Presidential Debates Should Address Marijuana Prohibition

Originally published at blog.NORML.org

The Brownie Mary Club Democratic Club of California is hosting an online petition to be presented to the chairman of the Presidential Debate Commission to include at least one cannabis-related question in the presidential debates.

MARIJUANA IS A MAJOR ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia representing over a third of the U.S. population have legalized the use of marijuana when recommended by a physician, six states have marijuana initiatives on their November ballots (three legalization and three medical), $20 billion taxpayer dollars are spent every year enforcing marijuana prohibition ensnaring over 850,000 Americans in the criminal justice systems and thousands are killed along our border over illegal importation of marijuana into the United States. There is no other issue that costs so much and directly affects the lives of millions of Americans yet is so totally ignored.

It is time that this issue is given the attention it deserves. We respectfully request that one or both of the following two questions be asked in one of the three presidential debates.

1. Colorado, Oregon and Washington have initiative measures on their ballots that will legalize the sale and distribution of marijuana for any purpose. If one or more of these states pass a legalization measure, as polls indicate is likely, what will be the response of your administration?

2. With seventeen states and the District of Columbia representing over a third of the U.S. population having legalized the use of marijuana when recommended by a physician, there is a direct conflict between federal law and state law. Three states have medical marijuana initiatives on their ballots in November and several more states are expected to enact medical marijuana laws over the next two years. Will you do anything as President to help reconcile the differences between federal and state law?

Sign petition here.