Last night’s Vice Presidential debate featured nary a word about drug policy, but did show — inadvertently — how American culture promotes booze while simultaneously stigmatizing cannabis.

In what was no doubt a deliberate effort to appeal to so-called “Middle-America, working-class voters,” Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin affectionately invoked the term “Joe Six Pack” — a phrase that despite its literal connotation (The typical American is an alcoholic) is nevertheless championed in the American lexicon.

Now just imagine for a moment that instead of proactively reaching out to “Joe Six Pack,” Governor Palin instead invoked the phrase “Joe Doobie” in a similarly veiled attempt to court those millions of Americans who use cannabis responsibly (a voting block that arguably dwarfs the number of Americans who put away a six pack of beer each evening).

Of course, I don’t have to tell you what would have happened. We already know. Ms. Palin’s political aspirations would have been torpedoed faster than you can say “Anheuser-Busch.” Yet there’s not a political commentator, lawmaker, drug educator, DARE officer, or MADD spokesperson out there who has any objection to the implication that America’s working class are a bunch of simple-minded boozers.

The hypocrisy is enough to drive me to drink.