The 2016 election cycle has made a lot of good people more than a little nervous, and for good reason quite frankly. This presidential election and its congressional ramifications could ultimately spell the end of marijuana prohibition in the 21st-century, while simultaneously thrusting Hilary Clinton or Donald Trump to the highest office in the land.

While our current crop of presidential candidates attempt to insult their way into the White House, and the hyperbolic rhetoric surrounding legalization continually elevates, those of us in the 420 community understand the importance of voting our conscience on Election Day 2016.

There’s little doubt the era of marijuana prohibition will go down in history as one of those appalling sinkholes in time — when bad things happened to good people for no good reason. Emerging from the moral malaise of Nixon’s War on Drugs, today’s voters understand the value of a grassroots revolt and the importance of participating in a state-based approach.

Hoping to cultivate full-blown legalization in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada on November 8^th, voters in Arkansas, Florida, Montana, and North Dakota will be grappling with the bedrock issue of legalizing medical marijuana.

What about the feds?

There is, as some know, a seemingly forgotten 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Inconvenient though it may be for the federal government, it states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” And the people are ready and anxious to snatch those “powers” back. Regardless of who wins the White House in November, there are currently 25 states exercising their 10th Amendment rights and who have thumbed their nose at the federal government by institutionalizing some type of marijuana reform statewide.

Despite Hillary’s encouraging words of respect for individual State rights and the rescheduling of marijuana for the purpose of research, “The Donald’s” claim to support legalization smells like deceit to many. Been there, done that. As adults who have experienced this uniquely American process before, no one should assume our next POTUS will be as respectful to those states that have clawed their way back from the dark ages of prohibition. Though far from perfect, it may be quite some time before we see the likes of President BHO in the White House again.

Helping us to differentiate the new-age political predators from those worthy of our vote, The National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws – a.k.a. NORML – has provided a helpful scorecard. Ranking every Representative in the House and Senate on their previous marijuana votes, NORML understands that knowledge is power, and wants you to be well-informed before heading to the polls on November 8^th.

22 politicians with an A+ on marijuana reform

Alan Lowenthal (Democrat – CA) – Barbara Lee (Democrat – CA) – Bernie Sanders (Independent – VT) – Chellie Pingree (Democrat – Maine) – Dana Rohrabacher (Republican – CA) – Don Beyer (Democrat – VA) – Earl Blumenauer (Democrat – OR) – Ed Perlmutter (Democrat – CO) – Eleanor Holmes Norton (Democrat DC) – Eric Swalwell (Democrat – CA) – Jan Schakowsky (Democrat – IL) – Jared Huffman (Democrat – CA) – Jared Polis (Democrat – CO) – Jeff Merkley (Democrat – OR) – Jerrold Nadler (Democrat – NY) – Mark Pocan (Democrat – WI) – Mike Capuano (Democrat – MA) – Mike Honda (Democrat – CA) – Ruben Gallego (Democrat – IL) – Steve Cohen (Democrat – TN) – Ted Lieu (Democrat – CA) and Zoe Lofgren (Democrat – CA).

NORML’S congressional grading curve on marijuana reform

An ‘A’ letter grade indicates that this member has publicly declared his/her support for the legalization and regulation of marijuana for adults.
A ‘B’ letter grade indicates that this member supports policies specific to the legalization of medical cannabis and/or the decriminalization of cannabis.
A ‘C’ letter grade indicates that this member has publicly declared his/her support for the ability of a state to move forward with cannabis law reform policies free from federal interference.
A ‘D’ letter grade indicates that this member has expressed no support for any significant marijuana law reform
An ‘F’ letter grade indicates that this member expresses significant and vocal opposition to marijuana law reform

Breaking NORML’s congressional scorecard down by the individual Representatives and their respective grades, we see that 22 members of Congress received an A for their marijuana vote; 254 members, or 47%, were given a B; 270 members of Congress received a C grade – just barely passing, and 172 members of Congress earned a D. Leaving 32 of 535 congressional members with a failing grade on the topic of marijuana reform in the US.