What began as a fake news report on a satirical website and found it’s way into the halls of the Colorado state capital has now landed in the House of Representatives.
Representative Gosar has sponsored the No Welfare for Weed Act, which is a solution in search of a problem.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) proposed the No Welfare for Weed Act, H.R. 4142, which would prohibit pot from being bought by people using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) programs. TANF is the federal welfare program, and SNAP is commonly referred to as the federal food stamp program.
Gosar said his bill is a reaction to a report that people are using their welfare benefits to buy marijuana.
Yes, a fake report.
The satirical National Report posted a phony story about this titled “Colorado Pot Shop Accepting Food Stamps – Taxpayer Funded Marijuana for Welfare Recipients” and local Republicans believed it to be real.
The Douglas County Republican Committee in Colorado then enlisted State Senator Vicki Marble (R) to sponsor a bill to prevent people from using their SNAP benefits to buy weed.
The obvious problem is that you cannot use SNAP benefits to buy weed. You also cannot withdraw SNAP benefits as cash and then use it to buy weed. You simply cannot.
Even though the fantastical National Report story was immediately debunked and identified as a fake, Fox News picked up the story and ran with it in late January,
It didn’t stop there. Fox News flogged the fake story once again last week when host Eric Bolling used Colorado as an example of people using the SNAP program to buy “liquor, lap dances, and pot.”
Did Eric Bolling’s unhinged rant on Fox News’ The Five spur Representative Paul Gosar into action?
None of this is real and Paul Gosar fell for it.