This primary season, social media and news outlets have been buzzing about the radical, pro-legalization stance that Bernie Sanders is taking on cannabis reform. However, it seems that in order to keep up, Hillary Clinton is changing her tune on legal marijuana in order to appeal to her voting demographic.
In previous speeches, Clinton had stated that she felt cannabis had potential for medical benefit and should be researched, but that she did not support decriminalization and would not stand behind any sort of recreational reform. She also made a point of keeping her comments vague, saying only that more research needs to be done before any decisions can be made on the subject.
However, last month Clinton went out of her way to express further support of cannabis. She reinforced her views on research, stating that she now believes the substance has benefits without a doubt.
“I think we need to be very clear about the benefits of marijuana use for medicinal purposes. I don’t think we’ve done enough research yet,” she explained.
She has also previously stated that while the verdict is still out on how things will go in Washington and Colorado, she feels that the states are “laboratories of democracy,” and prime examples of how our nation should go about making legal changes.
This change in opinion more than likely reflects the current political climate for the Democratic party. Democrats have recently been expressing support for cannabis both medically and recreationally, and Obama made history by becoming the first president to allow states to legalize cannabis for recreational use. Since the next election is shaping up to be very much a race based on issues, Clinton seems likely to reach more of Sander’s supporters if she loosens her stance on things like marijuana legalization.
Clinton entered the race as a more conservative Democratic candidate, but has been expressing increasingly liberal views as the race moves forward. If Hillary is successful and makes it into office, she may well overshadow her husband’s infamous “I didn’t inhale” comments by implementing some much needed reform.
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