| MySAPolitics |
O’Rourke Made Name For Himself By Supporting Marijuana Legalization and By Calling for Open Debate on Drug Legalization to Address Mexico Drug War Violence
On Heels of Stunning Oregon Attorney General Upset, Drug Policy Reform Movement Demonstrates Burgeoning Political Clout
Marijuana legalization supporter Beto O’Rourke defeated eight-term Congressman Sylvestre Reyes in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Texas’s 16th Congressional district. O’Rourke is virtually assured of being the next Congressman from the heavily Democratic district.
In early 2009, as an El Paso city councilman, O’Rourke championed a resolution calling for a national debate on the legal regulation of currently illicit drugs. The resolution was prompted by the out-of-control violence in El Paso’s neighbor across the border, Ciudad Juarez, which has the highest murder rate of any city in the world.