Vicky Collins
The Marijuana Policy Project came out with its report card for 22 presidential candidates and hopefuls and the headline is that no one is sticking their neck out very far when it comes to the legalization of marijuana or the loosening of federal pot laws. Admittedly, this is not the biggest issue on anyone's presidential platform but as more states jump on the bandwagon, voters will be demanding a pot plank as the 2016 race gets underway.
Republican Rand Paul stands out in the crowd for supporting the rights of states to establish marijuana policy and also for being a voice for decriminalization, legalized medical marijuana and access to banks for marijuana businesses. The MPP voter guide sends him to the head of the presidential class with an A-. On the other hand, the MPP gives Republicans Chris Christie and Rick Santorum an F for saying they will enforce federal laws to crack down on states that have charted their own course in legalizing pot.
Democrats Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb are taking a wait and see approach to the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana in Colorado and other states. They get B grades from the MPP. Republican Rick Perry also gets a B for supporting state rights to establish their own policies and working to reduce pot penalties in his home state of Texas.
Republicans Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina get C+ grades for accepting the right of states to create their own policies while opposing the legalization of the drug for any kind of use. New York Republican George Pataki who also opposes legalizing marijuana for all purposes still gets a C for saying he'll keep the federal government from interfering with states that vote to legalize pot, as long as they stay away from kids and doesn't upset their neighbors. Republicans Donald Trump and Lindsay Graham get C's for supporting only medical marijuana.
Republican Bobby Jindal gets a C- for only supporting limited medical marijuana and would be candidate John Kasich gets a C- for not even supporting that.
Continuing the "gateway drug" narrative has earned Democrats Martin O'Malley and Joe Biden a C- and D respectively. Republicans Scott Walker and Ben Carson also get D grades for not giving up on the theory. Florida Republicans Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio and Arkansas Republican Mike Huckabee, who oppose the legalization of marijuana for any purpose, get D's as well.
According to Marijuana Policy Poject Communications Director Mason Tvert "voters should know which candidates support rolling back prohibition and which ones are fighting to maintain it. People are becoming increasingly wary of the federal government's role in our nation's marijuana policy." Indeed, the disconnect between state and federal laws has been one of the biggest challenges dogging the young industry. "If states are to be our nation's laboratories of democracy, our next president needs to respect their right to experiment," Tvert said. "They should be committed to basing marijuana laws on science and evidence instead of ideology and politics."
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