Dear Stoner: Which presidential candidate would you want to smoke a joint with the most?
Daryl
Search Results: presidential candidates (20)
ColorLines |
Mexico’s Drug War has claimed more than 50,000 lives in five years |
Marijuana’s future in the United States remains a hot topic as Super Tuesday approaches. Formerly dismissed by virtually every presidential candidate, supporting pot legalization now seems a prerequisite for any
Democratic hopeful. The level of support varies, however, with some candidates preferring giving states the right to choose, while others are pledging to legalize marijuana through executive action if need be.
Anyone who’s followed presidential politics has a general sense that a few Republicans are OK on the marijuana issue, and most of them are terrible.
Marijuana Policy Project |
The Chronicle |
Newt Gingrich: “See, when I smoked pot it was illegal, but not immoral. Now it is illegal AND immoral. The law didn’t change, only the morality … That’s why you get to go to jail and I don’t.” |
GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich does not support the legalization of medical marijuana, and in fact, would like to see the United States adopt a tougher policy against the use of cannabis and other substances, including the death penalty for some dealers.
Using cannabis legalization as a platform to popularity is all the rage for this latest round of Democratic presidential candidates. Nearly every candidate in the blue party has endorsed some form of cannabis-policy reform, ranging from full-scale legalization at the federal level to letting states decide on their own.
At SFWeekly, I argued that the 2016 Presidential candidates have dodged their responsibility to discuss legalization.
Ohio is looking for an experienced pot grower to help write the state’s MED rules. The successful applicant will likely have to pass a drug test.
The National Conference of State Legislatures endorsed rescheduling.
North Dakota will vote on MED in November. Arizona will vote on REC. Supporters of the Oklahoma MED initiative are “ cautiously optimistic” that they gathered enough signatures to make the ballot.
Two MED initiatives could qualify for the Arkansas ballot. The question of which one voters get to decide may end up in court. The Arkansas Farm Bureau and the state’s Chamber of Commerce oppose both.
Denver’s limited public use initiative collected more than double the number of signatures needed to qualify for a vote in November.
Nashville may decriminalize. The Chicago Tribune visits a grow house, and catches up on the Illinois industry.
High Times lists its “ hateful-eight,” the country’s most influential legalization opponents.
Illegal drug sales on the so-called dark web have tripled since the 2013 closure of the site Silk Road.
Watch out for knock-off vaporizers.
In Oregon, some Craigslist sellers ask for payment in cash or cannabis. Minnesota’s two MED producers are both losing money.
There wasn’t much talk of marijuana inside the arena at this year’s Democratic National Convention.
The industry was all over Philly.
The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.
Marijuana wasn’t often mentioned in the Democratic National Convention’s official program.
Unofficially, it was the “star.” A trade association had a party. MPP had a fundraiser. Marchers carried a 51-foot joint.
At Marijuana.com, Tom Angell (@TomAngell) unearthed the Tim Kaine quote, “I actually kind of like this option of the states as labs and they can experiment [with legalizing]and we can see what happens.” NORML revised its rating on the vice presidential candidate from F to C. (Last week, I referred to MPP ratings for presidential candidates as NORML ratings. I regret the error.)
Marijuana Business Daily interviews former U.S. deputy attorney general James Cole, whose eight-point 2013 memo gave the industry confidence that it could grow without federal prosecution. “It wasn’t really intended to be a huge policy shift as much as reacting to the situation and trying to use some common sense,” he said.
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wants more lawmakers to support legalization.
Former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank (D) said heroin and crystal meth should be legalized. “We should outlaw a drug if it is likely to make you mistreat others. People don’t hit other people in the head because they’re on heroin; they hit other people in the head because they need to get money to buy heroin.”
The New Yorker profiles Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate and a legalization supporter. He said he would not use cannabis as president.
Quartz introduces us to Tick Segerblom (D), a dogged cannabis supporter in the Nevada State Senate.
The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeals Board said cannabis sellers can’t receive federal trademark protection.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) decriminalized possession, making the state the third largest after New York and California to do so.
About half of the 100 Oregon communities that don’t allow REC businesses will vote on whether to lift their bans in November.
Ohio legislators knew that the provision in the state’s MED law to guarantee 15% of business licenses might be unconstitutional but they kept it in to win votes, the AP reports.
Florida billionaire Carol Jenkins Barnett, a Publix supermarket heir, donated $800,000 to oppose the state’s MED initiative.
A Los Angeles county ballot initiative that proposed a pot tax to benefit the homeless has been shelved. Canna Law Blog dives into the business climate in L.A, one of the world’s largest cannabis markets.
The DEA compared home grows to “meth houses.”
Italian lawmakers are beginning to debate legalization. Opponents include Pope Francis. The Italian military grows MED for the country.
Justin Sullivan |
California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom: “These laws just don’t make sense anymore” |
Drug Policy Alliance |