Clinton VS Trump On Marijuana Legalization
Following both major political parties officially naming their presidential candidate for the election in November, the heads of voters are swirling with questions regarding what to expect. For starters, what will come of marijuana legislation? Where do Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and their running mates stand on marijuana legislation? If your gut instinct is telling you, “not much,” you may be on the right track based on recent media news outlet reports regarding marijuana legalization.
According to 24/7 Wall St., running mates Mike Pence (Republican) and Tim Kaine (Democrat) both oppose making any changes to the current marijuana legislation.
Trump tells @BrandonRittiman he wouldn't shut down legal marijuana in Colorado #9News #9politics pic.twitter.com/mpWtqMW4eo
— Steve Staeger (@SteveStaeger) July 29, 2016
In a second report, 24/7 Wall St. stated that Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, appears to be having trouble deciding where he stands regarding marijuana legalization. Initially, Trump claimed he felt that states should be able to do what they wanted regardless of whether he thought the issue was right or wrong. Then, he said he thought they shouldn’t before, again, supporting states making their own opinion. Some are arguing Trump just sways his thoughts on marijuana legislation to go with what the people want. The Republican Party Trump supports, however, is firmly against marijuana legalization – they just do not really come out and say it.
The democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, has stated that she supports moving marijuana from being a Schedule I drug to Schedule II. She has also confirmed her support of the use of medical marijuana. She, however, has stated more research is necessary before changing marijuana legislation. Namely, she wants to use federal dollars to conduct research on the effects of using recreational marijuana to make sure it is safe for legalization. The path Clinton and the Democratic Party are taking would provide a pathway for legalizing marijuana in time. However, it does not provide a pathway for any immediate changes to marijuana legislature.
Hillary Clinton says she is "100 Percent in Favor" of Medical Marijuana https://t.co/8h0ygX9LRo
— Inc. (@Inc) April 22, 2016
Libertarian Gary Johnson is the presidential candidate with the most significant appeal to those in favor of marijuana legislation changing to make it legal. Before running for Oval Office, Johnson was president and CEO of Cannabis Sativa Inc. as well as a long-time support of decriminalizing marijuana.
"The ideal candidate for the pro-marijuana camp is Gary Johnson, but his campaign …is considered a long shot." https://t.co/Z3KPtVQmNh
— onlyastoner (@onlyastoner) July 29, 2016
High Times reports voting for Johnson or Stein makes sense for anyone who wants marijuana legislation to change. However, the chances of either nominee being elected as president is highly unlikely. High Times goes on to report voting for Hillary Clinton makes the most sense for those who want to see changes to marijuana legislation as she is considered the most likely to make changes to the laws even if they are not going to be immediate as she has made it clear she wants to do research on the matter first. High Times believes Trump may go as far as to try to dismantle the current marijuana legislation.
According to The Huffington Post, Hillary Clinton believes there are more important matters to address than simple marijuana possession charges. As such, she wants the police force to focus on harder drugs and more violent crimes. While she does still feel as though marijuana should be illegal until she has time to research it in detail, she does not feel that it merits nearly as long of a sentence as some people are currently getting for being in possession of it.
The Huffington Post also reports that nailing down how Donald Trump feels about legalizing marijuana is nearly impossible. Back in the 1990s, Donald Trump supported marijuana legislation moving to legalize cannabis. However, Trump currently appears to be against the use of recreational marijuana. It is possible Donald Trump is open to the idea of letting individual states continue to make their own decisions regarding the legalization of marijuana.
What do you think is going to happen in regards to marijuana legislation? Will Clinton or Trump make a move to legalize the use of recreational marijuana? How about medical marijuana? Only time will tell.
[Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images]
