German Lopez in Vox: “At Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, Sanders suggested he would vote for marijuana legalization if it came up in his state … But Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, suggested she’s not ready to support legalization.”
“Clinton’s timidity on marijuana puts her at odds not just with Sanders, but with the Democratic base, which strongly supports legalization. But it’s also unlikely Clinton’s cautiousness will ultimately have much of an effect on marijuana policy.”
“Not only do most Americans support marijuana legalization, according to Pew Research Center polls, but nearly six in 10 Democrats do — and that support climbs to more than 75 percent when only looking at millennial Democrats.”
“If [the] trend toward legalization continues, it might not matter much what the next president believes. Many pro-legalization advocates argue that the most important thing a president can do right now is let states carry out their laws without federal intervention — just like the Obama administration has done. After all, in a gridlocked Congress, federal marijuana legalization isn’t likely to pass anytime soon, even as it moves through the states.”