Meghan McCain, the daughter of Republican Senator and 2008 presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, has admitted trying marijuana a few times. That's not entirely shocking for a 27-year-old in America. What's a little more surprising is that the daughter of a prominent Republican figure should go public with a plea to legalize it.

The Daily Beast columnist made that point in her new book, America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom. She co-authored the book with comedian Michael Ian Black, describing a journey across America and detailing their experiences. In the book, she wrote about a trip to New Orleans, where she was casually asked by a man if she smoked pot.

This is a loaded question for me, because there no right answer to this in the political world, McCain wrote in an excerpt reported by the Daily Beast. I am a truthful person and I hate liars, so saying no would be a lie. Saying yes in America basically makes me a scofflaw.

Let me put it right out there. Yes, I have smoked marijuana a few times in the past. The first time was on a trip to Amsterdam in college and I was surprised by how mild of an experience marijuana was (and in my experience still is), she wrote. It is a plant that makes me mellow and giggly and, quite frankly, tired. Yet, depending on where you are in the United States, smoking is possession, and that is either a misdemeanor or a felony.

So why does McCain believe marijuana should be legalized? Here's what she had to say:

1. I think it is a substance that does no more damage than alcohol does.

2. If we legalize marijuana in this country and taxed the hell out of it, our economic problems would at least be temporarily helped a great deal.

3. You could use the revenue to pay for universal health care if you wanted.

Read the full excerpt from the Daily Beast.

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