. But he uses hard facts to support his arguments, often shutting down the politicians fighting to keep it illegal. One such time came on an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, shortly after Ted Cruz admitted to experimenting with pot as a youngster.

This was surprising for Maher. It’s not surprising that a politician copped to smoking pot. Countless of them have, from people like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton to Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich have confessed to trying it out. But what was shocking for Maher, as he puts it, is “who would get high with Ted Cruz?”

Maher takes issue with the common defense for all of these politicians. They always fall back on the “young and stupid” defense. Even Jeb Bush, who was a dealer in college, wrote off his pot crimes the same way. Being “white and well connected” is really what gets people like Bush off the hook, while millions of Americans don’t have the same luxury. Maher says that these politicians owe a debt to the people serving lengthy prison sentences for doing the same crimes.