As the candidates vie for the Democratic presidential nomination, here’s a round-up of where they stand on one of the hottest issues among progressives and liberals – marijuana legalization. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has yet to formalize a stance.
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“I would vote yes because I am seeing in this country too many lives being destroyed for non-violent offenses”, Sanders said. “We have a criminal justice system that lets CEOs on Wall Street walk away and yet we are imprisoning or giving jail sentences to young people who are smoking marijuana”, he said. “I think that we have the opportunity through the states that are pursuing recreational marijuana to find out a lot more than we know today”.
“We need to rethink our criminal justice system … we’ve got a lot of work to do in that area”, he said.
Now, ahead of Tuesday’s inaugural 2016 Democratic debate, a similar dance appears to be unfolding as reform-minded voters are left without a firm embrace from leading candidates on marijuana legalization. You can bet that cannabis activists will remember his unequivocal surety in saying “yes” to legalization, while Hillary scrambled to think of benign talking points.
While Fiorina’s harrowing experience of losing a child is tragic, her invoking of this travesty in her argument against legalization of the drug is fallacious for several reasons.
Even as recently as past year, O’Malley said of marijuana legalization “I’m not much in favor of it”, adding, “because of seeing what drug addiction has done to the people of our state and the people of our city and I also know that this drug and its use and its abuse can be a gateway to even more harmful behavior”.
“I agree completely with the idea that we have got to stop imprisoning people who use marijuana”.
By contrast, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed a marijuana decriminalization bill in his state.
When asked if he would vote to legalize recreational marijuana sales if he was a resident of Nevada, where such a measure is bound for the 2016 ballot, he replied, “I suspect I would”. The issue now, particularly in this state, is recreational marijuana.
Marijuana advocates say they’ve come a long way from previous presidential elections when the candidates would avoid the issue.
“It is clear that Senator Sanders is on the winning side of history when it comes to marijuana legalization”, said Dan Riffle, director of national affairs at Drug Policy Action, the political arm of the pro-legalization Drug Policy Alliance.
“Presidential candidates like Chris Christie, who says he would try to roll back the progress that has been made in states like Colorado and Washington, are sorely out of touch with the country”. Bernie Sanders coming close to endorsing legalization, which is something no major candidate has so far been willing to do.
MPP communication director Mason Tvert stated in a release: “Marijuana is far safer than alcohol for the consumer and society, and it should not be controversial to support treating it that way”. Mass incarceration and lack of access to medicinal marijuana are largely responsible for Americans placing this issue, among others, front and center on the political stage.
Sanders’ answer is significant because it marks the first time a 2016 candidate has openly declared support for legalizing recreational – and not just medical – marijuana.
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“Marijuana has been illegal for the better part of a century, and these candidates have spent decades in office being fed anti-marijuana propaganda from law enforcement and others who want to maintain prohibition”, Tvert says.
