History of Presidential candidates supporting marijuana

Reason has an interesting piece looking at the various candidates, past and present, to support significant marijuana law reform:

Marijuana Legalizers Who Ran for President

Three days after Bernie Sanders unveiled legislation to repeal the federal ban on marijuana, Hillary Clinton proposed moving marijuana to a slightly less restrictive legal category. The former secretary of state’s faint echo of the Vermont senator’s bold bill—the first of its kind in the Senate—underlined how timid Clinton has always been on the subject of drug policy reform. Although the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has had second thoughts about the mandatory minimum sentences she used to champion, the woman who a few years ago explained that we can’t legalize the drug trade because “there is just too much money in it” clearly is not ready to call off the war on weed, even though that is what most Americans seem to want.

The dueling marijuana proposals also showed that Sanders, whose chances of winning his party’s presidential nomination are remote at best, is nevertheless pushing Clinton to address issues she would prefer to ignore.

The article covers a variety of candidates, past and present, in addition to Sanders and Clinton, including Mike Gravel, Gary Johnson, Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul, and Rand Paul.

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10 Responses to History of Presidential candidates supporting marijuana

  1. jean valjean says:

    Hilary wants to move “marijuana” out of schedule 1? That’s actually a huge move for Hillary….. and reveals just how desperate the mainstream Dems are getting at the traction Bernie is acheiving on this issue….this would have been inconceivable a few years ago

    • B. Snow says:

      Yes, But a screw that – you know they would say okay that’s enough Progressive-ness for now…

      Okay, Pull the car over at a rest stop and let’s have a 5 year-long picnic. (While we have our staffers desperately searching for excuses to not legalize it completely.)

      She better have a ‘come to Jesus moment’ on this soon or she’s gonna Lose big-time. And her campaign run will end up doing a nasty face plant… (Football-style where the helmet’s face guard plows up dirt/grass into her face.)

  2. Dante says:

    When Hillary (or ANY politician) receives more money from anti-prohibitionists than she does from the prohibitches, she will suddenly see the light. Until then, she will waffle and preserve the status quo because that serves her interests.

    It’s always the money, no matter what she says.

  3. claygooding says:

    Bernie Sanders is bringing the young voters into the voting booths with his plan to remove cannabis from the CSA and end marijuana prohibition,,Radley told me not to depend on young voters because they don’t vote but time will tell.
    In order to find the true number of Bernie’s supporters they would have to poll (R) as well as (D) voters because marijuana legalization is one of the largest bipartisan voting blocks in the country and I think many (R) will be voting for Bernie,,especially if it looks like a sure loss for the (R) on their WH bid.

  4. DdC says:

    King James before them all…
    In 1619 the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring every farmer to grow hemp. Hemp was allowed to be exchanged as legal tender in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.

    The Amazing Hemp Battery

  5. DdC says:

    Ground control to major Tom…
    Get real. Look at the alternatives.

    If this is what passes as legitimate political discourse on marijuana, it’s no wonder that the war on pot has at long last lost the hearts and minds of Americans.

    ☛ When He Called for an End to the War on Drugs,
    Trump Claims, He Meant It Should Be Waged More Aggressively

    ☛ Ben Carson on Recreational Marijuana:
    ‘We Already Have Enough People With Low IQs’

    ☛ John Kasich Explains “The Problem with Marijuana”

    ☛ Chris Christie vows to ‘crack down’ on marijuana as president
    Chris Christie to legal marijuana smokers: Enjoy it while you can because he’ll enforce federal ban

    ☛ Killer Fungus Touted To Eradicate State Pot Crop
    McDonough, who came to Florida to join Gov. Jeb Bush’s administration after working for White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey, has been holding meetings in Tallahassee to try to get state agencies on board with the idea of testing Fusarium oxysporum, a co-called “‘mycoherbicide,” in Florida.

    The New GOP…
    They’ve gone so far right
    they’ve turned into leftist liberals!

    Big government? Higher taxes?
    ☛ No medical marijuana; it’s just a guise toward legalization
    ☛ Create a prescription drug tracking system to prevent abuse
    ☛ Illegal drugs moving over US-Mexico border has intensified
    ☛ Deploy military on both sides of the US-Mexican border
    ☛ Opposed treatment instead of jail for nonviolent drug users
    ☛ Mandatory prison sentences for drug offenses
    ☛ Reduce drug use by 50% by prevention & enforcement
    ☛ More federal funding for all aspects of Drug War.
    ~ J.E.B.

    Bush adopted the National Governors Association policy:
    To reduce the presence of illegal drugs, drug-related organized crime, and the adverse effects of drug and alcohol abuse in society requires a comprehensive strategy involving federal, state, and local governments. The Governors believe that one of the most severe public health threats is the recent rise in substance abuse among children.

    The Federal Role
    The profits from illicit drug trafficking can be effectively used to help state efforts to dry up the demand for these drugs. The nation’s Governors urge the President and Congress to fully fund drug and alcohol abuse education, drug courts, treatment, prevention, and law enforcement efforts, including the initiative to combat and clean up methamphetamine production laboratories, at the state and local levels of government.

    Intensified Eradication and Interdiction
    Federal funding for use of the National Guard in drug and border enforcement deserves continued support. The Governors urge the President and Congress to utilize the role of U.S. military forces in interdiction efforts.

    High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program.
    The HIDTA program provides additional federal funds to those areas to help federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations invest in infrastructure and joint initiatives to dismantle drug trafficking organizations. Governors support the HIDTA initiative and urge Congress to continue supporting the program.

    The Federal Role in Reducing International Drug Trafficking.
    The nation’s Governors urge the Administration and Congress to significantly tighten procedures for certifying foreign countries for eligibility to receive U.S. aid based on their cooperation with U.S. surveillance, interdiction, and eradication efforts.

    Drug Legalization
    The nation’s Governors believe illicit drug legalization is not a viable alternative, either as a philosophy or as a practical reality.

  6. n.t.greene says:

    …remote at best?

    Oh, I forgot, the media has been sucking Hil’s teat since she announced her run.

    We’ll see when the votes hit the boxes, I suppose, but the ugly establishment narrative really passes me off at times. Her offering to “adjust the scheduling” is hardly even pandering.

  7. Servetus says:

    A new study called “Managing a Policy Experiment: Adopting and Implementing Recreational Marijuana Policies in Colorado” lists factors affecting state and municipal officials’ decisions to vote in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana. From the AAAS Press Release: “Examining surveys completed by 110 different Colorado local government officials and a panel discussion of six, study author Dr. Tracy L. Johns found that among those who permit recreational marijuana use ”:

    95.5% cited public opinion as a reason for their decisions and 50% cited culture or the community’s shared beliefs, values and common practices, as a reason for their decisions.

    50% were influenced by revenues generated by taxes, 27.3% by revenues generated by applications for recreational marijuana establishments and 18.2% by revenues generated by related businesses.

    About 50% had issued their own additional local taxes on recreational marijuana, with most of the remainder reporting that they had plans to do so in the future.
    88% that already permit medical marijuana permitted recreational marijuana sales.

    In conclusion:

    Johns wrote that all of the panelists “agreed that recreational marijuana is a ‘policy experiment’ that, by its nature, carries a learning curve that necessitates continual adaptation.”

  8. DdC says:

    P.F. Sloan Requiescat In Pace

    Enigmatic Writer of ’60s Hit ‘Eve of Destruction,’ Dies at 70

    In January, he and Mr. McGuire performed “Eve of Destruction” — 50 years after its release — at a coffee house and performance space in Altadena, Calif.

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