What Republican Presidential Candidates Say About Legalizing Marijuana HuffingtonPost / Lucia Graves / 10,21,2011 WASHINGTON -- Fifty percent of Americans favor legalizing marijuana, according to a recently released Gallup poll. That number, up from just 36 percent in 2006, marks a record high and could have significant implications for candidates on the campaign trail, advocates say. Republican presidential candidate Gary Johnson has already come out in favor of legalizing marijuana, announcing on Wednesday that he would even consider issuing a full presidential pardon for anyone serving a prison sentence for a nonviolent marijuana crime. Such pardons are part of what he envisions as a broader "rational drug policy." "Pot smokers may be the largest untapped voting bloc in the country," he said in an interview with Outside Magazine. "A hundred million Americans have smoked marijuana. You think they want to be considered criminals?" Though Johnson has been excluded from recent GOP debates and polls show he garners less than 1 percent of the national vote, recent surveys suggest that, if current trends persist, legalization of marijuana could indeed become a hot-button topic by election 2016. Support for legalization is as high as 62 percent among Americans under the age of 30, and Gallup has found that Americans are especially likely to favor legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. According to a Gallup survey last year, 70 percent favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana to reduce pain and suffering. What's more, Republicans could exploit pot advocates' anger at President Barack Obama, who as a candidate promised to maintain a hands-off approach toward pot clinics adhering to state law. At a 2007 town hall meeting in Manchester, N.H., Obama said raiding patients who use marijuana for medicinal purposes "makes no sense." At another town hall in Nashua, N.H., he said the Justice Department prosecuting medical marijuana users was "not a good use of our resources." Yet the number of Justice Department raids on marijuana dispensaries has continued to rise. "The fact that presidential candidates are now actively pointing out the need to end marijuana prohibition, combined with the new Gallup poll showing that more Americans support legalization than oppose it, shows that the time for reform has arrived," said Tom Angell, spokesman for the legalization advocacy group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, in an email to HuffPost. With so many Americans in support of legalization, how long can the rest of the Republican presidential field stay silent on the issue? HuffPost has compiled a slideshow highlighting GOP candidates' positions. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has called for an end to the war on drugs, insisting that marijuana laws should be set not by the federal government but by the states. In June, he teamed up with Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to introduce legislation removing marijuana from the list of federally regulated substances. Though essentially dead upon arrival, the bill helps to illuminate Paul's views. Slide show and candidates stance at link above
From what little I've gathered about the other canidates Santorum- Very against us Romney- Mormon with a populist-conservative world view (probably against us) Cain- no idea Bachman- probably against us Perry- No Idea Huntsman- No Idea Feel free to correct me because I've been too busy lately to keep up on politics
I'm pretty interested in what Cain's eventual stance will be on this. The latest Gallup poll has huge implications. Cain has said/written zero about his thoughts on marijuana legalization and it's bound to be asked of him soon if he's polling this high. He supposedly dodged marijuana-related questions at the Iowa Straw Poll...is it possible he hasn't even decided yet? Could the poll numbers, combined with his "business" approach to politics, lead to a "fuck it, lets legalize it and create an industry" statement soon? One can dream. And a dream is probably all it will ever be.
I recently saw Cain say about all the protestors on wallstreet. 'If You Don't Have A Job And You're Not Rich, Blame Yourself' ..Anyone with an outlook like that is a dangerous candidate who is completely out of touch with the middle/ lower class of this country. Besides, just because some guy made money selling pizza's doesnt qualify him to be president.
I'd say it's a 90% chance that Cain will be against legalization. However, there is a chance that he might pull the "I'm a republican, and republicans are for states rights!" card and say that states should decide what drugs should be legal. Which in itself is a policy that could work, but the rest of the bullshit his spiels leads me to believe that if he becomes president, world war 3 will start within three years. Bachmann's even fuckin worse. Romney is a douche but i feel like he's the only one that would be smart enough to change his mind. The policies he put in place when he was the Gov. of Massachusetts were actually on the progressive side of things. Well of course there's Ron Paul but i really don't like his other policies. His idea of government is waaay to bare bone. Basically he would remove many government regulations and thus we'll be fucked in the ass by corporations even harder. And say bye bye to state parks. Even though he would legalize marijuana i don't think he's a good candidate. Honest man though. I like him as a person. I wish Obama had the integrity that Ron Paul has. We would probably have legal bud already if he did.
Good topic, and I fully support Ron Paul, but the chances of him winning are still very very slim. Hopefully one day. But he's the only politician I actually believe in when it comes to these things (and honestly, I probably shouldn't) - because let's face the facts: Every scumbag politician promises things and never delivers. It's all a giant sham, and you really can't change a thing.