Robertson Hits Worker Drug Use

LANSING, Mich. — Republican presidential hopeful Pat Robertson said today that a quarter of America’s auto workers use illegal drugs, leading to declining productivity, but said later he was not disparaging them.

“If the auto workers want jobs, what they have to recognize is that one out of every four people on the assembly line, according to statistics I have, is using drugs. That’s a 25% drop in productivity right there, possibly. So I think the auto workers would appreciate a tough anti-drug program,” he told reporters during a visit to the state Capitol. Robertson said later he wasn’t criticizing auto workers. “I am in no way disparaging anybody. My goodness,” the former television evangelist said. “In our society, we consume 60% of all the world’s illegal drugs and drugs are a problem and they’re a problem in the work force.”