Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), once a fierce critic of drug legalization, has taken a lobbying job with the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), which advocates for medical marijuana and other drug-law reforms.

The Cox News Service reported March 30 that Barr, whom the Libertarian Party once called the "worst drug warrior" during his eight years in Congress, has now joined the Libertarians and is working with MPP. One of his jobs will be to lobby against the "Barr Amendment" -- legislation he introduced in 1999 to prevent the legalization of medical marijuana in the District of Colombia.

Barr did not comment on taking the MPP job, but said he had left the Republican Party because of its move "toward big government and disregard toward privacy and civil liberties."

"In light of the tremendous growth of government power since 9/11, it has forced me and other conservatives to go back and take a renewed look at how big and powerful we want the government to be in people's lives," Barr said.

MPP's Aaron Houston, director of government relations, said Barr would bring "gravitas and credibility" to the group. But Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), currently considered Congress' biggest supporter of the drug war, criticized Barr for changing  "from prosecuting drug dealers to defending usage of their product."