The days of “just say no” are over. Now candidates across the political spectrum are embracing legal pot.
Marijuana reform is “the rare bipartisan issue” in this year’s presidential election, said The Wall Street Journal. Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have offered support for easing restrictions — Trump has said he’ll vote for legal weed in Florida’s upcoming referendum on the issue, while Harris has vowed to legalize the drug — putting cannabis “on surer footing than ever.” More than two dozen states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult marijuana use. But the industry says more reforms are needed. “Democrats want this, Republicans want this — both sides should be able to come together and have something reasonable happen,” said one executive.
Advocates and opponents now cross party lines. In Florida, Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith — a Republican — made an ad backing that state’s referendum, said Florida Politics. Legalization will “let us focus on serious crime, making our streets and neighborhoods safer,” Smith said. But Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is fighting the proposal, said NBC News. The one-time GOP presidential candidate is campaigning against the referendum, one observer said, “as if it’s his own name on the ballot.”
What did the commentators say?
It’s “good politics” for Harris to back pot legalization, and it’s “good for the country, too,” Robert Gebelhoff said at The Washington Post. Two-thirds of voters — including more than half of Republicans — favor federal legalization. Now Democrats can argue against the government “micromanaging people’s personal consumption habits” while promoting new regulations that rein in newer versions of weed that have 20 times the levels of THC than the drug did 40 years ago. Anybody who misses the old days of prohibition? “Good luck with that.”
Florida’s weed referendum makes it easy to buy a “socially harmful substance,” Charles Fain Lehman said at The Wall Street Journal. “That breeds the kind of disorder Mr. Trump is known for standing against.” There is a difference between decriminalization — not sending people to jail for possessing small amounts of marijuana — and “commercial legalization, which allows businesses to sell marijuana directly to consumers.” That removes “all checks” on pot consumption: The likely result is “disorder and dysfunction.”
What next?
Support for legal weed isn’t unanimous: Florida’s Catholic bishops have urged a no vote on the referendum. They increasingly stand alone. An “overwhelming” number of Americans — 88% — say marijuana “should be legal for medical or recreational use,” said Pew Research Center. There are some partisan differences. Republicans are likelier than Democrats to “cite downsides” of legal recreational weed. Even then, just 17% of Republicans say marijuana should be completely illegal.
“The U.S. is divided when it comes to state and federal marijuana policy,” said The Associated Press. While some states have legalized the drug, it still technically remains illegal under federal law. The overwhelming voter consensus means that the divide could be “coming to an end,” said AP. In the meantime, state efforts roll on: Along with Florida, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota all have ballot initiatives this fall allowing some sort of marijuana legalization.