Here's where all the 2020 presidential candidates stand on marijuana legalization
President Donald Trump supports decriminalizing marijuana but believes legalization should be left up to the states — and reportedly made efforts to rein in Sessions' war on legal marijuana.
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey not only introduced the Marijuana Justice Act in the Senate, but has made criminal justice reform a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, calling for legalization in his campaign announcement.
Source: Business Insider
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a former prosecutor, only recently came out in support of legalization, saying "states should have the right to determine the best approach to marijuana within their borders."
Source: Business Insider
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York co-sponsored the Marijuana Justice Act, saying “millions of Americans’ lives have been devastated because of our broken marijuana policies" and the bill would "fix decades of injustice caused by our nation’s failed drug policies.”
Source: Kirsten Gillibrand
Sen. Kamala Harris of California prosecuted hundreds of marijuana offenses while serving as California's attorney general, and opposed a 2010 legalization referendum in California. She has since come out in favor of legalizing the drug at the federal level.
Source: Business Insider
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana told the Boston Globe that “the safe, regulated, and legal sale of marijuana is an idea whose time has come for the United States."
Source: Boston Globe
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is in favor of legalization, and introduced a bipartisan bill with former Rep. Carlos Curbelo to commission a federal report on the state-level effects of marijuana legalization.
Sources: Boston Globe,Marijuana Moment
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont was the first 2016 Democratic candidate to come out in support marijuana legalization, and is a co-sponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act.
Source: CNBC
Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington not only oversaw the state's legalization of marijuana in 2012, but he recently pardoned around 3,500 Washingtonians with misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions.
Source: Reuters
Former San Antonio Mayor and HUD Secretary Julian Castro said in 2017 that it was "a mistake" for the DOJ to aggressively prosecute marijuana offenses, adding that Colorado and other states had shown "we can sensibly legalize marijuana use with reasonable controls in place."
Source: Julian Castro/Twitter
Rep. John Delaney of Maryland also supports legalization, saying the war on drugs has "contributed to a criminal justice system where people of color are disproportionately harmed.”
Source: Boston Globe
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has been an outspoken proponent of marijuana legalization in the Senate. In addition to introducing the STATES Act, she is also a cosponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act.
Source: Washington Post, Boston.com
Author and motivational speaker Marianne Williamson's campaign is heavily focused on social and racial justice issues, telling the Boston Globe she "wholeheartedly” supports legalization.
Source: Boston Globe
Entrepreneur and businessman Andrew Yang said in December that federal "criminalization of marijuana is stupid and racist, particularly now that it's legal in some states," and said the US should "proceed with full legalization."
Source: Andrew Yang/Twitter
Massachusetts' former Republican Governor and 2016 Libertarian vice-presidential nominee Bill Weld supports decriminalization at the federal level, and is on the advisory board of marijuana company Acerage.
Source: Boston Globe
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