By Tom Angell
With the Republican National Convention taking place in Cleveland this week it’s worth examining where the party’s ticket stands on marijuana and specifically how its presumptive presidential and vice-presidential nominees disagree on the issue.
Expected presidential nominee Donald Trump says he supports medical marijuana “100 percent,” adding that “I know people that are very, very sick and for whatever reason, the marijuana really helps them.” And while he personally opposes full legalization he supports the right of states to set their own marijuana laws without federal interference. “I really believe you should leave it up to the states. It should be a state situation,” he said. “In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state by state.”
But Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the man who Trump has chosen as his vice-presidential running mate, disagrees. While serving in Congress, he voted six times to maintain the federal government’s ability to interfere with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws, including raiding and prosecuting patients and providers who use and dispense marijuana in accordance with local policies:
During a 2012 gubernatorial debate, Pence responded to a medical marijuana question from a registered nurse by talking about methamphetamine and saying he opposed decriminalizing cannabis because it is a “gateway drug” in his view.
“I would not support the decriminalization of marijuana,” he said. “To be candid with you, growing up in the Hoosier State I’ve seen too many people become involved with marijuana and have their lives sidetracked as a result. We’re to see marijuana become a gateway drug to even worse addictions on their part… We need to get more serious about confronting the scourge of drugs, especially meth, in Indiana and decriminalization is not the right path in my honest opinion.”
And while Trump said “I don’t really think so” when asked if people should be sent to jail for using marijuana, Pence opposed Indiana legislation to cut prison time and fines for cannabis offenses.
“I think we need to focus on reducing crime, not reducing penalties,” he said. “I think this legislation, as it moves forward, should still seek to continue to send a way strong message to the people of Indiana and particularly to those who would come into our state to deal drugs, that we are tough and we’re going to stay tough on narcotics in this state.”
It’s too early to tell what a Trump administration’s approach to marijuana would be if the Trump-Pence ticket is elected in November. While the Constitution gives the office little official power beyond breaking tie votes in the Senate, some vice presidents have held strong influence over certain policy portfolios. While Trump has been very clear to date that he would defer to states when it comes to marijuana legalization, he has dramatically changed his mind on a broad number of issues over the years and could do so on cannabis policy if Pence pressures him.
And, if New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is named attorney general, as some observers expect, the federal government could enact a full-scale reversal of the relative latitude the Obama administration has given to states to implement their own marijuana laws without interference. Christie was one of only a small handful of presidential candidates this year who said that if elected he would enforce federal prohibition laws even in states with legalization.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has not yet named her running mate but has said repeatedly that, while she doesn’t personally support legalization, she would allow states to implement their own marijuana laws. She has also pledged to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act.
To find out what else Donald Trump, Chris Christie and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton have said about cannabis, check out Marijuana.com’s comprehensive guide to the candidates.
