Gary Johnson presidential campaign, 2016/Marijuana
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See below what Gary Johnson and the 2016 Libertarian Party Platform said about marijuana.
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
Johnson on marijuana
- 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?[1]
- 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."[2]
- 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.[3] 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."[4]
- 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.”[5]
- 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.”[6]
- 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."[7]
- 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.”[8]
- Read what other 2016 presidential candidates said about marijuana.
| The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform on marijuana | ||||||
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Time, "Gary Johnson: We Need To Stop Criminalizing Personal Choice," August 16, 2016
- ↑ Marijuana Policy Project, "2016 Presidential Candidates," accessed August 9, 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
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Libertarian Party, "The 2016 Libertarian Party Platform," accessed August 9, 2016
