Marijuana and the Presidential Candidates

In the past finding out that a candidate or person already holding an office, smoked marijuana was a disaster. Reputable individuals would be harangued by the media, booted out of office, and ostracized by the community. Much of this stems from the faulty perception Americans originally had about marijuana. For many years it was just something the “crazy Mexicans” across the border where smoking.

As racial divides have begun to soften and research has progressed, ideas about marijuana have started to change. Open minded transparent candidates like Barack Obama, now openly admit to smoking marijuana. In fact, in the video above, he admits to “inhaling frequently” going on to say “that was kind of the point (inhaling).” Barack Obama is the only candidate that has proposed the decriminalization of marijuana and supports medical marijuana. Hillary Clinton has said more research needs to be done on medical marijuana and seems to be relatively open minded.

Political stances on marijuana do more than just tell a person about how a candidate feels in relation to marijuana. It can also act as an indicator as to the type of thinker a candidate might be. Any candidate, like McCain, that can look dying patients in the face and tell them he knows better than their own experience with marijuana, should not have a shot at the presidency. We need someone that is going to boot Bush- appointed Michele Leonhart out of the DEA and appoint someone that will tell the American people the truth about marijuana.