2016 presidential candidates on marijuana
From Ballotpedia
 Date: November 8, 2016 |
Winner: Donald Trump (R) Hillary Clinton (D) • Jill Stein (G) • Gary Johnson (L) • Vice presidential candidates |
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This page was current as of the 2016 election.
See below what the 2016 presidential candidates and their respective party platforms said about the legalization of marijuana.
| OVERVIEW OF CANDIDATE POSITIONS | |
Democratic ticket
Hillary Clinton
- In 2016, Hillary Clinton received a grade of B+ from the Marijuana Policy Project for her support of medicinal marijuana research and the reclassification of marijuana as a Schedule II drug.[1]
- According to her 2016 presidential campaign website, Clinton believed that federal law enforcement should be focused on violent crime rather than simple marijuana possession. It continued, "Marijuana arrests, including for simple possession, account for a large number of drug arrests. Significant racial disparities exist in marijuana enforcement—black men are significantly more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than their white counterparts, despite the fact that their usage rates are similar. Hillary will allow states that have enacted marijuana laws to act as laboratories of democracy and reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II substance."[2]
- On November 7, 2015, Clinton proposed loosening restrictions on marijuana and rescheduling the drug in order to spur medical research. She said, "What I do want is for us to support research into medical marijuana because a lot more states have passed medical marijuana than have legalized marijuana, so we have got two different experiences or even experiments going on right now. The problem with medical marijuana is there is a lot of anecdotal evidence about how well it works for certain conditions. But we haven't done any research. Why? Because it is considered that is called a schedule one drug and you can't even do research in it." She recommended reclassifying the drug to Schedule II.[3]
- Clinton said on October 14, 2015, that she would like Colorado to continue experimenting with marijuana policy. She said, “I really believe it’s important that states like Colorado lead the way so we can learn what works and what doesn’t work. I would certainly not want the federal government to interfere with the legal decision made by the people of Colorado.”[4]
- In June 2014, Clinton said that she supported medical marijuana use “for people who are in extreme medical conditions." When asked about legalizing marijuana for recreational use, she said, "We have at least two states that are experimenting with that right now. I want to wait and see what the evidence is." Clinton said she would never try marijuana. "Absolutely not. I didn’t do it when I was young, I’m not going to start now," she said.[5]
- Read more of Hillary Clinton's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.
| The 2016 Democratic Party Platform on marijuana | |||
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Tim Kaine
- On March 18, 2016, Kaine visited Midlothian, Virginia, and participated in a forum hosted by the Cosby High School politics club where he was asked about decriminalizing marijuana. He responded by saying that although he “support[s] drastic changes in sentencing laws…[he] wouldn’t vote for a law at the federal or state level that would decriminalize marijuana.” He told the high school forum that he thought the country should see how marijuana legalization goes in Colorado and other states that have legalized marijuana before rendering a decision.[8]
- In an interview with WMRA in Charlottesville, Virginia, on January 23, 2014, Kaine was asked about legalizing marijuana. "I’ve never been a legalization fan,” he said. “Just for a whole series of both health and sort of crime-related reasons, I think it would not be a good idea.” On the issue of sentencing reform, Kaine said, “I think, often, for sentences for marijuana and marijuana usage, I think some sentences are too strict.” [9]
- Read more of Tim Kaine's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.
Republican ticket
Donald Trump
Mike Pence
- In 2013, Indiana legislators introduced House Bill 1006 to overhaul the state's criminal code. Pence refused to accept the bill's lowered penalties for marijuana possession. Pence agreed to sign the bill after the penalty for marijuana possession was returned to a Class B misdemeanor. At a press conference Pence said, “I think we need to focus on reducing crime, not reducing penalties.”[10]
- Pence believes that marijuana is a gateway drug.[10]
- Indiana is among the states with the toughest penalties for marijuana possession.[11]
- Read more of Mike Pence's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.
Green ticket
Jill Stein
- On October 12, 2016, Stein tweeted, "It shouldn't be a crime to use marijuana or hemp. Let's keep non-violent people out of prison."[12]
- In 2016, Jill Stein received a grade of A+ from the Marijuana Policy Project for her support of the legalization and regulation of recreational and medicinal marijuana use by adults.[1]
- On April 20, 2016, Stein released a statement calling for the legalization of marijuana nationwide. "It's time to take marijuana off the black market, end crime and violence related to marijuana trafficking, stop wasting money and ruining lives by prosecuting victimless crimes, reduce prison populations, increase tax revenue, allow sick people their medicine, let farmers grow marijuana and hemp, and give responsible adults their freedom," she wrote. Stein said she would order the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Justice Department "to cease and desist all attempts to harass or prosecute medical marijuana clinics or other legitimate marijuana-related businesses that are operating under state laws." She would also direct the DEA to remove marijuana from the category of Schedule I drugs and "place it in a more appropriate category as determined by medical science."[13]
- On her 2012 presidential campaign website, Jill Stein said she would work to "[i]mmediately legalize medical use of marijuana and move to permit general legal sales under suitable regulatory framework."[14]
| The 2016 Green Party Platform on marijuana | ||||||
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Ajamu Baraka
- Baraka supported the legalization of recreational marijuana. On October 23, 2016, he tweeted, "If we are going to dismantle the prison-industrial complex we must legalize the recreational use of marijuana."[16]
- Read more about Ajamu Baraka.
Libertarian ticket
Gary Johnson
- Johnson wrote an editorial for Time on August 16, 2016, arguing, “We need to stop criminalizing personal choice.” Johnson voiced his support for smaller government and lower taxes, saying, “When government grows and takes more of our money in taxes, we lose freedom.” He also spoke about marijuana legalization and his stance on same-sex marriage: “Our nation learned from Prohibition that arbitrarily and unnecessarily banning behavior doesn’t work. The same lesson should be applied to marijuana. … Fortunately, the Supreme Court finally confirmed that the Constitution protects Americans’ freedom to marry who they wish. That decision was long overdue. Why do we need government to restrict marriage freedom?[17]
- In 2016, Gary Johnson received a grade of A+ from the Marijuana Policy Project for his support of "legalizing marijuana at the federal level, removing it from the federal drug schedules, and allowing states to legalize and regulate marijuana for medical and adult use."[1]
- Johnson told USA Today in June 2016 that he had stopped using marijuana and would continue to abstain if elected president. "I want to be completely on top of my game, all cylinders," he said.[18] In a televised town hall on CNN the following week, Johnson was asked to explain how he could support recreational marijuana use if he believed it took away his own edge. Johnson responded, "So, first of all, you as an individual, I don't care if you drink yourself silly every night of the week as long as you don't get behind the wheel of a car, as long as you don't do harm to others. And with regard to marijuana, why should somebody who takes the edge off when it comes to marijuana, why should they not have that same ability as long as they don't do others harm? ... I don't want to make a value judgment here on others. I think others should be entitled to live their lives as they see fit. And this is a real Libertarian principle here. Look, when it comes to choices in your own life, you should be able to make those choices as long as you're not doing harm to others."[19]
- On March 29, 2016, Gary Johnson made a prediction about what President Obama might do concerning marijuana before he leaves office. Johnson told The Washington Times that marijuana is “going to be just like alcohol. I’m going to predict that Obama, when he leaves office, is going to deschedule marijuana as a Class I narcotic. I wish he would have done that to this point, but I think he’s going to do that going out the door. That’s a positive.” Johnson’s campaign later clarified his statement, explaining that Johnson “would prefer that the president remove marijuana from the controlled substances list entirely, allowing states to legalize and regulate as they and their voters choose.” Johnson added, “I think every municipality has to realize that all the planes to Denver every single weekend are filled up, and that they’re missing out, and Colorado is absolutely vibrant. Is it due to marijuana? I think it’s a contributing factor. I don’t know how long it’s been since you’ve been to Colorado, but I think you can sense vibrancy, and it’s there.”[20]
- On January 19, 2016, in an interview with The Telegraph, Johnson discussed his views on legalizing marijuana: “I’m the only one still to this day – at the level of a state governor or US congressman – who advocates marijuana legalisation. That comes in conjunction with polling results of 56 per cent of Americans who think that marijuana should be legalised. Not one elected official at this level has agreed with the American people. Not one. Legalisation is going to happen anyway and I can’t think of a bigger public policy disconnect than the one we are talking about right now. The tipping point on marijuana will come after the California ballot box initiative in November to legalise recreational marijuana. Then you will see legislatures simply passing a law to legalise marijuana and governors signing them.”[21]
- Prior to announcing his candidacy for president in January 2016, Johnson worked as the CEO of Cannabis Sativa, a marijuana marketing company. Johnson drafted the company's mission statement which states that "cannabis is destined to become the next gold rush and we're prepared to shape its future in a legal environment."[22]
- In February 2015, Johnson said, "I think that as a result of legalizing marijuana, we will become very enlightened as a country very quickly. When it comes to the harder drugs being legalized, which we may see many years off, the first thing you’ll see is decriminalization. Would the world be a better place if we legalized all drugs tomorrow? Yes. But we are not going to do that.”[23]
- Read more of Gary Johnson's public statements on 2016 campaign issues.
| The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform on marijuana | ||||||
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Bill Weld
- During a question-and-answer session hosted by the public policy think tank MassINC on June 7, 2016, Weld was asked about legalizing marijuana. He said, “In Massachusetts, I would be supportive.”[25]
- As governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997, Weld supported medical marijuana legalization.[25]
- Weld said that in addition legalizing marijuana, Johnson “wants to look” at other drugs as a form of criminal justice reform. After stating that alcohol and prescription drugs can be more dangerous than illicit drugs, Weld said, “I don’t know the answer to those things. … That to me is at least worth a discussion.” He continued "And I do think there’s something to the idea that by decriminalizing something, you take it out of the shadows. And then the incentives are not there for the bad guys to do massive criminal sales. Again, you wouldn’t have heard it from me when I was in the Justice Department.”[25]
- Read more about Bill Weld.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 2016 presidential candidates on marijuana. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
- Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
- Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016
- Jill Stein presidential campaign, 2016
External links
- ProCon.org's "Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?"
- ProCon.org's "Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legal?"
- ProCon.org's "Should the United States Continue the War on Drugs?"
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Marijuana Policy Project, "2016 Presidential Candidates," accessed August 9, 2016
- ↑ Hillary for America, "Criminal justice reform," accessed August 9, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Hillary Clinton proposes loosening restrictions on marijuana," November 7, 2015
- ↑ KUSA, "Hillary Clinton: Feds shouldn't 'interfere with' legal pot," October 14, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Hillary Clinton Leaves Door Open On Marijuana Legalization," June 18, 2014
- ↑ Democratic Party, "The 2016 Democratic Party Platform," accessed August 5, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Bolt, "Tim Kaine Forum," April 15, 2016
- ↑ WMRA, "Senator Tim Kaine on the McDonnells, Iran, Medicaid Expansion, and More," January 23, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Leafly, "Mike Pence, Trump’s VP Pick, is Bad News for Cannabis Reform," July 15, 2016
- ↑ Civilized, "A Closer Look At Mike Pence On Marijuana," August 1, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Jill Stein," October 12, 2016
- ↑ Jill 2016, "Legalize Marijuana Nationwide," April 20, 2016
- ↑ Jill Stein for President, "Issues," accessed July 6, 2015
- ↑ Green Party, "The 2016 Green Party Platform on Social Justice," accessed August 9, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Ajamu Baraka," October 23, 2016
- ↑ Time, "Gary Johnson: We Need To Stop Criminalizing Personal Choice," August 16, 2016
- ↑ USA Today, "Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson on guns, debates and pot," June 16, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Transcript: CNN Libertarian Town Hall moderated by Chris Cuomo," June 22, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Gary Johnson predicts Obama will reclassify marijuana on way out of office," March 29, 2016
- ↑ The Telegraph, "Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson says time is right for 'the party of principle' in the White House," January 19, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Libertarian Gary Johnson launches presidential bid, lowers expectations," January 6, 2016
- ↑ Daily Caller, "Former Governor Gary Johnson Says 25 States To Legalize Weed After 2016," February 28, 2015
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform," accessed August 9, 2016
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Boston.com, "Bill Weld supports marijuana legalization in Massachusetts," June 7, 2016
