This story is part of a multipart series about under-the-radar campaign issues.
All it will take is a quick neighborhood stroll for the next resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to confront the United States’ stunningly inconsistent marijuana laws. The president cannot legally light up a joint at home, of course — it’s federal property, after all — yet a private party down the street would be chill, thanks to the District of Columbia’s legalization vote. But, even there, POTUS couldn’t legally buy any weed. How far might he or she go to address it come 2017?
States and municipalities have enacted a mishmash of laws and regulations in recent years, from allowing full recreational use to allowing only possession of cannabis oil with a doctor’s approval. The Obama administration has de-emphasized marijuana enforcement, and a legal industry has started to flourish in some states. That’s been good news for one of those seeking the presidency this fall: Libertarian Gary Johnson, who was CEO of a marijuana business before launching a second run for president. An avid user — he says he’ll swear it off in the White House — Johnson counters Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the more pro-pot candidate.
But for marijuana to have a prominent place in a general election — an election that will likely rest on the economy and an uncertain world — would all but require Johnson to be a bigger presence. If he can clear the required 15 percent polling bar, he is expected to force the issue in the debates, though his campaign did not respond to OZY’s requests for comment on the matter. But short of a debate moment or an interviewer looking for an unusual question, “neither candidate will likely say the word ‘marijuana’ again,” says Allen St. Pierre, former executive director of the pro-legalization National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
This issue — full legalization — splits the generations.
Larry Sabato, the head of the University of Virginia Center for Politics
Well, cannabis is a very big issue for some — including for supporters of former U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Source: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
America’s scattershot approach to this topic is part of a global debate about the drug. In Canada last year, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party platform included a pledge to legalize marijuana. It was part of an ultimately successful generational contrast between the then-43-year-old candidate and the anti-pot incumbent, Stephen Harper. (Trudeau’s win did not bring an immediate about-face, granted, though Canada could pass a legalization program next year despite being on shaky legal ground with multiple foreign drug treaties.) Meanwhile, several European and Latin American nations are embracing marijuana reform, which tends to enjoy public support. Uruguay President José Mujica legalized marijuana a couple of years ago and left office in 2015 with a high approval rating — about 70 percent.
But there’s very little political upside for either Trump or Clinton to force the issue, says Larry Sabato, the head of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “This issue — full legalization — splits the generations,” Sabato says. Older people, on the one hand, boast higher voting rates and are leery of legalization. Younger voters, meanwhile, form the hard core of campaign volunteers and are in favor. “So,” says Sabato, “most candidates like to sidestep the issue by focusing on medical marijuana.”