The Marijuana Policy Project reports that Hillary Clinton has called for an end to harassment of physicians who attempt to prescribe medicinal marijuana in states where it is legal but opposed by the Bush administration.
Two prominent presidential contenders have moved in opposite directions on the issue of federal attacks on medical marijuana patients, as America’s second largest cancer charity, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, came out strongly for protection of medical marijuana patients. Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) called for an end to federal raids in states where medical use of marijuana is legal, while Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) backtracked on an earlier promise to end the raids.
During a Manchester campaign on July 13, Len Epstein, a volunteer for Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana (GSMM), told Sen. Clinton, “Twelve states allow medical marijuana, but the Bush administration continues to raid patients,” to which she responded, “Yes, I know. It’s terrible.” Epstein then asked, “Would you stop the federal raids?” Sen. Clinton responded firmly, “Yes, I will.”
The following day in Claremont, Sen. McCain held a town hall meeting at which he was asked about his stance on medical marijuana. When asked in April about ending the medical marijuana raids, McCain had responded, “I will let states decide that issue.”
Bill Richardson has previously demonstrated his support for legalization of medicinal marijuana, while Rudy Guiliani has opposed it. John Kerry supported legalization of medicinal marijuana in 2004. Ron Paul is the only Republican candidate that I’m aware of taking a stand against the drug war while at least two of the four leading Democratic candidates have defended medicinal use of marijuana.
In the Clinton years, police overreach in the name of the Drug War shredded much of what remained of the Bill of Rights. And those most frequently caught in its web were not the “drug kingpins” legislators claimed to be going after. Mothers, fathers, small-time dealers, medical-marijuana users and even children were caught in a criminal- justice system so overgrown no one is immune to the new powers Johnny Law uses to protect us from ourselves. And while much of the horror heaped on the American public has occurred at the state and local levels, the tenor of the times begins at the top-which places the responsibility squarely at Bill Clinton’s feet.
When Bill and Hillary Clinton took office in January 1993, the violent CIA-born crack epidemic of the late 1980s was already subsiding. Nonetheless, the galloping expansion of police powers and the prison system didn’t skip a beat, and law enforcement shifted to a new emphasis on marijuana. When Bill and Hillary Clinton entered office, the prison population-local, state and federal-was about 1.3 million. As he left, that number had ballooned to over 2 million, the highest rate of incarceration-as well as the highest total number behind bars-in a democratic state in the history of the world.
BTW, the above article fails to provide a link to Ron Paul’s stance against the illegal Drug War that has put almost 1,000,000 harmless people behind bars.
http://www.pressesc.com/01184177937_marinuana_friendly
Agree the Clinton record is not very good, but I still think it is worthwhile to mention when someone like Hillary does take the correct stand. If nothing else, it gives us something to point to if she doesn’t keep her word.
I’ll add the link on Ron Paul to the post as many more people read the actual posts as opposed to comments.