issues2000

Topics in the News: Drug War


Deb Haaland on Drug War: (Drugs Dec 4, 2020)
Member of Cannabis Caucus, co-sponsor of MORE Act

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019 aims to repair damage done to communities of color and low-income communities by requiring resentencing and expungement of prior convictions. "The MORE Act is the first step to addressing policies that criminalize people of color. As a co-sponsor of this bill, I'm proud to take this step and I hope my colleagues in the Senate will take a stand for justice," said Congresswoman Haaland, a member of the Cannabis Caucus.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.   Source: Press release haaland.house.gov on Biden Administration

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 15, 2020)
Rehab but no jail time for drug use; decriminalize marijuana

I don't believe anybody should be going to jail for drug use. They should be going into mandatory rehabilitation. We should be building rehab centers to have these people housed. We should decriminalize marijuana, wipe out the record so you can actually say honesty, "You ever been arrested for murder for anything?" You can say no, because we're going to pass a law saying there is no background that you have to reveal relative to the use of marijuana.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Second 2020 Presidential Debate/ABC Town Hall Philadelphia

Kamala Harris on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 7, 2020)
Will get rid of cash bail and decriminalize marijuana

We will, on the issue of criminal justice reform, get rid of private prisons and cash bail and we will decriminalize marijuana. And we will expunge the records of those who have been convicted of marijuana. This is a time for leadership on a tragic, tragic issue.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: 2020 Vice-Presidential Debate in Utah

Howie Hawkins on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 12, 2020)
End war on drugs: for legalization, treatment of abuse

Greens call for an end to the "war on drugs", legalization of drugs and for treating drug abuse as a health issue. The "war on drugs" has been an ill-conceived program that has wasted billions of dollars misdirecting law enforcement resources away from apprehending and prosecuting violent criminals, while crowding our prisons with non-violent drug offenders and disproportionately criminalizing youth of color.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.   Source: Green Party Platform adopted by 2020 presidential hopeful

Tulsi Gabbard on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 18, 2020)
Relief for marijuana industry, including SBA assistance

A clutch of congresspeople are pushing for the marijuana industry to be included in the next round of government relief for businesses affected by the economic fallout of the coronavirus. The document bears the names of 34 members of the House. It's a bipartisan group which includes Democrats Katie Porter and Tulsi Gabbard, and Republican Matt Gaetz, asking in their letter that the sector also be permitted to receive financial assistance from the government's Small Business Administration (SBA)
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: The Motley Fool e-zine on 2020 HI-2 House race

Mike Bloomberg on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 25, 2020)
Decriminalize possession, but wait on pot & kids

Q: You have called marijuana another addictive drug that we've never done research on.

BLOOMBERG: Look, the first thing you do is we should not make this a criminal thing if you have a small amount. For dealers, yes, but for the average person, no, and you should expunge the records of those that got caught up in this before. Number two, we're not going to take it away from states that have already done it. But, number three, you should listen to the scientists and the doctors. They say go very slowly. They haven't done enough research. And the evidence so far is worrisome, before we get all our kids, particularly kids in their late teens, boys even more than girls, where this may be damaging their brains. Until we know the science, it's just nonsensical to push ahead. But the cat's out of the bag. So some states have it, you're not going to take it away. Get rid of the--decriminalize the possession.

Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.   Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary

Pete Buttigieg on Drug War: (Crime Feb 18, 2020)
Country is shockingly over-incarcerated

Q: Who would be at the top of your pardon list for possible presidential pardons?

BUTTIGIEG: I would start with nonviolent drug offenders caught up in the racial disparities of the failed war on drugs. I actually think presidential clemency power can be an important part of how we de-carcerate a country that is shockingly over-incarcerated. It's bad enough just by the numbers, but when you add to that the racial disparities of who has been incarcerated often for nonviolent offenses, or those who have aged out of being any threat and could contribute in their communities.

Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 with Erin Burnett

Amy Klobuchar on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 18, 2020)
Legal marijuana: consider pardon, expunging criminal records

Q: If marijuana is legalized, would you consider a pardon or encourage states to seal or expunge those records?

KLOBUCHAR: Yes, I would. I think it's really important to look at it as a way of making changes to our drug policy and doing the right thing.

Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall on eve of 2020 S. C. primary

Pete Buttigieg on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 9, 2020)
Incarceration does more harm than dealing with addiction

The point is not the legal niceties. The point is that we have learned through 40 years of a failed war on drugs that criminalizing addiction doesn't work. Incarceration does more harm than the offense it's intended to deal with. This is not saying that these substances are OK. It's saying that a situation where jail is the closest thing they'll ever get to inpatient treatment, shows a profound failure in our country's mental health and addiction treatment system.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.   Source: Fox News Sunday 2020 Presidential race interview

Pete Buttigieg on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 8, 2020)
Fewer arrests than US, but more black arrests for pot

Buttigieg sidestepped a question about why the number of marijuana possession arrests among black residents in South Bend increased under his leadership. Rather than answer the question directly, Buttigieg instead said that that category of arrests was lower in his city than the national average. He then pivoted to discussing racism more broadly, before being called out by the moderator for deflecting.

When asked if Buttigieg's response was substantial, Warren replied simply, "No."

Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.   Source: CNBC.com excerpts of 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate

Elizabeth Warren on Drug War: (Welfare & Poverty Feb 8, 2020)
Need race-conscious laws to overcome housing discrimination

Mayor Pete Buttigieg sidestepped a question about why the number of marijuana possession arrests among black residents in South Bend increased under his leadership. Rather than answer the question directly, Buttigieg instead said that that category of arrests was lower in his city than the national average. He then pivoted to discussing racism more broadly, before being called out by the moderator for deflecting.

When asked if Buttigieg's response was substantial, Warren replied simply, "No."

"It's important to own up to the facts about how race has totally permeated our criminal justice system," she said. Warren referenced her housing plan, saying that the United States needs to "start having race-conscious laws."

"It was the policy of the United States of America to discriminate against African Americans and any other people of color for buying homes until 1965," she said. "You can't just repeal that and say, 'Okay, now everything is even.' It's not."

Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.   Source: CNBC.com excerpts of 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Civil Rights Feb 7, 2020)
We have a racist society from top to bottom

We have a racist society from top to bottom impacting healthcare, housing, criminal justice, education, you name it. But in terms of criminal justice, what we have got to do is understand the system is broken, is racist. We invest in jobs and education, not more jails and incarceration. We end the war on drugs, which has disproportionately impacted African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. We end private prisons and detention centers in America.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH

Pete Buttigieg on Drug War: (Crime Feb 7, 2020)
Systemic racism has penetrated into police departments

On my watch, drug arrests in South Bend were lower than the national average, and specifically to marijuana, lower than in Indiana. But there is no question that systemic racism has penetrated to every level of our system, and my city was not immune. I took a lot of heat for discussing systemic racism with my own police department, but we've got to confront the fact that there is no escaping how this is part of all of our policies.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.   Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH

Pete Buttigieg on Drug War: (Crime Feb 7, 2020)
Legalize pot and help those incarcerated unfairly

I am calling for us to take up reforms that end incarceration as a response to possession and make sure that we legalize marijuana and do it retroactively with expungements to correct the harm done in so many cases of incarceration, disproportionately of black and brown Americans where the incarceration did far more harm than the offense it was intended to deal with.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.   Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH

Mike Bloomberg on Drug War: (Crime Jan 20, 2020)
End cash bail; $2.5 billion for public defenders

Mike will fund $2.5 billion over 10 years for public defense--requiring grantees to have pay parity for defenders and prosecutors, as well as workload limits. Mike will also end federal cash bail and build new supervised release alternatives, end court fines and punitive fees, and propose a new federal sentencing structure to reverse an overly punitive legacy. He will de-criminalize the use and possession of marijuana, commute all existing sentences, and expunge all records.

Mike will launch a Department of Justice reform hub to evaluate and fund state-level criminal justice reform efforts, set a goal to reduce incarceration by 50% by 2030 and spread the use of alternatives to prison pioneered in New York. He will launch a national initiative to address unsanitary and inhumane prison conditions and will launch new education and job training programming. He will focus probation on re-integration, with a goal of cutting probation revocation by one-third nationally.

Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.   Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com

Deval Patrick on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 27, 2019)
2012: As governor, opposed pot decriminalization

In July 2012, Patrick declared that "warehousing non-violent offenders is a costly policy failure" and proudly signed a bill that offered parole to a few hundred non-violent drug offenders. But despite the governor's rhetoric, Massachusetts continued rounding up and locking away vast numbers of people caught with prohibited substances. Patrick strongly opposed decriminalizing marijuana.
Click for Deval Patrick on other issues.   Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary

Tulsi Gabbard on Drug War: (Civil Rights Nov 20, 2019)
Correct racial injustice in an institutional way

We have seen for far too long the kind of racial bigotry, divisiveness, and attacks that unfortunately have taken the lives of our fellow Americans. It's important that we set the record straight and correct the racial injustices that exist in a very institutional way, beginning with things with our criminal justice system, where predominantly the failed war on drugs that has been continuing to be waged in this country has disproportionately impacted people of color and people in poverty.

This is something that I'll do as president and commander-in-chief, is to overhaul our criminal justice system, working in a bipartisan way to do things like end the failed war on drugs, end the money bail system, enact the kinds of prison reforms and sentencing reforms that we need to see that will correct the failures of the past.

Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 20, 2019)
Deal with impact of pot on blacks not privileged whites

Marijuana is already legal for privileged people. The war on drugs has been a war on black and brown people. These are the kind of issues that mean a lot to our community. We lost in Wisconsin because of a massive diminution in the African-American vote. We need to have someone that can inspire, as Kamala said, to inspire African-Americans to the polls in record numbers.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 20, 2019)
Black community supports decriminalizing marijuana

I think we should decriminalize marijuana. Anyone who has a record should be let out of jail, their records expunged. I do think it makes sense, based on data, that we should study what the long-term effects are for the use of marijuana. I come out of a black community, in terms of my support. If you notice, I have more people supporting me in the black community that have announced for me because they know me, they know who I am.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta

Tulsi Gabbard on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 20, 2019)
Failed war on drugs has hurt minorities

This is something that I'll do as president and commander-in-chief, is to overhaul our criminal justice system, working in a bipartisan way to do things like end the failed war on drugs, end the money bail system, enact the kinds of prison reforms and sentencing reforms that we need to see that will correct the failures of the past.

The most important thing here is that we recognize that we have to treat each other with respect, all of us as fellow Americans, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, orientation, and our politics. That kind of leadership starts at the top. As president, I will usher in a 21st century White House that actually represents the interests of all Americans, first and foremost.

Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 17, 2019)
Not nearly enough evidence on marijuana as gateway drug

Biden said, "The truth of the matter is, there's not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug. It's a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it."

Biden said he thinks "states should be able to make a judgment to legalize marijuana." He added that he also supports medical marijuana and possession of the substance "should not be a crime."

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: BusinessInsider.com on 2019 Democratic primary

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 15, 2019)
Decriminalize opioids; legalize marijuana

I remember a veteran telling me that he bought heroin off the street because he was originally prescribed an opioid at the VA. Imagine that veteran instead had been prescribed marijuana, because we made that legal in America, ensured the VA could prescribe it, and made sure that he was not prescribed something to which he would become addicted. Drug addiction is not a problem for the criminal justice system. They're an opportunity for our public health system.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate

Julian Castro on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 15, 2019)
Send high-level executives to jail for opioids & corruption

Sen. Kamala HARRIS: I think of this as being a matter of justice and accountability, because they are nothing more than some high-level dope dealers. The eight biggest pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies last year profited $72 billion on the of people that have been overwhelmed by this crisis, which is a public health epidemic. They should be held accountable. Let's end that failed war on drugs and go after these pharmaceutical companies for what they've been doing to destroy

CASTRO: They need to be held accountable, not only financially, but also criminal penalties. You know, you can draw a straight line between making sure that we hold executives accountable, whether it's these drug manufacturers or Wall Street executives that should have been held accountable a decade and a half ago.

Click for Julian Castro on other issues.   Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate

Kamala Harris on Drug War: (Drugs Sep 12, 2019)
Opposed marijuana legalization, but currents have changed

Q: You used to oppose the legalization of marijuana; now you don't. You've said that you changed on this and other things because you were, "swimming against the current, and thankfully the currents have changed." But when you had the power, why didn't you try to effect change then?

HARRIS: I made a decision that, if I was going to have the ability to reform the system, I would try to do it from the inside. And so I took on the position that allowed me, without asking permission, to create one of the first in the nation initiatives that was a model and became a national model around people who were arrested for drugs and getting them jobs. I created one of the first in the nation trainings for a police officer on the issue of racial bias and the need to reform the system.

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston

Tim Ryan on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 17, 2019)
Legalize marijuana, but no expungement

Ryan on Legalizing Marijuana: Legalize it.

18 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson; Andrew Yang.

Candidates supporting legalization argue that criminal penalties for marijuana possession have created far more harm than would come from treating it more like alcohol or tobacco.

Many candidates--including Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris--would go even further, calling for past criminal convictions for marijuana possession to be expunged.

Both former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee opposed their states successful 2012 referendums allowing recreational marijuana sales, but have since become champions of legalization.

Click for Tim Ryan on other issues.   Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"

Wayne Messam on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 17, 2019)
Let the states decide on legalizing marijuana

Messam on Legalizing Marijuana: Let the states decide.

TWO CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Steve Bullock; John Delaney.

The federal government has generally taken a hands-off approach to enforcing federal marijuana laws in states that have authorized medical or recreational markets. But that informal policy could be reversed by any administration at any moment. That's why some candidates have endorsed allowing state-legal markets to operate without fear of punishment from the federal government.

Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.   Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"

Seth Moulton on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 17, 2019)
Legalize marijuana, but no expungement

Moulton on Legalizing Marijuana: Legalize it.

18 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson; Andrew Yang.

Candidates supporting legalization argue that criminal penalties for marijuana possession have created far more harm than would come from treating it more like alcohol or tobacco.

Many candidates--including Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris--would go even further, calling for past criminal convictions for marijuana possession to be expunged.

Both former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee opposed their states successful 2012 referendums allowing recreational marijuana sales, but have since become champions of legalization.

Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.   Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"

Steve Bullock on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 17, 2019)
Let the states decide on legalizing marijuana

Bullock on Legalizing Marijuana: Let the states decide.

TWO CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: John Delaney; Wayne Messam.

The federal government has generally taken a hands-off approach to enforcing federal marijuana laws in states that have authorized medical or recreational markets. But that informal policy could be reversed by any administration at any moment. That's why some candidates have endorsed allowing state-legal markets to operate without fear of punishment from the federal government.

Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.   Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"

Marianne Williamson on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 17, 2019)
Legalize marijuana, but no expungement

Williamson on Legalizing Marijuana: Legalize it.

18 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Andrew Yang.

Candidates supporting legalization argue that criminal penalties for marijuana possession have created far more harm than would come from treating it more like alcohol or tobacco.

Many candidates--including Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris--would go even further, calling for past criminal convictions for marijuana possession to be expunged.

Both former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee opposed their states successful 2012 referendums allowing recreational marijuana sales, but have since become champions of legalization.

Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.   Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"

Amy Klobuchar on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 17, 2019)
Legalize marijuana, but no expungement

Klobuchar on Legalizing Marijuana: Legalize it.

18 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Michael Bennet; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; Tulsi Gabbard; Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson; Andrew Yang.

Candidates supporting legalization argue that criminal penalties for marijuana possession have created far more harm than would come from treating it more like alcohol or tobacco.

Many candidates--including Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris--would go even further, calling for past criminal convictions for marijuana possession to be expunged.

Both former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee opposed their states successful 2012 referendums allowing recreational marijuana sales, but have since become champions of legalization.

Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.   Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 12, 2019)
Proposed a Constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana

The former senator is proposing a constitutional amendment to remove marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, thus legalizing it recreationally on the federal level. It's an unconventional approach to drug reform befitting of an unconventional presidential candidate, but Gravel argues that it would be the easiest way given the current congressional gridlock.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: Reason magazine, articles on 2020 candidates

Eric Swalwell on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
Supports medical and recreational marijuana

Click for Eric Swalwell on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Kamala Harris on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
SAFE Banking Act: Decriminalize marijuana finances

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
Marijuana Justice Act: decriminalize pot & expunge records

Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Kirsten Gillibrand on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
Supports medical and recreational marijuana

Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Steve Bullock on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
Strongly supports medical marijuana

Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Tim Ryan on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
Supports medical and recreational marijuana

Click for Tim Ryan on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Seth Moulton on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
Supports medical and recreational marijuana

Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Tulsi Gabbard on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
Supports medical and recreational marijuana

Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Michael Bennet on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2019)
Supports medical and recreational marijuana

Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.   Source: Cannabis Voter Project report on 2020 candidates

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Jun 30, 2019)
The war on drugs has been a war on people

I came from Yale and Stanford, where people were using marijuana, using drugs, where there's no difference between drug usage and drug selling between blacks and whites. But African Americans are almost four times more likely to be incarcerated for those things. This war on drugs has been a war on people. We have had a 500% increase in the prison population since 1980, overwhelmingly black and brown. There's more African Americans under criminal supervision today than all the slaves in 1850.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview series

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Crime Jun 26, 2019)
2.3M Americans behind bars is most in the world

In this country, you have 2.3 million of our fellow Americans behind bars. It's the largest prison population on the face of the planet. Many are there for nonviolent drug crimes, including possession of marijuana, at a time that more than half the states have legalized it or decriminalized it.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)

Howie Hawkins on Drug War: (Drugs May 28, 2019)
Drug abuse treatment should be available on demand

Our campaign is about ending the war on drugs and mass incarceration. We call for the legalization of marijuana and the decriminalization of other drugs on the model of the Portuguese harm reduction policies. Drug abuse is a health problem, not a criminal problem. Criminalizing opioids contributes to the carnage of fatal overdoses. Addicts need help, not incarceration. Drug abuse treatment should be available on demand.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.   Source: Declaration of Candidacy for the Green Party Nomination

Kirsten Gillibrand on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
Marijuana Justice Act: decriminalize pot & expunge records

Legalizing marijuana is an issue that has seen a steady uptick in support over the years. Fifteen states have decriminalized marijuana while 10 others and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Many in the Democratic presidential primary field have issued full-throated support for legalizing the drug on the federal level. Earlier this year, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana on the federal level and expunge the records of those who have been charged with a crime for using or possessing the drug. Several Democratic presidential contenders have signed on as cosponsors of the measure: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro are among the candidates that have also signaled support for legalization efforts.

Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
Decriminalize marijuana at state level, but not federally

Legalizing marijuana is an issue that has seen a steady uptick in support over the years. Fifteen states have decriminalized marijuana while 10 others and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

In a CNN town hall in March, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said while he would not pursue legalization on a federal level, but that he believes the states should be allowed to move forward. "I would not ask the federal government to legalize it for everyone," Hickenlooper said. "But I think where states do legalize marijuana with the voters or through their general assembly, the federal government should get out of the way and allow them to get banking, allow them to look at systems by which you can have this experiment go on successfully."

Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Michael Bennet on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
Marijuana Justice Act: decriminalize pot & expunge records

Legalizing marijuana is an issue that has seen a steady uptick in support over the years. Fifteen states have decriminalized marijuana while 10 others and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Many in the Democratic presidential primary field have issued full-throated support for legalizing the drug on the federal level. Earlier this year, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana on the federal level and expunge the records of those who have been charged with a crime for using or possessing the drug. Several Democratic presidential contenders have signed on as cosponsors of the measure: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro are among the candidates that have also signaled support for legalization efforts.

Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
Marijuana Justice Act: decriminalize pot & expunge records

Legalizing marijuana is an issue that has seen a steady uptick in support over the years. Fifteen states have decriminalized marijuana while 10 others and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Many in the Democratic presidential primary field have issued full-throated support for legalizing the drug on the federal level. Earlier this year, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana on the federal level and expunge the records of those who have been charged with a crime for using or possessing the drug. Several Democratic presidential contenders have signed on as cosponsors of the measure: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro are among the candidates that have also signaled support for legalization efforts.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
Nobody should be in jail for smoking marijuana

Joe Biden supports decriminalizing marijuana, but isn't going as far as calling for the drug to be legalized on the federal level. "Nobody should be in jail for smoking marijuana," Biden told voters at a house party in NH.

Asked by CNN if the former vice president supports legalizing marijuana, a Biden campaign spokesman said Biden believes the drug should be decriminalized and that decisions on legalization should continue on the state level. "Vice President Biden does not believe anyone should be in jail simply for smoking or possessing marijuana. He supports decriminalizing marijuana and automatically expunging prior criminal records for marijuana possession, so those affected don't have to figure out how to petition for it or pay for a lawyer. He would allow states to continue to make their own choices regarding legalization and would seek to make it easier to conduct research on marijuana's positive and negative health impacts by rescheduling it as a schedule 2 drug," he added.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
2000s: mandatory minimum for marijuana; 2019: decriminalize

[A Biden spokesman said that Biden believes that marijuana should be] "rescheduled as a schedule 2 drug." Marijuana, along with heroin, is classified as a schedule 1 drug, defined as having "no currently accepted medical use." Schedule 2 drugs, which include cocaine, do have accepted medical uses.

His decriminalization position marks a bit of a shift for Biden. "Focusing significant resources on interdicting or convicting people for smoking marijuana is a waste of our resources," Biden said in interview with TIME in 2014. "That's different than [legalization]. Our policy for our Administration is still not legalization, and that is [and] continues to be our policy."

While in the Senate, Biden, who over the years expressed opposition to legalizing marijuana, was an architect or supporter of tough-on-crime legislation, including the creation of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, also known as the "drug czar," and establishing mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Julian Castro on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
Decriminalize and legalize marijuana

Legalizing marijuana is an issue that has seen a steady uptick in support over the years. Fifteen states have decriminalized marijuana while 10 others and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Many in the Democratic presidential primary field have issued full-throated support for legalizing the drug on the federal level. Earlier this year, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana on the federal level and expunge the records of those who have been charged with a crime for using or possessing the drug. Several Democratic presidential contenders have signed on as cosponsors of the measure: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro are among the candidates that have also signaled support for legalization efforts.

Click for Julian Castro on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Pete Buttigieg on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
Decriminalize and legalize marijuana

Legalizing marijuana is an issue that has seen a steady uptick in support over the years. Fifteen states have decriminalized marijuana while 10 others and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Many in the Democratic presidential primary field have issued full-throated support for legalizing the drug on the federal level. Earlier this year, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana on the federal level and expunge the records of those who have been charged with a crime for using or possessing the drug. Several Democratic presidential contenders have signed on as cosponsors of the measure: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro are among the candidates that have also signaled support for legalization efforts.

Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Elizabeth Warren on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2019)
Marijuana Justice Act: decriminalize pot & expunge records

Legalizing marijuana is an issue that has seen a steady uptick in support over the years. Fifteen states have decriminalized marijuana while 10 others and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Many in the Democratic presidential primary field have issued full-throated support for legalizing the drug on the federal level. Earlier this year, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana on the federal level and expunge the records of those who have been charged with a crime for using or possessing the drug. Several Democratic presidential contenders have signed on as cosponsors of the measure: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro are among the candidates that have also signaled support for legalization efforts.

Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.   Source: Denver CBS Local on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Elizabeth Warren on Drug War: (Drugs May 8, 2019)
Co-sponsored federal legalization of marijuana

Signed on as a cosponsor of Cory Booker's Marijuana Justice Act to legalize weed at the federal level.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.   Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"

Kamala Harris on Drug War: (Drugs May 7, 2019)
Co-sponsor of Marijuana Justice Act for legalization

She's declared her support for legalizing marijuana at the federal level, admitting in an interview that she had smoked a joint "a long time ago." Signed on as a cosponsor of Cory Booker's Marijuana Justice Act to legalize weed at the federal level.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs May 6, 2019)
Legalize marijuana nationally including recreational use

He reintroduced a bill that would legalize marijuana on the federal level and supersede the patchwork of 10 states (and Washington, D.C.) that have legalized recreational marijuana.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"

Pete Buttigieg on Drug War: (Drugs May 6, 2019)
Marijuana is personal responsibility issue; move to legalize

Buttigieg says the U.S. should be working towards legalizing recreational marijuana, because of all the problems associated with current marijuana policy. This should be more of a personal responsibility issue, he argues. "You look at rates of incarceration, you look at the racial disparity that is attached to whether somebody is likely to experience incarceration as a consequence of a non-violent drug offense and all of it points us in the same direction," Buttigieg said.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.   Source: Indianapolis Star on 2020 presidential hopefuls

John Delaney on Drug War: (Drugs May 2, 2019)
Remove marijuana from Schedule I; remake guidelines

A Delaney administration will work to:
Click for John Delaney on other issues.   Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website JohnDelaney.com

Donald Trump on Drug War: (Drugs May 2, 2019)
Opposed allowing vets access to legal cannabis

The House Veterans' Affairs Committee held a hearing on three bills. One bill would allow VA healthcare providers to write state-legal medical cannabis recommendations for veterans who qualify. A separate bill would direct the VA to conduct a clinical study on the risks and benefits of medical marijuana. A third would prevent the VA from stripping veterans of their benefits because they consume state-legal cannabis.

The Trump administration opposed all three.

Not too long ago, veterans could lose their lifelong military benefits if a drug test turned up evidence of cannabis use, no matter how legal. The VA reformed that policy in late 2017--but it's a policy subject to easy change, not a protection codified by law. President Trump opposes codifying it into law.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Bruce Barcott in Leafly.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls

Michael Bennet on Drug War: (Drugs May 2, 2019)
Sponsored bill to end Federal ban on marijuana

Bennet sponsored a bill in February to "End Federal Prohibition of Marijuana."
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.   Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 25, 2019)
Supports marijuana decriminalization, not legalization

He has a long history of being anti-marijuana, calling it a "gateway drug." While vice president, Biden said that he supports decriminalization rather than legalization.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 22, 2019)
As teen, grew his own marijuana before it was legal

One fun thing about John Hickenlooper:
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: Axios.com on 2020 Democratic primary

Elizabeth Warren on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 22, 2019)
Change to pro-legalization of marijuana

It makes no darn sense that we treat marijuana as a schedule 1 drug, which means in effect the federal government has determined that it has no medicinal use, that it can't have any good effects, no research is supposed to be done. [Then there's the] racial impact of the enforcement of marijuana laws. The best evidence suggests that African-Americans and whites use marijuana at about the same rates, and yet African-Americans are far more likely to be arrested for marijuana use than whites are.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall 2020: 5 candidates back-to-back

Bill Weld on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 15, 2019)
On board of cannabis company; supported medical marijuana

Weld sits on the board of directors of Acreage Holdings, a cannabis company looking to roll back federal regulations, the Washington Post reports. He has supported legalization of medical marijuana since 1992.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.   Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 12, 2019)
Co-sponsored federal legalization of marijuana

He co-sponsored Sen. Cory Booker's recently reintroduced Marijuana Justice Act, that would legalize marijuana on the federal level.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"

Julian Castro on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 11, 2019)
Legalize and regulate marijuana; expunge criminal records

I actually support the legalization of marijuana. It's going to be regulated, right? People are not going to be able to do whatever they want, but a well-regulated, legalized system of marijuana, I think, makes sense. On top of that, we need to go back and expunge the records of people who were imprisoned because of using marijuana.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls

Jay Inslee on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 10, 2019)
Opposed marijuana legalization; now sees it as success

I actually did not support the initiative when it came up several years ago because I was concerned about youthful usage -- but what we have found is that those fears have not come to pass. We have not had adverse health results with our young people. We've not had ramping criminality in the distribution of marijuana. And it has been helpful by providing about $700 million of revenue so that we can help the health of our children in schools for our children.

It's time for the United States to decriminalize and legalize marijuana. The drug war has been one of the elements of such racial disparities in our judicial system. That's one of the reasons I was the first governor to offer pardons to over 3,000 people with marijuana convictions because the drug war has resulted in too much racial disparity.

Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls

Kirsten Gillibrand on Drug War: (Civil Rights Apr 9, 2019)
Let ex-cons vote; address racism in criminal justice

I support full restoration of felons' rights to vote. I also believe we have to take on institutional racism and particularly mass incarceration and take on institutional racism in criminal justice. It's one of the reasons why I'm for decriminalization & full legalization of marijuana, because of how it's applied in the criminal justice system as purely racist. I also support banning cash bail, because again, the way that is applied, it harms communities of color overwhelmingly and disproportionately.
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 9, 2019)
Legalize & regulate all drugs, including opioids

According to the top Nixon aide John Ehrlichman, The War On Drugs started as a way to criminalize African-Americans and the anti-war left: and it worked. By bringing this war to an end, we will be able to remove the roadblocks that prevent addicts from getting help and end the pattern of selectively-enforced felony drug convictions that oppress the poor and marginalized. By criminalizing users and dealers at every step, we offer no alternative but the needle.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeGravel.com

Wayne Messam on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 9, 2019)
Drug war has ruined thousands of lives

The drug war has proven to be a failure. In the process, it has ruined thousands of lives, especially in communities of color. We all want safe streets, but we must ensure that every street has the same opportunity to grow up without threat of being thrown into the school-to-prison pipeline.

I believe states that have decided to move forward with marijuana legalization should be allowed to do so and other states should feel free to join the ranks without threats from the federal government. As long as those states that choose to do so continue to enforce DUI laws, spread economic benefits throughout all communities, and expunge records for those arrested for selling marijuana, they would have my full support as President.

Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.   Source: 2020 presidential campaign website WayneForUSA.com

Andrew Yang on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 7, 2019)
Legalize marijuana; pardon marijuana-related offenses

Marijuana legalization: Yang pledged to legalize marijuana and pardon all non-violent drug related offenses, then later clarified in an interview with George Stephanopoulos that he would only pardon marijuana-related offenses. Yang said he would still decriminalize opioids.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.   Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"

Andrew Yang on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 7, 2019)
Pardon non-violent drug offenders, focusing on marijuana

[VIDEO CLIP]: YANG: And I would pardon everyone who's in jail for a non-violent drug related offense. I would pardon them all on April 20th, 2021 and I would high five them on the way out of jail. [END CLIP]

Q: That include cocaine dealers, opioid dealers?

YANG: I would decriminalize opioids, but in that particular segment I was referring to marijuana related drug offenses specifically

Q: So only marijuana, not all non-violent drug offenders.

YANG: Yes, that's correct.

Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.   Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview of presidential hopefuls

Andrew Yang on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 29, 2019)
Full legalization of marijuana; expunge federal convictions

I don't love marijuana. I'd rather people not use it heavily. But it's vastly safer than people becoming addicted to opiates like heroin. And our criminalization of it seems stupid and racist, particularly now that it's legal in some states. We should proceed with full legalization of marijuana and pardon those in jail for non-violent marijuana-related offenses. It's a safer, less addictive means to manage pain for many Americans.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.   Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 27, 2019)
Decriminalize marijuana; expunge past criminal records

In this climate where many states are moving to legalize marijuana, I have a lot of frustrations. We fundamentally have different laws in this country that are treating people differently. There are still marijuana arrests. In 2017, there were more marijuana arrests in this country than all violent crime arrests combined. And marijuana enforcement is disproportionately impacting black and brown communities. There is no difference in America between using and even selling marijuana between blacks and whites. But if you're African American in this country, you're almost four times more likely to be arrested for that. That's why I fast put a bill into the Senate called the Marijuana Justice Act, which is about decriminalizing marijuana on the federal level, letting the states do what they want, but very importantly in the same breath, we've got to talk about expunging the records of everyone who is still suffering.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 20, 2019)
Marijuana legalization works, but leave it to states

On marijuana legalization: I was opposed to it originally. We were worried about teenage consumption going up. We were worried about the risks of people driving while high. Most of our fears haven't come true. We haven't seen a spike in consumption. It's so much better than the old system when we sent millions of kids to prison, most of them kids of color, and not only imprisoned them, but made them felons, made already difficult lives much, much harder.

I would not ask the federal government to legalize it for everyone. But I think where states do the federal government should get out of the way and allow them to be able to get banking, which we can't legally get in Colorado, so everything is supposed to go by cash. My dream would be the federal government to make sure that the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration regulate whether pesticides are used, that we get all the legal barriers to doing medical research around marijuana [removed].

Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls

John Delaney on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 10, 2019)
Let states regulate and tax marijuana

Having drugs being sold in the shadows is why there's a movement at the state level to legalize marijuana, to decriminalize it, and to allow it to be legal for medical purposes. The federal government should get out of the way and let that movement continue, because right now the federal government is blocking it by keeping marijuana as a scheduled substance. Get it into a market where it could be regulated, where we can make sure it's labeled and distributed appropriately, where we can tax it.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Tulsi Gabbard on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 10, 2019)
End failed war on drugs, opioid addiction is medical crisis

We must end this failed war on drugs. I introduced bipartisan legislation that would end the federal prohibition on marijuana. This will have a great impact on the opioid crisis. In states where marijuana is legalized, we have seen a drop in opioid addiction, and a drop in opioid-related deaths. This will have an impact on our economy in so many different ways, as well as taking a huge bite out of our broken criminal justice system, where far too many nonviolent drug offenders are wasting away.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Crime Mar 7, 2019)
Legalize marijuana; restore ex-con voting rights

Criminal justice reform is one of Booker's key policy areas in his presidential policy platform. He was a key force behind the FIRST STEP Act, which President Trump signed into law. Booker will soon introduce what he calls the Next Step Act, a package of further criminal justice changes. It includes provisions that would legalize marijuana at the federal level, eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, and give felons [who have served their time] the right to vote.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: NPR Morning Edition, "Election 2020: Opening Arguments"

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Crime Mar 7, 2019)
Ended "three strike penalty"; more reform is needed

He was a key force behind the FIRST STEP Act. Among other things, that law ends the "three strike penalty," helps judges avoid mandatory minimum sentences, and gives prisoners more access to rehabilitation programs. Booker will introduce the Next Step Act, a package of further criminal justice changes. It includes provisions that would legalize marijuana at the federal level, eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, and give [ex-]felons the right to vote.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: NPR Morning Edition: Election 2020 Special Series

Tulsi Gabbard on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 7, 2019)
Let states legalize marijuana; non-user supports free choice

Gabbard on marijuana legalization: "The fact that marijuana's still a Schedule I drug is unacceptable in the harm that it is causing to the people of our country and to taxpayers as well. The impact this has on individuals, potentially leading to criminal records that impact them, their families, their ability to get a job, housing, financial aid for college--the impacts of this are great. That's not to speak of the impact on states, small businesses and banks in those states that have legalized some level of marijuana."

She said that "freedom of choice" is a key reason she has focused so much on cannabis during her time on Capitol Hill. "I don't smoke marijuana. I never have," she said. "But I believe firmly in every person's freedom to make their own choices, and that people should not be thrown in jail and incarcerated or made into criminals for choosing to smoke marijuana whether it be for medicinal and non-medicinal purposes."

Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.   Source: Forbes Magazine "Marijuana Nexus" on 2020 Democratic primary

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 6, 2019)
Supports states permitting marijuana, not federal reform

Hickenlooper advocated for federal reforms to marijuana but said he does not advocate for blanket laws to legalize marijuana nationally. "I don't think the federal government should come in and tell every state it should be legalized." Hickenlooper, who originally opposed legalizing the drug in his state, said "the things I feared six years ago have not come to pass." "The federal government should reclassify marijuana so it's not a schedule I narcotic," Hickenlooper said. The former governor also argued for banking reforms so that businesses handling marijuana money "don't have to do everything in cash." However, he stopped short of fully endorsing a measure to legalize marijuana at the federal level and did not address calls to expunge the criminal records of those charged with possession.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 Democratic primary

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 26, 2019)
Long record of opposing marijuana legalization

Biden remains one of very few prominent Democrats who've still failed to endorse cannabis legalization at the federal level. The last time he substantively addressed legalization appears to be 2010, in an ABC News interview: "There's a difference between sending someone to jail for a few ounces and legalizing it," he said. "The punishment should fit the crime. But I think legalization is a mistake. I still believe [marijuana] is a gateway drug."
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: David Bienenstock in Leafly.com on 2020 Democratic primary

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 11, 2019)
Legalize marijuana federally, plus state incentives

Kamala Harris' call for legalization of marijuana follow the lead of multiple others. Sen. Cory Booker, a NJ Democrat and one of Harris' top opponents for the party's nomination, introduced a bill in 2017 that would both legalize marijuana use at a federal level & encourage states to legalize it locally through incentives. By attaching the issue to himself early on, Booker--one of the early top prospects for the Democrats in 2020--all but forced contenders to take a stance on legalizing marijuana.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: Politico.com, "Legalization," on 2020 presidential hopefuls

Kamala Harris on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 11, 2019)
Legalize marijuana: it gives a lot of people joy

Sen. Kamala Harris called for the legalization of marijuana at a federal level: "Half my family's from Jamaica," the California Democrat said, laughing when asked to respond to those who think she's opposed to legalizing recreational use of the drug. "Are you kidding me?"

Harris also said she smoked a joint in college. "And I inhaled," she added, joking in reference to President Bill Clinton's comments on the campaign trail in 1992 that he smoked marijuana but "didn't inhale it."

When asked if she would smoke again if the federal government were to legalize the recreational use of the drug, Harris laughed and replied: "Listen, I think it gives a lot of people joy. And we need more joy."

Harris said legalization would have to come with some caveats, emphasizing a need for research on the effects of marijuana on the developing brain and a means for regulating use of the drug while driving.

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: Politico.com, "Legalization," on 2020 presidential hopefuls

Gina Raimondo on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 13, 2019)
Legalize marijuana, since we're surrounded by legal states

Facing the "inevitable" prospect of being surrounded by states that have legalized recreational marijuana, Gov. Gina Raimondo will propose that Rhode Island do the same. "I do this with reluctance," she said. "I have resisted this for the four years I've been governor. Now, however, things have changed, mainly because all of our neighbors are moving forward" with legalization.

The proposal, included in her budget plan, would create one of the most regulated recreational pot industries in the country, the governor said, aimed at reducing the health and safety problems experienced in some of the 10 other states that have approved recreational use in recent years.

For instance, it would prohibit home-growing of recreational pot, now allowed in MA, ME, and VT, and ban high-potency products from recreational store shelves, such as "dabs," which are concentrated resins that are smoked.

If the proposal is approved by lawmakers, the first recreational stores could open by next January.

Click for Gina Raimondo on other issues.   Source: Providence Journal on 2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial race

Kamala Harris on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 8, 2019)
Dismantle War on Drugs; start with marijuana legalization

It's past time we get done dismantling the failed war on drugs--starting with legalizing marijuana. Between 2001 and 2010, more than seven million people were arrested for simple possession of marijuana. They are disproportionately black and brown. One stark example: during the first three months of 2018, 93 percent of the people the NYPD arrested for marijuana possession were people of color. These racial disparities are staggering and unconscionable. We need to legalize marijuana and regulate it. And we need to expunge nonviolent marijuana-related offenses from the records of the millions of people who have been arrested and incarcerated so they can get on with their lives.
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: The Truths We Hold, by Kamala Harris, p. 66

Stacey Abrams on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 2, 2018)
For medical marijuana; open to legalizing recreational use

Abrams supports Georgia's medical marijuana legislation and wants to legalize growth of marijuana in Georgia for medical use. Abrams also supports decriminalizing some marijuana violations, similar to what the city of Atlanta has done. She says she is open to legalizing recreational marijuana if there's a strong substance abuse network in place.
Click for Stacey Abrams on other issues.   Source: WMAZ CBS-TV-13 on 2022 Georgia Gubernatorial race

Deb Haaland on Drug War: (Civil Rights Oct 9, 2018)
Justice, dignity and safety for all the marginalized

When too many are facing increasingly hateful violence--specifically in the black, brown, Native American, and LGBTQ communities-- I will fight for justice, dignity, and safety for marginalized communities. We must ensure that our policies reflect the inclusion and kindness we want to see in America. That means demilitarizing our nation's police forces, legalizing marijuana for adults over 21, ensuring that we support the DOJ in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes and police violence.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.   Source: 2018 NM-1st House campaign website DebForCongress.com

Ron DeSantis on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 9, 2018)
No recreational marijuana; let voters decide medical usage

Q: Legalize or decriminalize marijuana?

Ron DeSantis (R): No. Opposes recreational use. Will implement will of the voters on medical.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. "Legalize it. Tax it. Use the revenues to fix Florida's public schools."

Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.   Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Florida Governor race

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 9, 2018)
Long-time advocate for marijuana legalization

Q: Legalize or decriminalize marijuana?

Ted Cruz (R): Personally opposed to legalization, but states should choose for themselves.

Beto O'Rourke (D): Yes. Long-time legalization advocate. Sponsored bill to end federal prohibition.

Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Texas Senate race

Ted Cruz on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 9, 2018)
Opposed to marijuana legalization, but let states choose

Q: Legalize or decriminalize marijuana?

Ted Cruz (R): Personally opposed to legalization, but states should choose for themselves.

Beto O'Rourke (D): Yes. Long-time legalization advocate. Sponsored bill to end federal prohibition.

Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.   Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Texas Senate race

Ron DeSantis on Drug War: (Education Oct 9, 2018)
Expand both charters & vouchers

Q: Increase funding for K-12 education?

Ron DeSantis (R): No statements found on funding, but prefers setting policy at local level.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Proposes a $1 billion "Fair Share" investment in public schools covered by increasing state's corporate tax rate & legalizing & taxing marijuana.

Q: Education: Support the expansion of charter schools or help parents send their children to private schools with public money?

Ron DeSantis (R): Yes. Expand both charters & vouchers. Let federal dollars follow students to any schools their families choose.

Andrew Gillum (D): No. Against vouchers & "unaccountable, for-profit charter schools who use public dollars to enrich their executives."

Click for Ron DeSantis on other issues.   Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Florida Governor race

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Aug 27, 2018)
End prohibition on marijuana, expunge records of possessors

Second, we need to end the failed war on drugs that has long been a war on people, waged on some people over other people. Who is going to be the last man--more likely than not a black man--to languish behind bars for possessing or using marijuana when it is legal in more than half of the states in this country? We should end the federal prohibition on marijuana and expunge the records of those who were locked away for possessing it
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: O'Rourke OpEd in Houston Chronicle: 2020 Democratic primary

Xi Jinping on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 16, 2018)
War on drugs tied to welfare of the Chinese people

One city, Zhongshan, is monitoring wastewater to evaluate the effectiveness of its drug-reduction programs, says Li Xiqing, an environmental chemist at Peking University. President Xi Jinping said that the country's war on drugs was tied to national security and the welfare of the Chinese people. Li says the central and local governments will invest at least 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million) in wastewater-based epidemiology monitoring by the end of the year.
Click for Xi Jinping on other issues.   Source: Nature magazine on Foreign Influences: "Illegal Drug Use"

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs May 4, 2018)
Why is marijuana treated legally equal to heroin?

After almost fifty years of the war on drugs, we can conclude that this was has been a dismal failure and, as in many other wars, countless lives have been destroyed. In 2018, the Controlled Substances Act continues to treat both marijuana and heroin equally as Schedule 1 substances. You may like marijuana or you may not, but very few informed people believe that marijuana should be treated similarly to a killer drug like heroin.

And yet, in 2016, there were approximately 587,000 arrests for marijuana--roughly one per minute.

Many states and cities are taking action to undo the damage caused by the war on drugs. More and more states are moving to decriminalize or legalize the possession of marijuana, and some have passed legislation to expunge prior misdemeanor convictions. The prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s was a failed policy. The prohibition of marijuana has also failed.

Addiction is not a crime. It is an illnesses, and should be treated as such.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders, p.196-7

Arvin Vohra on Drug War: (Crime Mar 30, 2018)
Drug crime is fake crime; abolish the DEA

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Stricter punishment reduces crime"?

A: Neutral. Most current imprisonment is for fake crime, such as drug crime. If there is no victim, there is no crime. If elected, I will sponsor legislation to end the war on drugs, abolish the DEA, release nonviolent drug users, sellers, traffickers, and kingpins from prison, and cut taxes accordingly.

Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.   Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Maryland Senate candidate

Arvin Vohra on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 30, 2018)
Drugs should be as legal as tomatoes

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Marijuana is a gateway drug"?

A: Oppose. If elected, I will sponsor legislation to end the war on drugs. I want drugs to be as legal as tomatoes, so that drug businesses can settle disputes by calling their credit card companies, instead of resorting to violence. I want to end all drug related violence; I want there to be no more innocent bystanders. That comes from legalizing all drugs, so that disputes can be handled without violence.

Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.   Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Maryland Senate candidate

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 11, 2018)
National model for marijuana legalization

We were the first state to legalize recreational marijuana while creating a roadmap for other states. By the way--we're not wild about Washington telling us what's best for us. We expect the federal government will respect the will of Colorado voters.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: 2018 State of the State address to the Colorado legislature

Donald Trump on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 4, 2018)
2016: let states decide on pot; 2018: feds over state law

While on the campaign trail, President Trump was asked his view on state marijuana policy reform, and he consistently said it should be a states' rights decision.

29 states have enacted effective medical marijuana laws. Marijuana is legal and regulated for adults in 8 states.

[But Trump's] Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded the Department of Justice policy that directed federal law enforcement not to target individuals or businesses that are in compliance with state law.

From August 2013 until yesterday, the Department of Justice policy had been not to enforce federal marijuana laws against individuals or businesses in states that are complying with state medical or adult-use marijuana laws, provided that one of eight federal priorities is not implicated.

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: MPP.org on 2018 Trump Administration

Arvin Vohra on Drug War: (Drugs Dec 12, 2017)
Stop the war on drugs; end black market profits

When we end the War on Drugs, we erase black market profits overnight. Without those profits, drug cartels and dangerous criminals go out of business. We no longer imprison people for victimless drug crimes. Fathers and mothers can stay with their children, continue working, and provide for their families. Poverty rates decline and family bonds help children stay in school and out of trouble. We cut taxes by over $80 billion and that money goes back into your wallet.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.   Source: 2018 Maryland Senate campaign website VoteVohra.com

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs Aug 29, 2017)
Racist & failed war on drugs targets people of color

The intersection of racism and criminal justice is not limited to police violence. An even bigger issue is the failed war on drugs, which has over the decades harmed millions through the arrest and jailing of people for nonviolent crimes. Since 1980, this "war" has disproportionately targeted people of color. Blacks and whites use drugs at roughly the same overall rates. However, blacks are arrested for drug use at far greater rates than whites, largely because of overpolicing, racial profiling, and the fact that black motorists are three times more likely than whites to be searched during a traffic stop.

Take marijuana use. Blacks smoke marijuana at a slightly higher rate than whites. However, blacks are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.

In 2014 there were 620,000 total marijuana possession arrests. And that's a major reason why African Americans account for 37% of those arrested for drug offenses when they only comprise 14% of regular drug users.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Guide to Political Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p.159-61

Gavin Newsom on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 24, 2017)
Let California legalization continue

Newsom sent a letter to President Trump urging him not to carry through with threats to launch a federal enforcement effort against recreational marijuana firms that will be legalized in California. Newsom's letter attempts to persuade the president that a regulated market for adult-use marijuana is preferable to what has existed in the past. "The war on marijuana has failed," Newsom wrote. "It did not, and will not, keep marijuana out of kids' hands."
Click for Gavin Newsom on other issues.   Source: Los Angeles Times on 2018 California gubernatorial race

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 1, 2017)
Opposes Drug War, but control border for opioid precursors

BROKEN PROMISE: : Booker had adopted a strongly progressive stance on drugs -supporting medical marijuana; supporting treatment instead of incarceration for drug possession; opposing drug enforcement is racially biased; and opposing the War on Drugs in general. He "evolved" and signed on to the War on Opioids, seeking international treaty restrictions on opioid precursor trafficking.

ANALYSIS: : Some progressives and minority voters would consider the "opioid epidemic" just the latest application of biased enforce-ment, and would expect Booker to apply his racial-bias philosophy to a general rejection of drug enforcement. Booker would differentiate opioids as more dangerous than marijuana - which critics would say follows in the scare-tactic footsteps of Demon Rum and Reefer Madness. Booker's proposed border interdiction above is a standard proposal of Drug Warriors--just involving international institutions as a novel feature.

Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: Cory Booker 'Promises Broken,' by Jesse Gordon, p. 30

John Kasich on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 30, 2017)
No mixed message: don't do opioids & don't do marijuana

Gov. John Kasich said he doesn't think Ohio's new medical marijuana program will help mitigate the state's opioid crisis, though recent studies indicate otherwise.

Kasich was asked at a news conference announcing new opioid prescription limits what role medical marijuana might play in addressing the growing number of opiate overdose deaths in Ohio. Kasich said telling kids not to do drugs but that marijuana is OK sends a mixed message. "I know it's not recreational marijuana, not recreational use, but I don't see a role for it in this at all," Kasich said.

Studies have shown opioid overdoses and deaths have decreased in states that allow medical marijuana, which is far less addictive and lethal. Republicans and Democrats cited the opioid crisis as a reason to pass Ohio's medical marijuana law last year.

"I don't like the whole thing -- medical marijuana," Kasich said. "It got passed because somebody was going to have a broader law."

Click for John Kasich on other issues.   Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer on 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race

John Kasich on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 30, 2017)
2016: Legalized medical marijuana, with tight regulations

Twenty-eight states and Washington D.C. have legalized medical marijuana use. Ohio's medical marijuana law, signed by Kasich last June, allows patients with one of 21 medical conditions to buy and use marijuana if recommended to them by a physician. Smoking marijuana and growing it at home are not allowed.

Three state agencies are in the process of establishing a tightly regulated program to grow and sell medical marijuana in limited amounts.

Studies have shown marijuana can alleviate pain. The most recent study found hospitalization rates for painkiller addiction and abuse dropped 23% on average in states after they allowed medical marijuana use. Hospitalization rates for overdoses dropped 13%, according to the report published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

"I don't like the whole thing -- medical marijuana," Kasich said. "It got passed because somebody was going to have a broader law."

Click for John Kasich on other issues.   Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer on 2018 Ohio gubernatorial race

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 26, 2017)
Voters passed legal pot, and I will uphold the voter's will

Q: Jeff Sessions as a senator was opposed to marijuana. Is Jeff Sessions as the new Attorney-General going to enforce federal law and shut down Colorado's recreational-use marijuana businesses?

HICKENLOOPER: You know, at first, I opposed it. But our voters passed it 55-45. It's in our constitution. I took a solemn oath to support our constitution. The states have sovereignty [on this issue].

Q: You don't think it's clear that the federal government could stop you?

HICKENLOOPER: I don't think it is. It's never my choice to be in conflict with federal law. That being said, Senator Sessions said [in his confirmation hearings], "Enforcement of marijuana is not going to be a priority." Over 60% of American people are now in a state where either medical or recreational marijuana is legalized. It's become one of the great social experiments of our time.

Q: If this were on a ballot today, would you support it?

HICKENLOOPER: Well, I'm getting close.

Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: Meet the Press 2017 interview by Chuck Todd

Gavin Newsom on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 19, 2017)
Pushed Proposition 64, legalizing adult use of marijuana

This past November, Newsom proved he's a serious force to reckon with when it comes to passing groundbreaking legislation. Having started California's Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy in 2014, he campaigned for five months and got Proposition 64, legalizing adult use of marijuana in the state, passed, with 56 percent of voters in favor. Now, he's the telegenic face of a movement. "I'm happy to be associated with this change. I'm sick and tired of politics and politicians as usual," says Newsom today. "I'll be kicked out before I rust out. You can love me or hate me and disagree with me, but you sure as hell know where I stand."

"Gavin boldly stands up for social issues with unwavering commitment while relentlessly championing people who can't speak for themselves," says a longtime friend. "This issue is one of many that Gavin thinks of in a big picture way. He's an outlier and a great leader."

Click for Gavin Newsom on other issues.   Source: Billboard.com on 2018 California gubernatorial race

Gavin Newsom on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 19, 2017)
I'm not pro-pot, but anti-prohibition; opposed 2010 Prop 19

Newsom grew up with a father who was "considered an activist judge in his day, particularly as it relates to drug policy. He was a very outspoken critic of the war on drugs," recalls Newsom.

Despite his progressive record, Newsom wasn't immediately pro-legalization. "I've never tried cannabis. I don't have the basis to appreciate it," he says. "I always ask for forgiveness because I really only intellectually know what I'm talking about." He emphasizes that he's "not pro-pot, but anti-prohibition," and he didn't support the previous attempt to legalize recreational marijuana in California, Proposition 19 in 2010. "I just didn't feel it was appropriately drafted," he says. "There were glaring loopholes."

Still, "the spirit of it was profound and important," and Newsom decided to start his Blue Ribbon Commission as a key first step toward a more coherent approach to legalization. That led directly to the Prop 64 campaign.

Click for Gavin Newsom on other issues.   Source: Billboard.com on 2018 California gubernatorial race

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Welfare & Poverty Jan 12, 2017)
Use marijuana tax revenue to address chronic homelessness

Almost two thirds of Americans now live in a state that has legalized marijuana in some form. We need to address some of the unintended consequences of legalization. There's no question that marijuana and other drugs--in combination with mental illness or other disabling conditions--are essential contributors to chronic homelessness. Tax revenue from marijuana sales can and should be used to help those who fall through the cracks, including hundreds of homeless vets, helping them find stable, supportive housing.

We currently spend more than $40,000 per person to perpetuate lives of misery among the chronically homeless. But for less than a third of that we could invest up front in housing, wraparound supportive services and job training. In every booming economy in the country--like ours--homelessness of all types is a growing concern.

Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: 2017 State of the State address to Colorado Legislature

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 15, 2016)
We must end the "War on drugs"

Because of over-policing in minority communities and racial profiling, African-Americans are twice as likely to be arrested than whites.

Of course, the intersection of racism and criminal justice is not limited to police violence. To my mind, an even bigger issue is the failed "War on Drugs," which has over the decades harmed millions of lives through the arrest and jailing of people for nonviolent crimes. The number of incarcerated drug offenders has increased TWELVEFOLD since 1980, and this "war" has disproportionately targeted people of color.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, blacks and whites use drugs at roughly the same overall rates. However, blacks are arrested for drug use at far greater rates than whites, largely because of over-policing, racial profiling, and--according to the Department of Justice--the fact that blacks are three times more likely to be searched during a traffic stop compared with white motorists.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 377-379

Susan Rice on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 20, 2016)
Admitted to past drug use, none since 1990

Obama administration National Security Adviser Susan Rice admitted on security clearance forms that she smoked marijuana for "recreational use" until 1990, according to a copy of forms published on the hacker website Wikileaks. Rice said that she smoked marijuana "very infrequently" from October 1982 until June 1990, according to the forms. "Rare recreational use of marijuana prior to and in 1990. None since 1990," Rice writes in a comments section on the form.
Click for Susan Rice on other issues.   Source: Washington Free Beacon on Obama Cabinet

Mike Pence on Drug War: (Principles & Values Aug 1, 2016)
OpEd: More conservative than Trump on many domestic issues

IssueTrumpPence
Gun rightsExceptions & local restrictions okHard-core pro-Second Amendment
War on DrugsCautious approach following statesHard-core drug warrior
Infrastructure investmentInvest in transportation infrastructureOpposes federal investment; leave it to states
Campaign financeMixed views on reform Campaign donation limits are censorship
Tax reductionCreative ideas including raising some taxesNo-new-taxes pledge on all taxation
Minimum wage & affirmative actionSome support of both Unambiguously opposes both
Gay marriage Supreme Court rulingAccept it as the law of the landOverturn that ruling
Iraq WarOpposed invasionSupported invasion
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Trump/Pence vs. Clinton/Kaine On the Issues, by Jesse Gordon

Mike Pence on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 16, 2016)
Indiana will be tough on narcotics and drug dealers

Mike Pence is questioning legislation that dramatically decreases penalties involving pot, even for entry-level drug offenses. Pence has questioned if that's the right move. "I think this legislation, as it moves forward, should still seek to continue to send a way strong message to the people of Indiana and particularly to those who would come into our state to deal drugs, that we are tough and we're going to stay tough on narcotics.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Indiana Economic Digest on 2016 Indiana gubernatorial race

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Crime Jul 9, 2016)
End mass incarceration & reform criminal justice

[At the 2016 convention preparation], we were victorious in including amendments in the platform that made it the policy of the Democratic Party to fight for:
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: Where We Go From Here, by B. Sanders, p.16-7, on 2016 DNC

Bill Weld on Drug War: (Drugs Jun 22, 2016)
Substance abuse cases should not go to criminal prison

Q: What about drug treatment for drug addiction?

WELD: The trend which I think is salutary--that society is coming to view people who have serious issues with either narcotics or alcohol, that that is a public health emergency and it's not a status crime which it has been treated as. There's some movement away from incarcerating people for possessory narcotics offenses and treating that as a public health issue. In Massachusetts, for example, women who have substance abuse cases are no longer taken to criminal prison. They're taken to civil commitment facilities. And that's part of, I think, lessening the pressure all around drugs, in getting them out of the shadows.

JOHNSON: Needle exchange programs in states that reduce HIV and Hepatitis C--very controversial, but the bottom line is that it saves lives.

WELD: Boy, I came out for those when I was governor and did I get murdered.

Click for Bill Weld on other issues.   Source: CNN Libertarian Town Hall: joint interview of Johnson & Weld

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs May 24, 2016)
First state to regulate legal sale of marijuana

[With the 2013 legislative session] We became the first state in the nation to pass laws to regulate the legal sale of marijuana. Every other regulated industry has benefited from years of trial and error, and could look to other states or even other countries for models of what has worked and what has not. That was not an option here.

The General Assembly agreed to a 15 percent excise tax to an initial 10 percent sales tax for recreational marijuana. For the sake of public safety, we set a legal limit of active THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, that drivers can have in their blood so that juries have a benchmark to judge whether someone was too high to drive. The Colorado Department of Revenue created an innovative seed-to-sale tracking system. The rules were written. Recreational sales of marijuana would begin on January 1, 2014.

Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: The Opposite of Woe, by John Hickenlooper, p.317

Marty Walsh on Drug War: (Drugs May 16, 2016)
Regular pot users likely to try more dangerous drugs

Leading elected officials such as Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and Attorney General Maura Healey insist the scourge of addiction starts with the first puff. "Decades of research have now debunked the myth that marijuana is harmless," the trio wrote in an OpEd in the Boston Globe. "The science also shows that regular marijuana users--especially those who start at a young age--are more likely to try more dangerous drugs."
Click for Marty Walsh on other issues.   Source: CommonWealth Magazine on 2021 Boston Mayoral race

Merrick Garland on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 16, 2016)
Let DEA decide whether marijuana has any medical benefits

In 2012, Garland and two other judges on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit presided over a case brought by Americans for Safe Access against the Drug Enforcement Administration. Americans for Safe Access argued that the DEA should no longer classify marijuana as a schedule 1 drug along with drugs such as heroin that don't have "accepted" medical benefits.

The court rejected the appeal, siding with the DEA. Garland signed onto the court's opinion, which quoted a part of the DEA's defense, showing Garland's willingness to defer to government health experts. "To establish accepted medical use, the effectiveness of a drug must be established in well-controlled, well-designed, well-conducted & well-documented scientific studies with a large number of patients," the DEA said in the quoted passage. "To date, such studies have not been performed."

During the hearing, Garland said he felt the justices had to "defer" to the judgment of scientists on whether marijuana should be reclassified.

Click for Merrick Garland on other issues.   Source: Mashable.com on 2016 SCOTUS confirmation hearings

Marty Walsh on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 4, 2016)
Don't legalize marijuana: it's unsafe & lowers IQ in kids

This November, voters in Massachusetts will be asked whether to legalize marijuana. Our state has already decriminalized the drug for personal use, and we've made it legally available for medical use. The question before us now is whether marijuana should be fully legal and widely available for commercial sale. We think the answer is "no."

Where marijuana is legal, young people are more likely to use it: while use among minors has declined nationwide in recent years, states like Colorado have seen an increase. Kids in states that have legalized marijuana have easier access to the drug. And many believe that, since the drug is legal for adults, it must be safe to use.

What the evidence shows us, though, is that marijuana is not safe. Regular use that starts in adolescence has been shown to impair brain development, and even lower IQ. And increasingly, medical science is also showing a frightening correlation between regular marijuana use and severe mental health issues.

Click for Marty Walsh on other issues.   Source: Boston Globe, op-ed by Marty Walsh & Charlie Baker

Donald Trump on Drug War: (Principles & Values Feb 29, 2016)
Agrees with Hillary on marijuana, campaign finance, trade

Hillary and Trump do agree on some, including:The bottom line: If you prefer a polar opposite to Hillary, Trump should not be your chosen candidate. And if you prefer someone who will dismantle forever the Bush legacy, Hillary should not be your chosen candidate. Neither is the extremist their opponents make them out to be.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton On The Issues, by J. Gordon

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 16, 2016)
Drug war isn't waged in privileged communities

I knew, from living in the relatively privileged communities I grew up in, that the drug war wasn't waged in those places like it was in Newark. I was coming from college campuses and towns where marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, and other drugs were widespread and often used openly, with little fear of the police.

The war on drugs has turned out to be a war on PEOPLE--and far too often a war on people of color and the poor. Marijuana use, for example, is roughly equal among blacks and whites, yet blacks are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for possession than whites.

Further, there is no difference between blacks and whites in dealing drugs. In fact, some studies show that whites are more likely than blacks to sell drugs, even though blacks are far more likely to be arrested for it.

Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: United, by Senator Cory Booker, p.181

Elizabeth Warren on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 13, 2016)
Legalizing marijuana will reduce opioid deaths

Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explore the use of medical marijuana as an alternative to the powerful opioid painkillers that kill thousands of people each year. In a letter to CDC chief Tom Friedan, the Massachusetts Democrat also asks the agency to look into "the impact of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana on opioid overdose deaths."
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.   Source: Washington Post on 2016 Veepstakes: "Legalizing marijuana"

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Crime Feb 11, 2016)
Whites & blacks smoke pot equally, but blacks go to jail

What we have to do is end over-policing in African- American neighborhoods. The African-American community and the white community do marijuana at about equal rates. The reality is four times as many blacks get arrested for marijuana. Far more blacks get stopped for traffic violations. We need fundamental police reform when we talk about a criminal justice system. What we have got to do is make it clear that any police officer who breaks the law will be held accountable.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 PBS Democratic debate in Wisconsin

Hillary Clinton on Drug War: (Budget & Economy Feb 4, 2016)
Committed to reducing corporate power not only Wall St

SANDERS: Wall Street is perhaps the most powerful political force in this country. You have companies like Goldman Sachs, who paid a fine for $5 billion for defrauding investors. It was one of those companies whose illegal activity helped destroy our economy. Kid gets caught with marijuana, that kid has a police record. A Wall Street executive destroys the economy, no criminal record. That is what power is. That is what has to change.

CLINTON: Of course it has to change. That's why I have a plan. It's been judged to be the most effective. I do not believe that that is enough. We now have power under the Dodd-Frank legislation to break up banks. I've said I will use that power if they pose a systemic risk. But I want to go further, because it was investment banks, it was insurance companies, it was mortgage companies, all of which contributed. Let's not just be narrowly focused on one part of the problem. We have a lot of issues with corporate power that have to be addressed.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire

Hillary Clinton on Drug War: (Principles & Values Jan 30, 2016)
Disagrees with Bernie on crime, drugs & foreign intervention

Where do Hillary and Bernie disagree on the issues? This list comprises legitimate differences on issues, not just differences of fervency or recency:
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: Bernie vs. Hillary On The Issues, by Jesse Gordon

Hillary Clinton on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 17, 2016)
$1B per year to help states with opioid epidemic

Q: Despite an estimated trillion dollars spent, many say the war on drugs has failed. What would you do?

CLINTON: Everywhere I go to campaign, I'm meeting families who are affected by the drug problem that mostly is opioids and heroin now, and lives are being lost and children are being orphaned. So I have tried to come out with a comprehensive approach that does tell the states that we will work with you from the federal government putting more money, about a billion dollars a year, to help states have a different approach to dealing with this epidemic. Police officers must be equipped with the antidote to a heroin overdose or an opioid overdose, known as Narcan. They should be able to administer it. So should firefighters and others. We have to move away from treating the use of drugs as a crime and instead, move it to where it belongs, as a health issue. And we need to divert more people from the criminal justice system into drug courts, into treatment, and recovery.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: 2016 NBC Democratic debate

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 17, 2016)
Pharmaceutical companies are responsible for opioid epidemic

Q [to Clinton]: Would you continue the war on drugs?

CLINTON: The federal government [should spend about $1 billion] to help states: Police must be equipped with the antidote to an opioid overdose. We have to move away from treating the use of drugs as a crime and instead as a health issue. And we need to divert more people from the criminal justice system into drug courts.

SANDERS: I agree with everything the Secretary said, but let me just add this: there is a responsibility on the part of the pharmaceutical industry and the drug companies who are producing all of these drugs and not looking at the consequence of it. And second of all, when we talk about addiction being a disease, the Secretary is right, what that means is we need a revolution in this country in terms of mental health treatment. People should be able to get the treatment that they need when they need it, not two months from now, which is why I believe in universal healthcare with mental health, as part of that.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 NBC Democratic debate

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 14, 2016)
Regulatory regime to marijuana needs to be strengthened

Coloradans voted to legalize marijuana three years ago and we had to build a regulatory system from scratch. We should continue to look at lessons learned from alcohol and tobacco as we monitor and update marijuana regulations. Back in the day, candy cigarettes desensitized kids to the dangers of tobacco--and today, pot-infused gummy bears send the wrong message to our kids about marijuana.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: 2016 State of the State speech to Colorado legislature

Ted Cruz on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 11, 2015)
Let's see what happens in Colorado with legalization

Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.   Source: Marijuana Policy Project on 2016 presidential hopefuls

Donald Trump on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 29, 2015)
Yes to medical marijuana; otherwise, decide state by state

In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state. Marijuana is such a big thing. I think medical should. And then I really believe we should leave it up to the states. And of course you have Colorado. There's a question as to how it's all working out there, you know? That's not going exactly trouble-free.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Washington Post 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls

Hillary Clinton on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 13, 2015)
Stop imprisoning marijuana users

Q: When asked about legalizing recreational marijuana, you said let's wait and see how it plays out in Colorado and Washington. It's been more than a year since you've said that. Are you ready to take a position tonight?

CLINTON: No. 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. I do support the use of medical marijuana, and I think even there we need to do a lot more research so that we know exactly how we're going to help people for whom medical marijuana provides relief. So, I think we're just at the beginning, but I agree completely with the idea that we have got to stop imprisoning people who use marijuana. Therefore, we need more states, cities, and the federal government to begin to address this so that we don't have this terrible result of a huge population in our prisons for nonviolent, low-level offenses that are primarily due to marijuana.[1]

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 13, 2015)
I would vote for recreational marijuana, to reduce jailings

Q: In Nevada, there will be a measure to legalize recreational marijuana on the 2016 ballot. If you were a Nevada resident, how would you vote?

A: I would vote yes because I am seeing too many lives being destroyed for non-violent offenses. We have a criminal justice system that lets CEOs on Wall Street walk away, and yet we are imprisoning young people who are smoking marijuana. I think we have to think through this war on drugs which has done an enormous amount of damage.

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Drugs Sep 16, 2015)
More rehabilitation and less incarceration

Q [to Senator Paul]: Governor Christie recently said, "if you're getting high in Colorado today," where marijuana has been legalized, "enjoy it until January 2017, because I will enforce the federal laws against marijuana." Will you?

PAUL: I think one of the great problems, and what American people don't like about politics, is hypocrisy. People have one standard for others and not for them--for themselves. The people going to jail for this are poor people, often African-Americans and often Hispanics, and yet the rich kids who use drugs aren't. I personally think that this is a crime for which the only victim is the individual, and I think that America has to take a different attitude. I would like to see more rehabilitation and less incarceration. I'm a fan of the drug courts which try to direct you back towards work and less time in jail.

CHRISTIE: N.J. says if you are non-violent, non-dealing drug user, you don't go to jail for your first offense. You go to mandatory treatment.

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Drugs Sep 16, 2015)
Pot laws result in poor kids going to jail & not rich kids

There is at least one prominent example of someone who says they smoked pot in high school, and yet the people going to jail for this are poor people, often African-Americans and often Hispanics, and yet the rich kids who use drugs aren't. I think the war on drugs has had a racial outcome, and really has been something that has damaged our inner cities. Not only do the drugs damage them, we damage them again by incarcerating them and then preventing them from getting employment over time.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: 2015 Republican two-tiered primary debate on CNN

Mike Pence on Drug War: (Drugs Sep 8, 2015)
Do not legalize: pot is a gateway drug

In late March 2013, in response to Gov. Pence's criticism of legislation that rewrites Indiana's criminal code to lower drug penalties, a Senate committee amended the criminal code reform bill to make punishment for marijuana crimes tougher than the legislation's Republican authors had originally proposed. House Bill 1006 supporters say the intent of the bill is divert drug users out of state prisons and into treatment programs, while reserving the prisons for the worst offenders. Pence waited till mid-March to weigh in on House Bill 1006 and did so at a press briefing with TV and radio reporters, telling them, "I think we need to focus on reducing crime, not reducing penalties."

During a 2012 gubernatorial debate in Zionsville, Gov. Mike Pence said he opposed any marijuana law reforms and viewed marijuana as a "gateway" drug. His Democrat opponent John Gregg generally agreed, but added that medical marijuana would be worth studying.

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: Howey politics on 2016 Indiana gubernatorial race

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs Sep 5, 2015)
War on drugs is a failed policy; treatment over punishment

Bernie believes the current prohibition of drug use, colloquially known as the "war on drugs," is a failed policy. He co-sponsored a bill to reduce recidivism, allowing incarcerated offenders access to pharmacological drug treatment. Bernie has opposed expanding the war on drugs by voting "no" both on military border patrols to battle drugs and terrorism, and on plans to subject federal employees to random drug tests. Bernie recognizes that the war on drugs has not quelled the drug-use epidemics facing the nation; he believes punishment doesn't help but treatment does.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"

Bernie Sanders on Drug War: (Drugs Sep 5, 2015)
Decriminalize marijuana and study recreational legalization

Q: What about medical marijuana?

A: Bernie supports the medical use of marijuana and the rights of states to determine its legality. He co-sponsored the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act in 2001

Q: And recreational pot?

A: Bernie wants to learn more about the impact that recreational legalization will have in states such as Colorado in order to determine whether or not he supports it: "Vermont voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana and I support that. And when I was mayor of Burlington, in a city with a large population, very few people were arrested for smoking marijuana. Our police had more important things to do."

Q: Has Bernie ever inhaled?

A: Bernie has inhaled! But, he wasn't a fan, personally: "Because I coughed a lot. I smoked marijuana twice, didn't quite work for me. It's not my thing, but it is the thing of a whole lot of people."

Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.   Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"

Kamala Harris on Drug War: (Drugs May 20, 2015)
Recognize the war on drugs was a failure

In 2014 Kamala Harris was asked for her opinion on legalizing recreational marijuana. Her response, which incensed the pro-pot crowd to no end, was laughter. What a difference a year makes. Now she's running for a US Senate seat. And she's changed her tune from laughter to support for an end of the federal prohibition on medical marijuana.

At the 2015 Democratic State Convention, here's what she said, "Standing up for the people means challenging the policy of mass incarceration by recognizing the war on drugs was a failure. Now is the time to end the federal ban on medical marijuana."

Harris' own pronouncements on cannabis have been evolving. Last fall she lashed out at feds' continued crackdowns in medical marijuana states, saying, "An overly broad federal enforcement campaign will make it more difficult for legitimate patients to access physician-recommended medicine." Late last year, she also said she believed that recreational pot legalization in California was inevitable.

Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.   Source: LA Weekly coverage of 2015 California Senate race

Ted Cruz on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 5, 2015)
2014: federal enforcement; 2015: let states experiment

At CPAC last week, Ted Cruz responded to a question about marijuana legalization in Colorado by endorsing a federalist approach: "This is a great embodiment of what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called 'the laboratories of democracy,'" Cruz said. "If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that's their prerogative. I personally don't agree with it, but that's their right."

Those remarks contradict Cruz's previous position, when he criticized the Obama administration for failing to aggressively enforce the federal ban on marijuana in states that have legalized the drug. In January 2014, he described the Justice Department's prosecutorial restraint, which is designed to respect state policy choices, as an abuse of executive power.

Cruz's apparent turnaround reflects a political reality: Cruz's calibration is the easiest way to strike the balance between younger, more tolerant GOP voters and social conservatives.

Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.   Source: Forbes Magazine on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.

Ted Cruz on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 27, 2015)
I disagree with states legalizing pot, but it's their right

Just a year ago, Ted Cruz criticized Pres. Obama for allowing Colorado and Washington to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes. Now, he's basically in favor of the same approach: "If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that's their prerogative," he said a the CPAC Conference. "I personally don't agree with it, but that's their right."

The conference is a chance for potential presidential candidates to stake out ground for 2016 and marijuana could be prime turf. Cruz has expressed openness to changing marijuana laws in the past. At a January 2014 event in Texas, he said there are "some reasonable arguments on that issue." But he also blasted the president for ignoring federal drug laws and allowing residents in Colorado and Washington to carry out their marijuana policies. "Mind you these are criminal laws," Cruz said. "These are laws that say if you do 'X, Y, and Z' you will go to prison. The president announced, 'No, you won't.'"

Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.   Source: Fusion.net on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 26, 2015)
End hypocrisy and over-criminalization of marijuana

[In a CPAC interview] Rand Paul offered backhanded advice to Jeb Bush: "Younger voters in particular don't like hypocrisy. Him saying recently down in Florida that he would still incarcerate people even for medical marijuana, and then it turns out--him basically acknowledging that he'd been using recreational marijuana as a kid. I don't think anybody faults him for youthful indiscretions. But if you look at the people who end up getting caught up in the war on drugs, they're often not elite kids at prep schools. They're poor kids with no school."

Paul said conservatives need to reach beyond traditional audiences like gun-rights defenders to anyone who has been mistreated by Big Government, including "businesses mistreated by Big Government regulations" and "poor people mistreated by Big Government and over-criminalization."

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: Poltiico.com on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.

Ted Cruz on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 26, 2015)
Let states be laboratories of democracy on marijuana

At the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference, Sen. Cruz said he is opposed to the legalization of marijuana for adult use, but he believes states should have the right to establish their own marijuana policies: "I actually think this is a great embodiment of what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called the laboratories of democracy. If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that's their prerogative. I don't agree with it, but that's their right."
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.   Source: MPP.org on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.

Mike Bloomberg on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 9, 2015)
No legalization; pot lowers IQ by 5 to 10 points

When an audience member at the Aspen Institute asked Bloomberg about Colorado marijuana, he responded that it was a terrible idea, one that is hurting the developing minds of children. Though he admitted to smoking a joint in the 1960s, he said the drug is more accessible and more damaging today: "What are we going to say in 10 years when we see all these kids whose IQs are 5 and 10 points lower than they would have been?" he asked. "I couldn't feel more strongly about it, and my girlfriend says it's no different than alcohol. It is different than alcohol. This is one of the stupider things that's happening across our country."
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.   Source: Aspen Times 2015 coverage of 2016 Presidential hopefuls

Ted Cruz on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 4, 2015)
I foolishly smoked pot when young, but never since

Sen. Ted Cruz's team admitted the tea party Texan smoked marijuana when he was a teen -- but never since. And he's hardly the only top-ranking politico, Republican or Democrat, to confess to the drug use in recent days.

"Teenagers are often known for their lack of judgment, and Sen. Cruz was no exception," one of Mr. Cruz's campaign spokesman told The Daily Mail. "When he was a teenager, he foolishly experimented with marijuana. It was a mistake, and he's never tried it since."

Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.   Source: Washington Times 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls

Arvin Vohra on Drug War: (Homeland Security Jan 20, 2015)
Intelligently rethink overall military spending

Libertarian Party vice-chair Arvin Vohra calls Obama out on ignoring here the expensive and destructive Drug War, and his hypocrisy on Internet informational privacy while running, and defending, a universal surveillance state, and his refusal to intelligently rethink overall military spending and postures while talking up a supposedly more intelligent form of constant foreign military intervention.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.   Source: Reason Mag.: Libertarian response to 2015 State of the Union

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 2, 2014)
Jailing people for 10 years for marijuana is ridiculous

Q: Tell me a couple of things that Republicans and Democrats could work together on.

PAUL: One of the things I have talked to the president about is criminal justice reform. This means extending back the right to vote for people who made youthful nonviolent mistakes, expunging their records, trying to make it easier for them to find employment. I think put somebody in jail for 10 years for possession of marijuana or sale of marijuana is ridiculous. Some people are in jail for life. So, I have called the president, and I have told him, I agree with commuting some of these sentences, lessening some of these sentences, treating it more as a health issue. So, I think people's opinions on criminal justice for nonviolent drug crimes has changed. That is something we could do together.

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: Face the Nation 2014 interview: 2016 presidential hopefuls

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 6, 2014)
Voters were "reckless" to legalize retail marijuana

Colorado voters were "reckless" for legalizing retail marijuana, Gov. John Hickenlooper said during a pair of debates marked by candidates who dealt with uneasy positions and pivots. "I'm not saying it was reckless because I'll get quoted everywhere, but if it was up to me, I wouldn't have done it, right?" he said during the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce debates. "I opposed it from the very beginning. Oh, what the hell, I'll say it was reckless."

The lunchtime debates between Hickenlooper and his gubernatorial challenger Bob Beauprez, and later Sen. Mark Udall and his Senate challenger Rep. Cory Gardner, were meant to focus on economic issues. The governor explained that he believed Coloradans lacked enough data about health effects in voting for retail pot, and suggested other states should take heed.

Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: Denver Post on 2014 Colorado Gubernatorial debate

Hillary Clinton on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 31, 2014)
Medical marijuana now; wait-and-see on recreational pot

When CNN hosted a town hall with Clinton last month, interviewer Christiane Amanpour asked her about marijuana. Clinton said she was "committing radical candor" in her answer, a reference to the newfound freedom she said she was enjoying. Clinton said it should be available medicinally for people with "extreme conditions" and that she wants to "wait and see" the evidence in states legalizing it for recreational use before taking a position.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: Politico.com, "Clinton Book Tour"

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 24, 2014)
Whites & blacks use drugs, but prisons are full of blacks

In the past two months, Paul has introduced a series of bills designed to reform the criminal justice system. The bills would abolish mandatory minimum sentences, restore voting rights to some convicted felons, help people expunge their criminal records and downgrade some felonies to misdemeanors. All of Paul's proposals would benefit minorities that Paul said have been impacted by the "war on drugs." Paul said, "Even though whites used drugs at the same rate as black kids, the prisons are full of black kids and brown kids. There are Republicans trying to correct this injustice."

In February, Paul pressed Republicans in the Kentucky Senate to pass a bill that would restore voting rights to some convicted felons. It ultimately failed.

Paul plans to talk about those issues in a speech Friday at the National Urban League's annual conference in Cincinnati. He said his ideas have been well received in minority communities because "people are ready for something to happen."

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: Washington Times 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 1, 2014)
Failed War on Drugs paved way for pot legalization

[On marijuana legalization]: "Let's face it, the War on Drugs was a disaster. It may be well intentioned but it sent millions of kids to prison, gave them felonies often times when they had no violent crimes. I was against this, but I can see why so many people supported it."
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: The Atlantic, "Legalization," on 2020 presidential hopefuls

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Crime Jun 22, 2014)
Let convicted felons regain the right to vote

Q: You said last year "If I told you that one out of three African-American males is forbidden by law from voting, you might think I was talking about Jim Crow 50 years ago. Yet today, a third of African-American males are still prevented from voting because of the war on drugs."

PAUL: It's the biggest voting rights issue of our day. There may be a million people who are being prevented from voting from having a previous felony conviction. I'll give you an example: I have a friend who, 30 years ago, grew marijuana plants in college. He made a mistake. He still can't vote, and every time he goes to get a job he has to tick a box that says convicted felon. It prevents you from employment. We should be for letting people have the right to vote back, and I think the face of the Republican Party needs to be not about suppressing the vote, but about enhancing the vote. My bill would allow somewhere a million people to get the right to vote back.

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: Meet the Press 2014 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls

Pope Francis on Drug War: (Drugs Jun 19, 2014)
No legalization & no compromise with evil of drug addiction

Let me state this in the clearest terms possible: The problem of drug use is not solved with drugs. Drug addiction is an evil, and with evil there can be no yielding or compromise. To think that harm can be reduced by permitting drug addicts to use narcotics in no way resolves the problem. Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called 'recreational drugs,' are not only highly questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the desired effects. Substitute drugs are not an adequate therapy but rather a veiled means of surrendering to the phenomenon. Here I would reaffirm what I have stated on another occasion: No to every type of drug use. It is as simple as that. No to any kind of drug use.
Click for Pope Francis on other issues.   Source: Address to 31st International Drug Enforcement Conf. in Rome

Hillary Clinton on Drug War: (Drugs Jun 14, 2014)
Medical marijuana maybe ok; states decide recreational use

[This week], New York lawmakers approved legislation that would make it the 23rd state in the country to permit medical marijuana use, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. Voters in Alaska and possibly Oregon will decide in November whether to join Colorado and Washington in allowing the sale of marijuana for recreational use.

As the momentum behind marijuana legalization grows, the issue is becoming inescapable for potential presidential contenders in 2016. The latest to weigh in was Hillary Clinton, who was asked about marijuana last week during her book tour. She seemed slightly more open to medical marijuana than she was during the 2008 campaign, saying it was appropriate in limited cases, but that more research was necessary.

"On recreational, you know, states are the laboratories of democracy," Mrs. Clinton told CNN interviewer Christiane Amanpour. "We have at least two states that are experimenting with that right now. I want to wait and see what the evidence is."

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: Beth Reinhard in Wall Street Journal, "Third Way"

Mike Pence on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 23, 2014)
I don't support legalization of marijuana

Q: Colorado and Washington state have legalized recreational use of small amounts of marijuana. Big pot of money there with taxes--is this is something you'd consider?

PENCE: No.

Q: Why not?

PENCE: Well, I don't support legalization of marijuana and that's been my position for a long time and will continue to be.

Q: Has the National Governors Association considered the state revenue implications?

PENCE: There is some common ground that you see at the National Governors Association and it's the focus that Gov. Mary Fallin and others placed on workforce development. Here in Indiana, we've initiated an effort to make career and vocational education a priority in every high school. And at the National Governors Association, it seems to be a recurring theme that making sure that we have not only the best educated, but the best skilled workforce as a pathway toward higher wages. It's a pathway toward a growing economy and it's a pathway toward a real renewal of the industrial Midwest.

Click for Mike Pence on other issues.   Source: 2014 CNN "State of the Union" interview of Mike Pence

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 1, 2014)
The drug war is an abject failure

As homicides surge in the city he governed for seven years, Booker said he's looking at several programs to overhaul the US criminal justice system and end the war on drugs, which he said fuels much of the violence.

"I can say as a mayor who has been fighting on the front lines for years, the drug war is an abject failure," Booker said. "It's consumed egregious amounts of taxpayers' dollars. It hasn't achieved the public-safety aims of our streets, it's consumed human potential, it is a massive government overreach."

He said the real answer to fighting crime is addressing poverty and poor education. "All of these things are things we should be working collaboratively on," Booker said.

Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: Newark Star-Ledger on 2014 New Jersey Senate race

Bill de Blasio on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 22, 2013)
50,000 arrests for marijuana possession unjust and wrong

In New York City, nearly 50,000 people were arrested last year for marijuana possession. Low-level marijuana possession arrests have disastrous consequences for individuals and their families. These arrests limit one's ability to qualify for student financial aid and undermine one's ability to find stable housing and good jobs. What's more, recent studies demonstrate clear racial bias in arrests for low-level possession, with African-Americans arrested four times more frequently as whites--despite roughly equal usage rates.

This policy is unjust and wrong. First-time offenses for possession of small amounts of marijuana are supposed to be punishable by fine only, unless publicly displayed. However, too many young African-Americans and Hispanics--without prior convictions--are still arrested for marijuana possession after being stopped and frisked by police, who then treat it as public display. Bill de Blasio will direct the NYPD to stop these misguided prosecutions.

Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.   Source: 2013 Mayoral campaign website, www.billdeblasio.com

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 24, 2013)
Don't promote marijuana but don't jail non-violent criminals

Q: You would like to relax some of the laws for people who possess and are smoking marijuana, and synthetic recreational drugs. Why?

PAUL: The main thing I've said is not to legalize them but not to incarcerate people for extended periods of time. With Senator Leahy, we have a bill on mandatory minimums. There are people in jail for 50 years for nonviolent crimes. And that's a huge mistake. Our prisons are full of nonviolent criminals. I don't want to encourage people to do it. Marijuana takes away your incentive to work. I don't want to promote that but I also don't want to put people in jail who make the mistake. There are a lot of young people who do this and then later on, they get married and they quit; I don't want to put them in jail and ruin their lives. The last two presidents could conceivably have been put in jail for their drug use, and it would have ruined their lives. They got lucky, but a lot of poor kids, particularly in the inner city, don't get lucky.

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: Fox News Sunday 2013 interviews: 2016 presidential hopefuls

John Hickenlooper on Drug War: (Drugs Jan 10, 2013)
Now it's legal, but keep marijuana out of the reach of kids

Now it's legal, but keep marijuana out of the reach of kids Some other amendments passed in November... one on federal campaign finance reform... and another, for the life of me I can't remember the third one. Oh yeah, Amendment 64. [legalizing medical marijuana].

Now it's legal, but keep marijuana out of the reach of kids We need to expand our DUI law to keep our highways safe from those driving while impaired, and we must put in place consumer and

Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.   Source: 2013 Colorado State of the State address

Barack Obama on Drug War: (Crime Aug 27, 2012)
FactCheck:Biden more conservative than Obama on crime issues

Vice President Biden does not agree with President Obama on all issues--their differences are especially stark on crime and punishment issues. Biden supports the death penalty while Obama opposes it; Biden supports the War on Drugs while Obama opposes that too. You can read about all of their differences (and their agreements) in side-by-side form our summary of our book:
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: Paperback: Obama-Biden vs. Romney-Ryan On The Issues

Cory Booker on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 16, 2012)
The war on drugs has failed; support medical marijuana

Newark Mayor Cory Booker took to Reddit Sunday to criticize the war on drugs, saying it was ineffective and "represents big overgrown government at its worst."

The Democrat wrote during the Reddit "ask me anything" chat: "The so called War on Drugs has not succeeded in making significant reductions in drug use, drug arrests or violence. We are pouring huge amounts of our public resources into this current effort that are bleeding our public treasury and unnecessarily undermining human potential."

Booker then called drug arrests a "game": "My police in Newark are involved in an almost ridiculous game of arresting the same people over and over again and when you talk to these men they have little belief that there is help or hope for them to break out of this cycle," he wrote.

Booker has said he supports medical marijuana, and outlined programs he has implemented to lower drug arrests: reentry, court reform, jobs, treatment and legal aid.

Click for Cory Booker on other issues.   Source: Huffington Post, "Cory Booker & Drug War"

Elizabeth Warren on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 10, 2012)
Opposes the outright legalization of marijuana

Sen. Scott Brown and his chief Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren are both declining to say whether they support or oppose a ballot question that would legalize the medical use of marijuana in Massachusetts. Brown said Tuesday he'd like to learn more about the proposal before taking a position on it. The Massachusetts Republican described the ballot question as "a state issue." Warren also declined to stake out a position.

Warren said Monday she looked forward to a public hearing on the ballot question. Warren said she opposes the outright legalization of marijuana.

The Legislature's Committee on Public Health held a hearing Tuesday on the question that would allow patients with debilitating medical conditions such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis to get permission from their doctors to use marijuana.

Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.   Source: Boston Globe, "Pot Question"

Mike Bloomberg on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
You bet I smoked pot, and I enjoyed it; but.

In 2010, over 50,000 New Yorkers were arrested for marijuana possession. Of those arrested, 86 percent were Black and Latino, even though national surveys show that Whites use in greater numbers.

The crackdown on marijuana crimes in New York has taken place during the term of Michael Bloomberg, who when asked if he had used marijuana responded, "You bet I did, and I enjoyed it." The injustice of a white man--one who has admitted to using, and enjoying, marijuana--overseeing the most zealous campaign of marijuana prosecution in the world (no other city prosecutes more of its citizens for this offense), one that ends up disproportionately impacting Blacks and Latinos, is glaring. And to add insult to injury, New Yorkers must pay, through taxes, the price to make all of these arrests. The cost of prosecuting this offense in New York City alone is estimated to range from $53 million to $88 million annually.

Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.   Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 91

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
Low price of pot means low crime rate

Once marijuana [is smuggled across the Mexican border] to El Paso, it is valued at $240 a pound. The [raw drugs] are typically transported to stash houses where they are consolidated, repackaged, and shipped to markets nationwide. That's where the real profits are. Street values of drugs in El Paso are much lower than in larger markets where most of the product transited through Juarez is headed.

The El Paso region's role in the drug trade is mostly limited to warehouse and distribution to other larger, more profitable American markets. This is similar to El Paso's role in the maquilla sector, where goods are manufactured in Juarez then shipped to El Paso for distribution to U.S. markets. The relatively low value of the retail drug trade in El Paso might be one reason that the murder rate here is so low compared to other, more lucrative destination markets. The average murder rate for [U.S. destination] cities was 16 murders per 100,000 in 2010; in El Paso it was 0.8 per 100,000.

Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 36-7

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
Mexico estimates US pot market at $3B; US says $14B

The Mexican government estimates that the cartels take of the marijuana market in the U.S. is between $750 million to $3 billion. For cocaine, they estimate between $1.65 billion to $4.8 billion. Heroin brings in between $300 to $700 million and methamphetamine between $160 million to $480 million.

The United States government is much more bullish about the revenues made Mexican drug cartels, estimating that Mexican cartels bring home between $15 billion to $30 billion annually from illicit drug sales. At one point, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy estimated that more than 60 percent of the cartels' revenue--$8.6 billion out of $13.8 billion in 2006--came from U.S. marijuana sales. They retracted those estimates in 2010, but continue to assert that marijuana is the top revenue generator for Mexican drug cartels.

Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 42

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
War on Drugs expanded from $371M in 1971 to $48,700M today

On June 17, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared war on drugs. "Public enemy No. 1 in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive." He asked for an additional $371 million from Congress to "conquer drug abuse in America." His funding request included new dollars for the treatment, prevention, education, eradication and stepped up law enforcement of existing drug trafficking laws. Nixon ended his declaration detailing the federal government's new role in ending drug abuse by stating, "The final issue is not whether or not we will conquer drug abuse, but how soon."

Our federal drug-war budget has ballooned from Nixon's $371 million request to $15.6 billion dollars within 40 years. State and local governments spend an additional $33.1 billion annually towards drug enforcement.

Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 63

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
Enforcement efforts make illegal drugs profitable & deadly

In addition to the drug war having no appreciable impact on curbing drug access and drug abuse, the market for illegal drugs in the United States has created a sizeable underground economy that has killed over 45,000 people in Mexico as part of the price of doing business. And the horrors aren't confined to Mexico; daily shootings in American inner cities are largely attributable to drug turf disputes. U.S. efforts to disrupt the flows of illegal products into the United States have created do using current drug war strategies is to wipe out the huge profits to be made in the market for illegal drugs. In fact, it is these very efforts by law enforcement that have made selling illegal drugs so profitable.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 68-9

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
Regulating drug market would bring in billions of revenue

The cost to prosecute marijuana prohibition is not cheap. Nationally, is close to $9 billion annually. On the other side of the ledger, states could expect to collect almost $3 billion in new taxes and the federal government nearly $6 billion if marijuana was taxed at rates comparable to alcohol and tobacco.

As governments at all levels desperately search for services to cut and revenues to raise, a rational policy of regulation and taxation of marijuana sales could provide much needed help. Think of the number of local police officers, federal agents, judges, court personnel, prison guards and parole officers involved in attempting to uphold this prohibition against marijuana. Regulating and controlling the market would reduce the police power of the government for what is widely recognized as a trifling crime, allow it to focus resources on greater need, and generate additional tax revenue.

Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 92

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
Legalization closes "gateway" effect of marijuana

A popular theory is that marijuana is a "gateway drug," meaning that the use of this drug will lead to the use of other, harder drugs. To buy marijuana in the U.S., you must purchase it from an illegal drug dealer. There is a good chance that the same dealer is also selling other, harder drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines. It is in his interests to get you to buy these other offerings.

If you buy dope in a coffee shop in Amsterdam, where marijuana is decriminalized, you can only add a coffee or a hot chocolate to your order. In the U.S., your choices often include an array of toxic recreational drugs. It is no wonder that in the Netherlands the lifetime prevalence of cocaine use is 2 percent while in the U.S. it is 16 percent. The Dutch have effectively closed the gateway from marijuana to other drugs.

Regulate marijuana and you remove other more pernicious options from the 42 percent of Americans who try marijuana in their lifetime.

Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 94

Beto O`Rourke on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 29, 2011)
2009: US arrested 758,000 adult citizens for pot possession

In 2009, the United States arrested 758,593 of its own adult citizens for merely possessing marijuana. That a negotiation of goods for money--between two consenting adults--can result in the arrest of both parties, is stunning.

These arrestees are now permanently scarred and marked in the systems of justice, employment, and social standing. Their chance of becoming productive members of society is now diminished. And the alternatives of crime and illicit activity become more obvious.

Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.   Source: Dealing Death and Drugs, by Beto O'Rourke, p. 89-90

Donald Trump on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 20, 2011)
Legalize drugs and use tax revenue to fund drug education

Trump argued in 1990 that the only way to win the War on Drugs was to legalize drugs and use the tax revenue to fund drug education programs. As he put it, "You have to take the profit away from these drug czars." In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, he stated that he'd never tried drugs "of any kind."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.   Source: Tim Murphy in Mother Jones magazine

Nikki Haley on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 24, 2011)
Vetoed additional licensure for drug treatment facilities

AN ACT relating to definitions of the state certification of need and health care facility act, so as to revise the definition of health care facility; relating to Narcotics Addiction Treatment Facilities.

Veto Letter from Gov. Haley: I am vetoing this bill because I believe the Certificate of Need program create unnecessary regulation for the healthcare market. The CON process allows government to ration care, stifle competition in the medical field, and pick which facilities and practices are allowed to succeed. While I understand that this bill is designed in-part to control the growth of treatment facilities that distribute controlled substances, these facilities are already highly regulated & do not need additional licensure.

Legislative outcome:Bill passed Senate 31-11-0 on March 24; bill passed House 94-0-30 on May 4; vetoed by Governor Haley on May 23; Veto overridden, law took effect 6/15/2011.

Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.   Source: South Carolina legislative voting record S.0232 / Act #0061

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Principles & Values Oct 18, 2010)
I'm "a pro-life Christian"; denies worshiping "Aqua Buddha"

Conway's campaign asks in a new statewide ad, "Why did Rand Paul once tie a woman up, tell her to bow down before a false idol & say his god was Aqua Buddha?" The latter claim refers to a charge made in the GQ article by an unnamed college swim teammate, who said Paul and another student also tried to force her to smoke marijuana. The episode reportedly occurred in 1983.

Paul has called the claim "ridiculous" and said he was "never involved with kidnapping." During a Saturday debate, Conway repeated the allegation against Paul--triggering one of the angriest exchanges of the 2010 campaign season. "You know, Jack, you know how we tell when you're lying? It's when your lips are moving. OK?" Paul sputtered. "You're going to stand over there and accuse me of a crime for 30 years ago from some anonymous source?" He added: "Jack, have you no decency? Have you no shame?"

Paul describes himself as a "pro-life Christian" and says his faith is "something very personal to me, my wife, my kids."

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: National Post coverage of 2010 Kentucky Senate debate

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 5, 2010)
1990 crime bill: tougher penalties for drug offenders

From Judiciary, Biden responded to growing reports of police brutality on the one hand and inadequate law enforcement on the other in an era of heavy drug trafficking. Even before he became the Judiciary chairman, he had called for creation of a national drug czar to cope with the growing flood of narcotics into the American market. For years, Biden had been pushing for the creation of a drug czar, and when Ronald Reagan appointed William Bennett as his drug czar, Biden worked with him coordinating the various governmental agency budgets dealing with narcotics. And in a pending crime bill in 1990, Biden fought for tougher penalties for drug offenders, the bill was watered down by Republican opposition.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: A Life of Trial & Redemption, by Jules Witcover, p.306-307

Rand Paul on Drug War: (Drugs May 20, 2010)
Favors legalizing medical marijuana

How conservative is he? The 47-year-old Paul wants to abolish the federal departments of education, commerce and energy, as well as the income tax.

Like Palin, with whom Paul now stands atop the Tea Party cake, he is opposed to all government bailouts and earmarks, and President Obama's "socialist" health care law. He favors a constitutional amendment banning abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.

But in a libertarian twist, he also favors legalizing medical marijuana.

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: David Saltonstall in Daily News, "New Hero of Tea Party"

Jesse Ventura on Drug War: (Drugs Mar 8, 2010)
Banks & prison-industrial complex gets rich on the drug war

Federal law still considers marijuana a dangerous illegal drug, although 14 states have now enacted laws allowing for some use for medical purposes.

Let me cite a few statistics that I find mind-boggling. According to NORML, an advocacy group for legalizing marijuana, more than 700,000 of America's estimated 20 million pot-smokers got arrested in 2008. About HALF of the 200,000 inmates in our federal prisons are in there for drug-related offenses. Between 1970 and 2007, we saw a 547% increase in our prison population, mainly because of our drug policies. Of course, that's just fine with the new prison-industrial complex, where corporations are now running the show. We as taxpayers shell out $68 billion every year for prisons, & a lot of that end up going into private contractors' pockets!

Of course, they're not the only ones getting rich. Well-documented federal reports lead to the conclusion that American banks are "collectively the world's largest financial beneficiary of the drug trade."

Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: American Conspiracies, by Jesse Ventura, p.114

Jesse Ventura on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 1, 2008)
Let states decide medical marijuana laws

Early in 2001 Bush stated that he was a strong believer in giving more power to the states, which I applaud. He was going to be, he said, an old-style Federalist president. I believed him.

Yet just about every move he's made since that day has taken power away from the states. Cases in point: 12 states have now passed laws to allow the medical use of marijuana. The federal government under Bush says no way, it won't let the states do this. 2 states have voted for dignity in death. If I'm living in MN and terminally ill, I could have the option of moving to Oregon and fulfill my wishes not to prolong the agony. Again, the Bush administration says, oh no, you can't.

Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p. 67

Jesse Ventura on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 1, 2008)
Treat marijuana like we treat alcohol and tobacco

I wish that Canada and Mexico would legalize marijuana, because that would put the US on an island. You'd have two countries proving, like the city of Amsterdam has, that making drugs legal is not a negative formula, but the best way to deal with the problem. Making something illegal doesn't mean it goes away, it just means criminals are going to run it.

Why not treat marijuana in the same way as alcohol or tobacco? It's so widely used, and it has medical purposes that are denied by the US Food and Drug Administration. Numerous doctors and private studies have clearly shown that medicinal marijuana is a painkiller that can help cancer and AIDS patients and can also be used to treat glaucoma.

The fact is growing hemp for industrial purposes would make it a very useful plant. It can be a fiber for clothing, a source of paper, even an alternative fuel. Canada is already using hemp this way. I simply don't see that cannabis grows wild on earth just so humans can eradicate it.

Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p.189-190

Jesse Ventura on Drug War: (Principles & Values Apr 1, 2008)
Supports libertarianism with a small "l"

Describing himself as a libertarian with a small "I"--liberal on social issues, conservative on fiscal issues---ex-Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura today set forth an independent platform that included ending the "so-called war on drugs" by legalizing marijuana and bringing home all American troops from military bases around the world--"unless these countries want to compensate us for guarding their borders."
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p.307

Barack Obama on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 2, 2008)
Fight to rid our communities of meth

AT A GLANCEOBAMA RECORD
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 32-33

Joe Biden on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 11, 2007)
Took lead on drug policy & narcotics control

Biden has sought to take the lead on drug policy, spearheading creation of a “Drug Czar” and crafting laws to control narcotics--measures that are widely viewed as pretty much of a failure.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, p.180

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 11, 2007)
War on drugs is a total failure

On certain facets of social policy, Gravel happily goes out on a limb that the mainstream candidates, whatever their personal views, would never dare test. On the war on drugs: “I think the American people realize the war on drugs is a total failure--waste of time, waste of money. What’s wrong with marijuana? You can go out to buy a fifth of gin and do more damage to yourself.”
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, p.197-198

Barack Obama on Drug War: (Drugs Aug 14, 2007)
Experimented with cocaine but turned down heroin

The teenage years mark a period of rebellion for males, and Obama’s racial turmoil only exacerbated those natural feelings. He was always a solid B student, but by his senior year, he was slacking off in his schoolwork in favor of basketball, beach time parties. He also, as he described it later, “dabbled in drugs and alcohol.” He would buy a six-pack of Heineken after school and polish off the bottles while shooting baskets. He also smoked marijuana and experimented with snorting cocaine but demurred from heroin when he said a drug supplier seemed far too eager to have him experience it. Later, Obama noted that white kids, Hawaiian kids and wealthy kids also turn to drugs to soothe whatever causes them pain.

His grandmother recalled that she and he husband discussed Barry’s declining grades and grew concerned about his possible drug use and overall lack of direction. Obama, however, questioned his elderly grandmother’s memory, [claiming it] was a very transitory period in his life.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: From Promise to Power, by David Mendell, p. 45-46

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Drugs Aug 9, 2007)
Allow buying marijuana at liquor stores

We have to address the whole drug issue. I see no reason between marijuana and booze or alcohol, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to go to a liquor store and buy marijuana. It has recuperative powers.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Drugs Aug 9, 2007)
Drug War failing now, like Prohibition failed in 1920s

Is there anybody that doesn’t know the social failure of Prohibition in the 1920s that criminalized our society, that caused people to lose respect for the law? That’s what we’re doing all over again. It’s been 25 years that we’ve been waging this war on drugs, and it’s an absolute failure.

What’s ravaging the inner cities? It is the drug war--not the drugs--the drug war & all of the [associated] activity. Where is the leadership to end this? FDR had the guts to end it back in 1933. I will end it now.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Civil Rights Jun 28, 2007)
Racism still with us in the 21st century

Q: Is race still the most intractable issue in America?

A: Racism was here with us at the beginning of this country. It was here in the last century, and it’s going to be with us in the 21st century. And one of the areas that touches me the most and enrages me the most is our war on drugs that this country has been putting forth for the last generation. We have 2.3 million people in jail, and 70 percent are African-Americans [because of criminalization of drugs].

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Drugs Jun 28, 2007)
Drugs are public health issue, not criminal issue

One of the areas that touches me the most and enrages me the most is our war on drugs that this country has been putting forth for the last generation. In 1972, we had 179,000 human beings in jail in this country; today, it’s 2.3 million, and 70% are African-Americans.

And I hope my colleagues will join me in standing up and saying, like FDR did with Prohibition, “We’ll do away with that.” And FDR did it. And if I’m president, I will do away with the war on drugs, which does nothing but savage our inner cities and put our children at risk.

There’s no reason for this. There’s not an American that doesn’t understand the culture and the understanding that Prohibition was a failure, and so we repeat it again like we repeated Iraq after we had the failure of Vietnam. When will we learn? When we learn that the issue of drugs is a public health issue. Addiction is a public health issue, not a criminal issue where we throw people in jail and criminalize them to no advancement to the people.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Drugs May 23, 2007)
War on drugs loses an entire generation to our prisons

We are losing an entire generation of young men & women to our prisons. Our nation’s ineffective & wasteful “war on drugs” plays a major role in this. We must place a greater emphasis on rehabilitation & prevention. We must de-criminalize minor drug offenses & increase the availability & visibility of substance abuse treatment & prevention in our communities as well as in prisons.

We must increase the use of special drug courts in which addicted offenders are given the opportunity to complete court supervised substance abuse treatment instead of being sentenced to prison. Drug defendants convicted of nonviolent offenses should be given alternative penalties [instead of] mandatory prison sentences. We should emphasize the criminalization of the importers, manufacturers, and major distributors, rather than just the street venders. Prisons in this country should be a legitimate criminal sanction -- but it should be an extension of a fair, just and wise society.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, gravel2008.us, “Issues”

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Drugs Feb 26, 2007)
Legalize the use and possession of marijuana

Senator Gravel advocates for the legalization of the use and possession of marijuana and ending the war on drugs and treating drugs as a medical problem rather than a criminal problem.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: Wikipedia.org article on Mike Gravel campaign

Jennifer Granholm on Drug War: (Drugs Nov 7, 2006)
Tougher penalties for drug dealers; more tools against meth

Governor Granholm signed legislation creating tougher penalties for drug dealers, including life imprisonment for drug dealers whose products cause death. The Governor also signed a seven-bill package to give law enforcement better tools to address the rapid spread of methamphetamine.
Click for Jennifer Granholm on other issues.   Source: 2006 Gubernatorial campaign website, granholmforgov.com

Mike Gravel on Drug War: (Homeland Security Nov 1, 2006)
War on terror will fail like war on drugs & war on poverty

Solving the Israeli- Palestinian problem and the energy problem will set the stage to crush terrorism, its advocates and its financiers. Characterizing the effort to control terrorism as a “war” is grossly misleading and leads us to believe the only solution is a military one. It promotes a never-ending culture of war. A “war” on terror will be no more successful than the war on drugs, or the war on poverty.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: Speech at the N.H. Institute of Politics, Manchester NH

Amy Klobuchar on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 8, 2006)
More resources to fight the meth epidemic

Minnesota continues to face threats to public safety, especially in the areas of school safety, violent crime, and drug abuse, especially the meth epidemic. At the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, I have made these issues a priority. However, Minnesota’s public safety issues cannot be addressed without support from Congress and the federal government. The priorities in Washington need to change. As your U.S. Senator, here’s what I’ll fight for:
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.   Source: New York Times Election Profiles for 2006 election

Howie Hawkins on Drug War: (Drugs Jun 30, 2006)
End the “War on Drugs”

End the “War on Drugs”. Drug abuse is a health problem, not a criminal problem. Drug prohibition increases crime by creating a violent underground drug economy. Legalize, regulate, and tax drugs.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.   Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, hawkinsforsenate.org, “Issues”

Bill Weld on Drug War: (Drugs Aug 25, 2005)
Favors medical marijuana and needle-exchange programs

Although he has favored medical marijuana and needle-exchange programs, he does not, as is occasionally assumed, support drug legalization and has bragged about prosecuting "drug thugs" while serving in the Reagan Justice Department.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.   Source: W. James Antle III in Spectator Magazine

Ken Salazar on Drug War: (Drugs Sep 12, 2004)
Opposed 2000 initiative for medical use of marijuana

Ken Salazar, as chief legal counsel for Colorado, vigorously opposed the citizen-led initiative that approved medical use of marijuana in 2000. If elected to the Senate, he will be responsible for writing federal law, rather than advising the state on laws already enacted. As a legislator, will he support Colorado voters or will he continue the draconian anti-medical marijuana policies of his predecessors? It is time for Salazar to declare his position on this issue.
Click for Ken Salazar on other issues.   Source: Denver Post: Letters To The Editor

Mike Bloomberg on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 10, 2002)
You bet I smoked pot; and I enjoyed it

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation, (NORML), launched a new $500,000 ad campaign in New York City this week, urging an end to the massive number of arrests of pot smokers in this city, and features NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s quote on his own use of pot. “You bet I did. And I enjoyed it,” said then Mayoral candidate Bloomberg just before the elections last year when a New York magazine reporter asked about his pot use.

“I’m not thrilled they’re using my name. I suppose there’s that First Amendment that gets in the way of me stopping it,“ Bloomberg told reporters when informed of the NORML ads graced with His Honor’s face and attributing the quote to him. But Bloomberg added that the NYPD will continue to vigorously enforce the laws. The campaign includes a full-page ad in the New York Times, as well as posters for bus stops, buses, and phone booths. There are also two 60-second radio ads that will be played by the top stations in the city.

Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.   Source: Preston Peet, www.drugwar.com

Mike Bloomberg on Drug War: (Drugs Apr 10, 2002)
NYPD will continue to vigorously enforce drug laws

[When he learned that NORML would use his image and his words on pro-marijuana advertisements, Bloomberg said] that the NYPD will continue to vigorously enforce the laws [against marijuana use]. In 1992, when former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani took office, there were just 2,000 arrests of pot smokers. Until that time, cops would usually issue a ticket and fine instead of arresting people, yet by 2000, NYC was arresting approximately 50,000 people for simple use and possession every year, nearly a 1,000 a week. The NYPD now runs most every pot smoker they catch through the criminal court system, which can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours, or longer, subjecting marijuana users to dangers far above and beyond any resulting from their simple use of pot, and the city will oftentimes attempt to coerce those arrested to plea out to charges they don’t deserve under the law.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.   Source: Preston Peet, www.drugwar.com

Ken Salazar on Drug War: (Drugs May 31, 2001)
Medical marijuana partly allowed, but he doesn’t like it

Salazar noted that he personally opposed passage of the medical marijuana initiative last year for a variety of reasons, including that the initiative could not legalize marijuana use under federal law, as the US Supreme Court has now confirmed. “All Colorado citizens must understand that possession, manufacture and distribution of marijuana by any person or organization, even for purposes of medical treatment, continues to constitute a violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act,” Salazar warned. “’Medical necessity’ is not a defense to the federal prohibition notwithstanding the state’s law to the contrary.”

Click for Ken Salazar on other issues.   Source: Attorney General’s Press Release, "Marijuana Consequences"

Hillary Clinton on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 8, 2000)
Address drug problem with treatment and special drug courts

Q: What is your approach to the “Drug War”?

CLINTON: I have spoken out on my belief that we should have drug courts that would serve as alternatives to the traditional criminal justice system for low-level offenders. If the person comes before the court, agrees to stay clean, is subjected to drug tests once a week, they are diverted from the criminal justice system. We need more treatment. It is unfair to urge people to get rid of their addiction and not have the treatment facilities when people finally makes up their minds to get treatment.

LAZIO: The truth is that under the Clinton administration, there has been a dramatic and troubling increase in drug abuse by our children. And that has not been addressed. I crossed party lines in 1994 and built a coalition of Republicans that passed the crime bill. If it were not for that, we would not have drug courts right now. We would not have community policing. We need to have somebody in Washington who has the ability to get the job done.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: Senate debate in Manhattan

Jesse Ventura on Drug War: (Drugs Jul 2, 2000)
Drug War fails like Prohibition did

I believe the war on drugs is a failure for the same reasons Prohibition was a failure. My mom told me about that. She lived through it. She saw that as soon as the government made alcohol consumption illegal, criminals cornered the market on liquor. Getting alcohol went from a safe, legal, affordable activity to one that often involved bloodshed and obscene amounts of money. And it gave rise to half a dozen other crimes as well. It caused a huge groundswell in organized crime. It made a lot of criminals rich. Today, illegal drug use is doing the exact same thing.

Just imagine if we could find some way for addicts to get their drugs cheaply, safely, and legally. The bottom would drop out of the illegal drug market. We’d see a huge drop in organized and violent crime.

Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: Do I Stand Alone, by Jesse Ventura, p.161

Jesse Ventura on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 5, 1998)
Rethink approach to drugs; “more of the same” fails

To successfully address the drug problem, we need to rethink our approach from the bottom up. Career politicians can beat their chests all day long and talk about how tough they are on drugs. That approach is already a proven failure. While politicians wage their war on drugs, the drug dealers are winning it.

We don’t need more of the same. We need to rethink our approach. As your Governor, I’ll bring people together and provide the administrative resources to facilitate that rethinking process.

Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: E-Democracy Debate

Jesse Ventura on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 5, 1998)
Jail won’t work when we can’t even keep drugs out of prisons

Q: What about Minnesota’s climbing prison population and an apparent stalemate in the war on drugs?

A: Overcrowded prisons and increasing criminal justice expenses are partially due to the misguided way the war on drugs is being waged. Harsh drug sentences have filled our prisons to overflowing with non-violent offenders. Have these harsh sentences worked? No. Does the average citizen feel we are winning the war on drugs? No. Does it make sense to consider new approaches to the so-called drug problem? Absolutely.

Under our current laws, we can’t even keep illegal drugs out of prison. How can we expect to keep illegal drugs off the streets? It doesn’t matter how many drug dealers and users we put in jail. As long as people use illegal drugs, and huge amounts of money can be made by selling them, there will always be more dealers to replace the ones we lock away.

Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: E-Democracy Debate

Bill Weld on Drug War: (Drugs Oct 19, 1996)
Less welfare for drug users; tougher sentences for offenders

A high school student asked the candidates to lay out specific plans to reduce marijuana use among minors. "You need massive education," said Kerry, who reiterated his support for after-school programs in public schools to keep kids off the streets.

In response, Weld went after his opponent, accusing Kerry of funding welfare payments to drug users. "You're not doing the addicts any favors if you're giving them cash," the governor said. Kerry denied the charge.

Weld said his solution to the state's drug problem includes tougher sentences for drug offenders and education programs aimed at seven- to nine-year-olds.

Click for Bill Weld on other issues.   Source: Harvard Crimson on Kerry/Weld debates

Hillary Clinton on Drug War: (Drugs Sep 25, 1996)
Involved parents most influential in reducing teen drug use

Some factors that increase the risk of substance abuse in adolescents deserve emphasis. Casual attitudes towards marijuana and minors’ access to cigarettes raise the likelihood that teenagers will make a sad progression to more serious drug use & earlier sexual activity. Dropping out of school puts the child at greater risk, as does having a parent who is an abuser of alcohol or drugs.

One reason my husband is adamant about curbing smoking is the fact that he learned firsthand in his own family, about the slippery slope that begins with the use of one addictive substance and leads to other destructive behaviors.

The characteristics that keep kids from using drugs are hard to quantify but not to understand. Children who truly grasp tha they have a choice to make in the matter are more likely to make a responsible one. So are children with high self-esteem. Most influential of all is the optimism & awareness that comes from knowing their parents are interested & involved in their lives.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: It Takes A Village, by Hillary Clinton, p.152-153

  • Additional quotations related to Drug War issues can be found under Drugs.
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