Clinton Promises to End Federal Raids on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Hillary Clinton continues to get the drug policy questions right:
During a visit to Manchester, New Hampshire on July 13, Len Epstein of Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana told the senator and presidential candidate: "Twelve states allow medical marijuana, but the Bush administrations continues to raid patients."Clinton replied: "Yes, I know. It's terrible."
"Would you stop the federal raids?" Epstein asked.
"Yes, I will," she responded firmly. [MPP]
As I've said before, it's exciting to hear the democratic front-runner taking the right positions on our issues. Clinton has now pledged to fight racial profiling, reform the crack/powder sentencing disparity, promote treatment instead of incarceration, and now vows to end the federal war on medical marijuana patients and providers. That's a rock solid drug policy platform for a mainstream candidate.
Yes, I know there are long-shot candidates willing to go further (what's his name, Ron something?). But the willingness of front-runners – on the left, at least – to take common sense positions on drug policy reflects a growing awareness that reform is not political suicide.
Heck, given massive public support for medical marijuana, and Giuliani and McCain's refusal to defend patients, Democrats would be foolish not to step forward on this.
(This blog post was published by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)
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Comment posted by smorgan on Mon, 07/23/2007 - 2:35amThis is troubling, I agree. It doesn't mean she's lying about medical marijuana, etc., but it's important to realize that she's a risk as far as drug policy is concerned.
Regardless of Hillary's actual integrity, it's a positive sign that she's talking about reform. Issues like medical marijuana, treatment vs. incarceration, racial profiling, and the crack/powder disparity are becoming conventional wisdom, on the left at least.
I'm not saying we should all support Hillary. My point is that she's as likely as anyone to end up in th White House, and her campaign is thus far emphasizing reform positions rather than the usual tough-on-drugs crap you hear from some politicians. We'll see what comes of this.
I was kidding.
Comment posted by smorgan on Thu, 07/19/2007 - 12:59amIt was a jab at the Ron Paul folks who yelled at me last time I mentioned Clinton. But yeah, Ron Paul is great on drug policy.