Like most hair-triggered carnival barkers who dispense conspiracy theories at foghorn decibels (and then quickly pivot to selling bunk supplements), conservative demagogue Alex Jones is not boring.
This is not a good thing.
When the InfoWars host says something inflammatory or insane—Hillary Clinton is a reptilian she-demon; Donald Trump is a nice guy and will make a good president—people believe him. That’s the power of an “alternative media” mogul in the age of alternative facts.
Jones recently wrapped up an acrimonious court battle with his ex-wife Kelly for custody of the couple’s three children. Almost immediately, proceedings devolved into an aggressive three-ring spectacle. No surprise: Family court is depressing on a good day; celebrity family court is tawdry and depressing—but it was the speed at which Jones vs. Jones achieved vulgar tragicomedy status, hitting rock bottom and then plunging a few floors deeper, that was so stunning. (Lest we forget that three children are at the heart of the matter).
As if on cue, Jones also let drop a New World Order truth-bomb on April 20, the holy marijuana holiday, telling the courtroom that he smokes cannabis once a year to “test its strength.”
He does this, the Austin American Statesman reported, because all-purpose conservative bogeyman George Soros keeps making weed stronger—and because smoking weed once a year, to see what Soros is putting in it, is what police do.
Lest you think aping the police is out of character, remember: even the auteur behind Police State, who registered the domain name Prison Planet, can take a sudden and decisive pro-police turn when the winds shift. (Or when he needs the cops’ help.)
Alex Jones testifies he smokes marijuana to “monitor its strength,” adds it’s now too strong because of George Soros https://t.co/karaGqrFj8 pic.twitter.com/MhBrtdA1Nm
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) April 20, 2017
Much of the trial centered on whether Alex Jones is a performance artist with an act or an unhinged lunatic who attacks fatherhood like a pro wrestler attacks a promo—if his radio persona is the same man raising his children.
This marijuana story was said in court, under oath.
So, Jones swore this is what he truly believes. And as PolitiFact dutifully reported, nothing Jones said about marijuana could be verified as fact—except for the indisputable truth that he occasionally smokes.
It’s well-known that there is more and more powerful commercially available marijuana than ever before. In part, this is because there is now commercially grown marijuana available, period.
High-powered concentrates and 100 mg edibles—as well as cannabis bred during decades of prohibition to be as potent as possible, to the detriment of taste, nuance and overall effect—are all readily available to consumers in states with a legal retail market, as well as on the street.
“Exploring” the Soros angle is a waste of time—it is true that his money has helped legalize marijuana, which is neither a conspiracy nor a bad thing—so let’s approach the police claim.
This won’t take long. It is absolutely true that police officers use cannabis. Sometimes, they even appear to do so on camera (and then they lose their jobs).
But no police department in the country copped to an annual test-doob. Police departments do test marijuana for potency—in a lab.
“It’s laughable. Not plausible,” DEA spokesman Russ Bayer told Politifact. “Frankly, it’s insulting. The DEA would never allow consumption of any controlled substance.”
Jones did not respond to Politifact for clarification.
The plot thickens! Surely, he’d have some meatier response than the categorical denial being part of a government cover-up.
The cannabis fib did not help Jones’s credibility, but it was little more than a footnote in the trial.
Jones “lost” the case, in that he must now share custody with his ex-wife, to whom he pays $43,000 a month in child support—a bill that pegs his personal fortune at millions.
