Hillary on Marijuana Legalization = We need more studies

Hillary on Marijuana Legalization = We need more studies


Clinton's stance on marijuana could be a major issue in the 2016 election, as support for legalization grows. A 2013 Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans favor legalization. For those ages 18-29 the percentage of people who support legalization is 67 percent.

In terms of Clinton's stance on the issue, advocates are skeptical.

"She is so politically pragmatic," Alan St. Pierre told CNN. St. Pierre is the director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "If she has to find herself running against a conservative Republican in 2016, I am fearful, from my own view here, that she is going to tack more to the middle. And the middle in this issue tends to tack more to the conservative side."

During the 2008 election Hillary Clinton was not in favor of decriminalization, which is a step below legalization. Since then, however, her views have become watered down and vague.

"I'm a big believer in acquiring evidence," Clinton told NPR affiliate KPCC in July of 2014. "And I think we should see what kind of results we get, both from medical marijuana and from recreational marijuana, before we make any far-reaching conclusions. We need more studies. We need more evidence. And then we can proceed."

She issued a similar refrain during a town hall discussion with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "On recreational, you know, states are the laboratories of democracy. We have at least two states that are experimenting with that right now," Clinton said in reference to Colorado and Washington, which legalized marijuana "I want to wait and see what the evidence is."

In the same interview Clinton addressed the issue of medical marijuana saying: "At the risk of committing radical candor, I have to say I think we need to be very clear about the benefits of marijuana use for medicinal purposes. I don't think we've done enough research yet, although I think for people who are in extreme medical conditions and who have anecdotal evidence that it works, there should be availability under appropriate circumstances. But I do think we need more research because we don't know how it interacts with other drugs." Medical marijuana is currently legal in 23 states and in Washington, D.C.

The former Secretary of State, however, is not likely to try the drug herself. "I didn't do it when I was young, I'm not going to start now," she told Amanpour.

Continued: http://www.attn.com/stories/1403/hillary-clinton-five-things-2016