Who Should You Vote for if You Want Weed Legalized?

Who Should You Vote for it You Want Weed Legalized?

vote for weed candidate

The battle has begun and the road to the Oval Office has laid its first foundation with the Presidential Debates opening up this past Wednesday, June the 26th. Soon Facebook and other social media outlets will turn into battlegrounds of heated opinion during which lifelong friends, family and even that one weird guy who added you after your 3rd cousins wedding will delete you from their lives for disagreeing with their opinions on the political future of this country.

Many of these people actually know what they are talking about when it comes to politics. Many of these people are just jumping on the hype and hysteria bandwagon and want something to talk about with their friends while shooting the shit on lunch breaks. If you’re like me, you could care less about politics for a myriad of reasons, however, you remain slightly curious about the future leader of our country, even if only to see how the new POTUS will affect the current cannabis legislation.

Well, I’ve got some good news for those wondering about how the upcoming election is going to affect the federal pot prohibition: Majority of those on the ballot appear to be in favor of finally ending this little historical anomaly, which has seen the herb drug into disrepute over the last century or so, despite evidence that it has been used since the cradle of civilization began sprouting to life.

Here is how some of the presidential candidates have offered their support for the federal legalization of both medical and recreational cannabis; many even calling to expunge federal charges against those whom have been prosecuted for pot use.

In February this year, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey reintroduced The Marijuana Justice Act. The bill was designed to not only legalize weed nationwide, but also to expunge federal convictions and allow those busted for consumption to petition the courts for shorter sentences.

Several other candidates have backed the bill, including California Senator Kamala Harris, New York Senator Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

(In terms of ending the pot prohibition, Sanders himself has been a pioneer on the political front, being responsible for introducing the Senate’s first-ever bill to end federal bud ban way back when in 2015.)

Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard and Ohio Representative Tim Ryan have also signed on to the Marijuana Justice Act’s companion bill.

The good news doesn’t stop there though.

Here are a few other ways some of the candidates have expressed the need to free the weed:

California Rep. Eric Swalwell is a co-sponsor of the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, which would reclassify marijuana at the federal level and protect pot users in states that choose to legalize it.

During his time in Congress, Beto O’Rourke of Texas signed onto bills that sought to end the prohibition and protect states that legalized cannabis from federal intervention. After announcing his candidacy, O’Rourke called for the end of federal marijuana interdiction.

In January, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced plans to pardon thousands of citizens with misdemeanor marijuana possession charges after his state was one of the first to legalize recreational pot. In an interview to CBS News Radio in which he also stated that he would consider legalizing psychedelic mushrooms, he can also be quoted as saying, “it’s time for the nation to legalize marijuana.”

California Rep. Eric Swalwell is a co-sponsor of the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act, which would reclassify marijuana at the federal level and protect pot users in states that choose to legalize it.

Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland co-sponsored cannabis-related bills during his time in Congress, including one that sought to protect individuals in states that had legalized marijuana from federal interference. Delaney can also be quoted as saying that the federal ban needs to end.

It’s important to keep in mind that politicians are politicians and it may not be fair to call them flat-out liars, but it would be remiss in failing to recognize that they frequently make promises to earn check marks by their name come election day. In this day and age, any presidential candidate, including Trump, would find opposition from a majority of voters on the issue if he or she came out against legalizing pot.

What will really happen?

I guess it won’t be too long before we’re all going to find out just that.