2016 GOP Presidential Candidates and Marijuana Legalization
Many are watching, reading and listening to the GOP contenders in the race for the 2016 presidency. Many ideas and views are debated, discussed, and expressed. One of the hot topics in the upcoming run for office will definitely be legalization of marijuana. As The Huffington Post indicates, “with at least 10 more states expected to consider legalization in some form by 2016, the next president of the United States will almost certainly have to reckon with the disparity between state and federal law on marijuana.”
Although recreational marijuana has been legalized in Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and the District of Columbia- it is illegal under federal law. The stares that have legalized marijuana have only been able to do so because federal guidance has been in place. With a new election, those rights could be taken away. So what are the major GOP runner’s views on recreational marijuana legalization? Below is a quick summary:
Jeb Bush: He doesn’t believe in legalizing marijuana, but would support states right and would not revoke the federal guidance.
Marco Rubio: He opposes legalization and decrimilization of recreational marijuana. He said he doesn’t believe that we should legalize additional intoxicants in this country for the primary reason that “when you legalize something, what you’re sending a message to young people is it can’t be that bad, because if it was that bad, it wouldn’t be legal.” (huffingtonpost.com)
Ted Cruz: Cruz has criticized Obama for permitting recreational marijuana laws to go into effect without federal intervention in the states that have legalized.
Rand Paul: He backs states in making their own laws concerning recreational marijuana.
Chris Christie: He is the most outspoken on this topic and says he will enforce federal law – even on those states who have already legalized recreational marijuana– and “will crack down and not permit it.”
Carly Fiorina: She says she is opposed to Prop. 19 and the legalization of marijuana.
Mike Huckabee: His stance isn’t clear, but he posted on Facebook that it doesn’t seem like the right thing to legalize when you think about the impact on kids.
John Kasich: He indicates that he is totally opposed to legalizing marijuana.
Ben Carson: Being a former chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University Medical School he has seen the benefits of medical marijuana use. However, he says that legalizing recreational marijuana is “not something we want for our society. “
Lindsey Graham, George Pataki, Scott Walker, Rick Santorum, and Bobby Jindal are all opposed to legalizing recreational marijuana as well. Except for Jindal- who will push for more federal enforcement-, most seem to indicate that they will support state’s rights in them matter. So, no matter who gets the big job, it looks like a very strong opposition to any more legalization of recreational marijuana if the GOP wins the 2016 presidential election.
Source: huffingtonpost.com