Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 004-018
Date: Tuesday, June 1, 1971 at 10:30 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/004-018

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] Hello?
[0:05] Hello?
[0:09] No, as a matter of fact, I think that it was good that they tried to keep that subject up because we're on the side of the angels there.
[0:20] Well, you know, really, this certainly exposes the press for what they are.
[0:24] Those bastards, they don't care about keeping the government going.
[0:27] They don't care about slashing the tires or trashing...
[0:32] all over the city or stopping the traffic.
[0:34] The bastards only care about the, what are we going to do about these poor innocent little bastards that are down here to demonstrate against the war?
[0:49] They sure did, didn't they?
[0:57] They really did.
[0:57] I mean, it was, it's, uh, I'm sure it was everybody that viewed this night.
[0:59] I didn't know, uh,
[1:00] We hope so, yeah.
[1:15] Well, I was thinking that.
[1:16] Somehow or other, I think the word I was going to ask is that Cresco, you know, Cresco, they don't do diet trade in public space, because they don't do diet trade.
[1:24] Anyway, we ought to have a good meeting on Thursday with these people and try to get something positive out of that.
[1:49] Because we really want to get this law and order and the dope thing, too, that thing.
[2:09] I've tried to put that in the context, as you know, that it's not just of Vietnam, but of the nation.
[2:11] We just don't want to... That would be a bad wicket for us to say that the problem is only dope in Vietnam, which is ridiculous.
[2:14] Well, this is absolutely true, because Vietnam is one way away.
[2:15] Most people are in West Vietnam.
[2:16] But there are only 200,000 left over there.
[2:17] and there are millions here that are exposed to the damn dope traffic.
[2:37] That's absolutely right, and I'm sure that Bud Krogh and the rest of them are working on it.
[2:39] All of our departments are working on it appropriately now, and I think that'll be a real plus factor when it comes.
[2:41] I hope it won't be too long, because this has become a business that's really generated incredible, and perhaps right, because of this experience of ours.
[2:46] Oh, it's a terrible problem, I mean, terrible.
[2:49] And I was glad to get across the point of not legalizing marijuana.
[2:56] I'd said it earlier in California, but my gosh, it's time for the country to know that we're not going to crap around with these people.
[3:09] Well, Mr. President, every bit of evidence that comes along in the Church's emergency bill, every bit of evidence that comes along, it's very hard to think of a good story.
[3:13] Well, as a matter of fact, you could say it's kind of like cigarettes and cancer.
[3:26] You cannot prove that cigarettes lead to cancer.
[3:29] All the evidence shows that those who smoke cigarettes are more likely to get cancer than those that don't.
[3:52] And so it is with this damn thing.
[3:52] I really do, because that's kind of the result of it.
[3:54] Yeah.
[3:54] Sure, sure.
[3:54] Well, of course, marijuana is an escapist thing, so they escape into the bigger escape.
[3:56] Yeah.
[3:58] But anyway, we'll have a little good meeting on Thursday, I hope.
[4:19] Because, uh, you know, it's much more of a question than anything else.
[4:30] Sure.
[4:35] As long as it's, you know, good news and things like that.
[4:37] Yeah.
[4:37] Well, we'll keep, keep, keep slugging them.
[4:38] We will.
[4:38] It's just not a day in the past.
[4:39] That's right.
[4:41] The Justice Department has all these problems.
[4:41] That's right.
[4:42] That's fine.
[4:42] Well, it's just so that they make a plus for us.
[4:43] Yeah, when you got off the house, it was a good thing.
[4:44] Yeah, we said we were going to make a statement later.
[4:46] Okay.
[4:48] That's the way to go.
[4:49] Bye-bye.