Which Presidential Candidates Oppose Medical Marijuana?

California is home to more than 1,000 medical marijuana dispensaries, with annual sales of medical cannabis topping $1.3 billion. That’s a big industry, but it’s still a conflicted one. Marijuana is a Schedule I drug under federal law, along with heroine, ecstasy, LSD, and peyote; that’s the most serious class of drugs. As evidenced by the spread of medical marijuana across 23 states and Washington, D.C. and the legalization of recreational pot in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C., attitudes about marijuana across the country are changing. About half of Americans support legalization today, compared to about 15% in 1990.

The Obama administration has defunded federal actions against medical marijuana dispensaries, but a new President may have different ideas about the future of medical marijuana in California. Where do the current frontrunners in the Presidential race stand on medical weed?

We’ll limit the discussion to the candidates currently polling higher than 5%.

Democrats

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in 2016. She has so far refrained from taking a strong stance on federal medical marijuana policy, but has expressed support for states choosing to grant access to medical pot. In the October debate, she claimed to support the use of medical marijuana but says she wants to wait and see what happens in California and other medical-marijuana states before attempting to make any changes or decisions at the national level. She had given no opinion on recreational marijuana.

Bernie Sanders

Of all the candidates for 2016, Bernie Sanders has come out most strongly in favor of medical marijuana. He has also stated that he would vote “yes” to recreational marijuana, citing concerns about mass incarceration and abuses of the criminal justice system. At the end of October, he announced his support for the idea of taking marijuana off the federally controlled substance registers, allowing states to legislate on the issue as they see fit. That would also remove the threat of federal prosecution for those using or selling medical (and recreational) marijuana in states that chose to legalize it.

Republicans

Donald Trump

Donald Trump has changed his stance on marijuana several times over the years, but most recently he has said that he supports the idea of leaving marijuana legislation to the states. He has come out firmly against the use of recreational marijuana, but tentatively supports the use of medical marijuana. He has also suggested waiting to see how total legalization affects Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. before making any decisions.

Ben Carson

Carson has taken a stronger stance against weed than Trump. He has stated that there are some medical uses for marijuana, but strongly opposes the idea of legalization. He frequently refers to marijuana as a “gateway drug” and has asserted that he would escalate the War on Drugs. His exact stance on medical marijuana is unclear, but he would likely allow for some form of medical use.

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio has expressed tentative support for the possibility of medical applications for marijuana, assuming it goes through an FDA approval process and has no psychoactive components. At the same time, he has stated that he would enforce federal law even in states that have changed their own laws to allow for medical or recreational use, which could pose a threat to the medical marijuana industries in California and other states. He is strongly against total legalization.

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz takes a somewhat different stance on marijuana laws from the other Republican candidates discussed so far. He has expressed support for allowing the states to make their own choices regarding medical and recreational cannabis use. He references the idea of states as “laboratories of democracy,” where individual states can experiment with changes in the laws and other states can see what happens and choose whether to follow suit. He has also stated that he is personally against marijuana use and would vote against it on a ballot.

Jeb Bush

Personally, Jeb Bush has expressed strong anti-marijuana opinions. He is also on the board of the Drug Free America Foundation, a group dedicated to combating the use of illegal drugs in general and marijuana in particular. At the same time, he has asserted that he supports the right of states to make their own decisions on the issue. Like Ted Cruz, he has noted that he would vote against legalization if it came up on a ballot in his state.

The Bottom Line

Every single candidate has expressed some support for medical marijuana use. Ben Carson is probably the candidate most strongly opposed to marijuana in general, and even he has tentatively supported the idea of medical marijuana use. Carson and Rubio may attempt to change the regulation of medical marijuana if elected, but neither has made a strong statement about wiping it out altogether. Every other candidate on the ballot supports either medical cannabis itself or the right of states to choose their own policies in that area. In other words, the 2016 election is not likely to have a serious impact on medical marijuana in California or anywhere else.

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