The times they are a-changin'. Seriously.
In a move that's as logical as it is politically savvy, Hillary Clinton has just come out in support of the rescheduling of marijuana at the federal level:
"What I do want is for us to support research into medical marijuana because a lot more states have passed medical marijuana than have legalized marijuana, so we have got two different experiences or even experiments going on right now," Clinton said. "The problem with medical marijuana is there is a lot of anecdotal evidence about how well it works for certain conditions. But we haven't done any research. Why? Because it is considered that is called a Schedule 1 drug and you can't even do research in it."
She added, "I would like to move it from what is called Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 so that researchers at universities, national institutes of health can start researching what is the best way to use it, how much of a dose does somebody need, how does it interact with other medications."
This is a new position for Clinton, who in the past has said she wanted to spur research but has never endorsed reclassifying the drug.
Marijuana is currently categorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule 1 drug, the highest categorization for drugs "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."
While this is just one step in the right direction, it's a big one. The other two Democratic candidates have already gotten to this point (or even further), but like we saw recently with pharmaceutical and private prison stocks… when Hillary talks, people listen. It's almost as if just about everyone knows that she's going to be the next president.
Calling for the long-overdue removal of marijuana from Schedule 1, along with her already-stated support of states being the laboratories for legalization, is a strong common-sense general election position that will rally the youth and drive Republicans absolutely nuts. Let's also remember that this is happening alongside her focus on dealing with the addiction epidemic and ending the era of mass incarceration.
Take a moment to let this sink in.
The person who will most likely be the next President of the United States recognizes that our country has a major drug problem, but it's not pot...and she's going to take action unless our current president beats her to it. Also, she's perfectly fine with states legalizing it for recreational purposes if they so choose.
Have we come a long way since the Nixon years or what?
x YouTube VideoOriginally posted at HillaryHQ.com
