“GOP contenders just saying no to fight against pot”

The title of this post is the headline of this lengthy political-sign-of-the-times report from The Hill.  Here are excerpts:

GOP presidential candidates are by and large staying away from the debate over marijuana legalization, an issue once embraced by Republican occupants of the White House.

They have stayed largely silent as support for legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana has gained public support.  Fifty-three percent of adults nationwide say marijuana should be legal, while 43 percent say the opposite, according to a CBS News poll from April….

Only New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and long-shot candidate former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) support a federal crackdown on state policies legalizing cannabis, which is still classified as a Schedule I drug — the most dangerous category, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency….

Other candidates have soft-pedaled the issue, preferring to focus on the economy, the federal deficit, national security and immigration.  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush opposed a medical marijuana ballot initiative in his home state last year, but he said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this year that he supports the right of states to set their own policies.  Bush has admitted to smoking marijuana while attending Phillips Academy, an elite boarding school in Andover, Mass.

Front-runner Donald Trump supports granting access to medical marijuana and letting states decide the issue.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is making a hard play for Tea Party and other base voters, say states’ rights should take precedence in deciding how to address the contradiction between federal and local policies. “I actually think this is a great embodiment of what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called the laboratories of democracy. If the citizens of Colorado decide they want to go down that road, that’s their prerogative. I don’t agree with it, but that’s their right,” he told conservatives at CPAC, echoing language used by Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who’s also alluded to “laboratories of Democracy.”

Dan Riffle, federal policy director at the Marijuana Policy Project, sees a trend emerging in the crowded field of GOP presidential hopefuls.  “Most of the field has been asked about this and has answered the question a couple of times and has said, ‘I personally am opposed to legalization but this is a state issue and states can set their own policy and I’m not going to use federal resources to go after them,’ ” he said….

“What I’m seeing is most people are avoiding the issue,” said Alex Patton, a Republican political consultant and pollster. “In most polling I’ve seen, especially in Florida, it’s divided about a third, a third and a third.

“A third says legalize it, a third says legalize it only for medical and a third is for no legalization at all. It’s a highly contentious issue,” he said of attitudes among the Republican base. He also noted that the issue is much less salient among conservatives than it was in the 80s and 90s, when crime was a much bigger concern.

The current trend, as epitomized by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), another White House hopeful, is toward criminal justice reform, as a growing number of experts recognize that high incarceration rates for non-violent drug offenders put a drain on state and local budgets and impact the ability of ex-felons to contribute to the economy and society.


Paul has been the most outspoken GOP candidate in calling for the decriminalization of marijuana, even visiting Denver to hold a fundraiser with leaders of the multi-million-dollar cannabis industry. He has teamed up with Democratic Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) to end the federal prohibition on medical marijuana, which is now legal in 23 states.

He opposes the federal government getting involved in state legalization efforts and has repeatedly talked about the damage severe penalties can have on the lives of non-violent drug offenders and their ability to contribute to society.  He frequently tells reporters and potential supporters about an acquaintance from Kentucky who grew pot plants in college 30 years ago and still can’t vote.

Some prior related posts:

• “2016: The Marijuana Election”

• First primary state poll indicating considerable support for marijuana reform

• “Why marijuana legalization is the rare issue that divides the 2016 Republican presidential field”

• Among Prez candidates, “Marijuana Federalism Beats Prohibitionist Meddling”

• Just what is Donald Trump’s position now on modern marijuana reforms (and the modern drug war)?

• “Rand Paul courts donors from marijuana industry”

• How will marijuana lobby (with new money) use its growing influence inside the Beltway?