The 2016 Presidential Candidates Thread

Democratic Presidential Candidate Martin O'Malley Governor of Maryland just threw his hat in the ring for president in the 2016 election. Kind of a no go on legal cannabis unfortunately, as the Governor he was a no vote on the legal green. So he will be a no vote for me.

Rand Paul has been vocal about being for legal bud, but he has a lot of other obstacles to overcome for me to vote yes on his behalf.

We know what New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's opinion about cannabis - hell no! I think he declared his run for president? He has all the George Washington Bridge problems to deal with - too bad, we know he won't win anyway because of that. There will always be doubt in the public's mind about his truthfulness.

I'm hoping Obama uses his presidential powers to legalize or a least take cannabis off the list of the most dangerous drugs linking it with drugs like heroin and meth. Lately it looks like he's wimped out in that, I'm still a little optimistic one of the last things he does before leaving office. Kinda like "America this one is for you".

Here is Rand Paul, he almost looks "cool" then he opens his mouth and talks about segregation.


Sen. Rand Paul talks with patrons during a campaign stop at a diner

EDIT
I hope we can have a civil conversation without this thread getting shut down. Now mind your manners and you know who you are.

Obama has nothing to lose by trying a late push to remove cannabis from the Schedule One list. How any candidate can support the current canna-hypocrisy is beyond me. The majority of the voters in Florida approved MMJ yet that STILL wasn't enough. Too much hypocrisy. Even my connect voted NO. He thinks it will put him out of business. I say go legit!

Follow the money, unfortunately pot consumers don't have the PAC type funds that the prescription drug, alcohol and private prison systems do. Doing the right thing is always subservient to getting or holding onto power if it were not we would all be legal already.

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/where-the-2016-presidential-candidates-stand-on-116920750826.html

Unfortunately they are all bunch of hypocrites and liars, carefully calculating their statements, flipping if they think it will help, etc. The worst is Jeb Bush. No, I'm wrong, Christie is worse: he pretends he never tried pot. Uh huh.

CarolKing said:

Democratic Presidential Candidate Martin O'Malley Governor of Maryland just threw his hat in the ring for president in the 2016 election. Kind of a no go on legal cannabis unfortunately, as the Governor he was a no vote on the legal green. So he will be a no vote for me.

Rand Paul has been vocal about being for legal bud, but he has a lot of other obstacles to overcome for me to vote yes on his behalf.

We know what New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's opinion about cannabis - hell no! I think he declared his run for president? He has all the George Washington Bridge problems to deal with - too bad, we know he won't win anyway because of that. There will always be doubt in the public's mind about his truthfulness.

I'm hoping Obama uses his presidential powers to legalize or a least take cannabis off the list of the most dangerous drugs linking it with drugs like heroin and meth. Lately it looks like he's wimped out in that, I'm still a little optimistic one of the last things he does before leaving office. Kinda like "America this one is for you".

Here is Rand Paul, he almost looks "cool" then he opens his mouth and talks about segregation.

Sen. Rand Paul talks with patrons during a campaign stop at a diner

EDIT
I hope we can have a civil conversation without this thread getting shut down. Now mind your manners and you know who you are.

Click to expand...

Rand Paul maybe?
Bernie Sanders I like his position!
Hilary Clinton I don't know?

Presidential Candidate Rand Paul To Hold Reception At Marijuana Industry Event
Posted by Johnny Green at 10:30 AM on June 20, 2015Major Cannabis Events, Marijuana Business News


It wasn’t that long ago that expressing support for marijuana reform was considered to be political suicide. That’s not to say that there weren’t political candidates that supported marijuana reform in the past, because there certainly were. However, those candidates were considered to be so far in the minority that they were on the fringe at best. That all changed in 2012. In 2012 two states legalized marijuana, and the game changed forever. Zoom forward to 2015, and candidates are not only expressing support for reform, they are trying to push legislation that will help the industry too. At the

Read More

I really like Bernie Sanders so far anyway. I do like Rand's support for cannabis though.
CK

Presidential Candidates Get Graded on Marijuana: Guess Who Passed and Who Failed?
Here are the positions of all the candidates on pot policy.

By Phillip Smith / AlterNet

June 29, 2015

Marijuana is already legal in Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Oregon (as of Wednesday), and Washington. With legalization initiatives looming this year and next in states as diverse as Michigan, Ohio, Maine, Massachusetts, California, Nevada, and Arizona, marijuana policy is most definitely on the agenda in the 2016 presidential election campaign.

Candidates and presumed candidates from both parties have staked out a wide array of positions on the issue (although none have taken the bold step of actually advocating for legalization). Now, thanks to the Marijuana Policy Project, we have a scorecard to keep them all straight.

The pro-legalization advocacy group has released its Voters Guide to the 2016 Presidential Race, detailing the candidates’ positions on marijuana policy and assigning them grades based on where they stand. The candidates were graded on actions they have taken and statements they have made indicating their support for ending pot prohibition, allowing legal access to medical marijuana and defending states' rights to set their own marijuana policies.

(continue reading on AlterNet.org)

I'm not sure who is behind the article above, but there are some cherry-picked quotes that do not accurately reflect the various, shifting positions the candidates have held, especially Rand Paul, who is all over the map, one minute complaining that Obama/Holder didn't enforce federal anti cannabis laws and the next implying something else.

Postscript:
I think we have to discount what the candidates say now about weed. Nowadays getting elected prez is a process of identifying a coalition of demographics that allow the candidate a path to a win, and then tailoring the candidate's positions to pander as much as possible to those demographics. I say this without pleasure. This is simply the way our process works at present. So for example back in 2008 candidate Obama 'didn't approve' of gay marriage. He used a lot of code words to indicate that if only he could be candid..., but his team had, correctly one presumes, calculated who they had to have in the tent to win, and some of those people weren't fond of gay marriage, so... He claims to have evolved since then. Yup. And they are all, every last candidate, doing this! Democracy as we have it now is a shitty process. It's better than anything else but that doesn't make it pretty. You have to look at the totality of a candidates views and the way their party is trending. Right now marijuana is just a small pawn in a larger game which mostly involves two sides, one abetting the 1% in controlling government, economy, everything really, and another side which (at least to some extent) is trying to look out for the 99%. Marijuana prohibition is on the way out. It's obvious to everyone. The presidential candidates will likely have little effect on the outcome or timing of the end of federal prohibition.

I agree, I'm not sure how Rand Paul honestly thinks about cannabis. This article is from a while back.

Marijuana activists say Paul's claim about ambition, health and IQ are wrong.
By Steven NelsonJuly 11, 2013 | 2:43 p.m. EDT+ More.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., takes questions Monday, July 1, 2013, from about 40 Owensboro Tea Party members in Owensboro, Ky.

Ahead of his Thursday visit to Nevada, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., reiterated his personal opposition to marijuana use. Pro-pot activists say Paul is spreading misinformation about the drug.

"I personally think that marijuana use is not healthy," Paul told the Las Vegas Sun in an interview published Wednesday. "People that use it chronically have a loss of IQ and a loss of ambition, but at the same time states have the right to make these decisions."

Marijuana activists tell U.S. News that Paul's claims about ambition, health and IQ are wrong.

"It's unfortunate, but Senator Paul is basing his opinion about marijuana on "Reefer Madness"-fueled fear-mongering instead of sound science," said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, a group that lobbies in favor of medical marijuana. "Contrary to Senator Paul's unscientific assessment... there are more than 200 peer-reviewed studies that clearly show marijuana's medical efficacy."

CarolKing said:

I agree, I'm not sure how Rand Paul honestly thinks about cannabis. This article is from a while back.

Marijuana activists say Paul's claim about ambition, health and IQ are wrong.
By Steven NelsonJuly 11, 2013 | 2:43 p.m. EDT+ More.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., takes questions Monday, July 1, 2013, from about 40 Owensboro Tea Party members in Owensboro, Ky.

Ahead of his Thursday visit to Nevada, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., reiterated his personal opposition to marijuana use. Pro-pot activists say Paul is spreading misinformation about the drug.

"I personally think that marijuana use is not healthy," Paul told the Las Vegas Sun in an interview published Wednesday. "People that use it chronically have a loss of IQ and a loss of ambition, but at the same time states have the right to make these decisions."

Marijuana activists tell U.S. News that Paul's claims about ambition, health and IQ are wrong.

"It's unfortunate, but Senator Paul is basing his opinion about marijuana on "Reefer Madness"-fueled fear-mongering instead of sound science," said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, a group that lobbies in favor of medical marijuana. "Contrary to Senator Paul's unscientific assessment... there are more than 200 peer-reviewed studies that clearly show marijuana's medical efficacy."

Click to expand...

Rand Paul was my choice until his flip floping comments are becoming confusing?
Bernie Sander is my favorite for the moment!
Steve Jobs smoked pot?

Bernie Sanders is someone I've been looking at well.

But Sanders, the former four-term mayor of Burlington, Vermont, gave onlookers a hint at what’s to come in his Reddit AMA today.

“Let me just say this,” Sanders started in reponse to a question about his position on the drug war. “The state of Vermont voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and I support that. I have supported the use of medical marijuana. And when I was mayor of Burlington, in a city with a large population, I can tell you very few people were arrested for smoking marijuana.

“Our police had more important things to do.”

Bernie Sanders is a likeable candidate and perhaps the least likely to tailor and trim his views to pander to some demographic. However much of what is so attractive about him - his independence, his disinclination to compromise or tailor his basic ideas - does not in practice work out all that well as a leader pumping out useful legislation in coordination with congress. Sanders' inability or lack of desire to play politics is not a skill which is good for the leader the United States. Like it or not, politics is a dirty business. Some of the best practitioners, like Abraham Lincoln or Lyndon Johnson, are highly skilled at forming alliances, rewarding the unconvinced with favors, threatening them with punishments, etc. I like Bernie but don't see him as an effective executive in this setting. He has no constituency in congress. Great pols are operators, like Bill Clinton. Some of the traits that make people think Bill is sleazy, or flips, or makes unsavory bargains or whatever, those are actually what it takes to lead in a democracy. Democracy is messy and many of the greatest political accomplishments involve some sleazy favors, fibs and back slapping. I am not proud of it but this is how it actually works.

ataxian said:

Steve Jobs smoked pot?

Click to expand...

It certainly wouldn't surprise me. This is what Jobs had to say about taking LSD:

“Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.”

ataxian said:

Steve Jobs smoked pot?

Click to expand...

Not only did Steve Jobs smoke pot, he also experimented heavily with LSD and claims it helped open up his creative mind that may not of been possible without psychedelics. He has talked openly on this topic to the media several times in the past..

I like this vide of Bernie.

What I'd like to know is why on earth did our prez decide not to help take it off the scheduled list. Or at least off Sched I. Can anyone politely explain what exactly happened?

I feel the same way but Obama's term in office isn't over yet. I'm still holding out hope for him to change the status of cannabis before he leaves office.

I'm so glad that Trump is turning into a train wreck. He was a train wreck already but it's a lot better than expected. He continues to put his foot in his mouth. What a damn Latino racist.


His kids have to be embarrassed.

Trump Goes On A Race Rant

He said, "Mexico isn't sending its best they are sending its rapists, thieves and murderers." He then went on and on.

Trump said he has several agenda items should he become president, and his top item is to destroy the Islamic State.... In a lightning round with [Sean] Hannity, Trump also said that he is pro-life, with the exceptions of cases involving the life of the mother, rape, or incest; against legalized marijuana, unless it's medical marijuana, which he supports; and he believes Hillary Clinton botched Benghazi, her husband is a "nice guy" with a lot of problems coming up; and Obama is "an incompetent pres

He's back peddling now.

The comedians will have a field day with this guy. He's the GOP's "Bull in the China shop" prez candidate.

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said he would crack down on legal regimes in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon if he becomes president.

Another presidential contender, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, said federal laws against marijuana use should be enforced.

That's why it ain't over yet, it could take a big reversal.

CarolKing said:

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said he would crack down on legal regimes in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon if he becomes president.

Another presidential contender, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, said federal laws against marijuana use should be enforced.

Click to expand...

I really believe that the "Next Generation" (our generation and younger) will decide the presidential vote largely on this very pivotal issue - you're either with us or against us.

I'm in a medical state, but we have three petitions for legalization here. But they all come with catches, in some cases it seems just like more ways to arrest us and more rules to follow. One ends the medical program altogether, with a republican cartel growing for us. And with legalization comes big money with agendas not in line with users, but in line with those who hope to profit off users.

I think I'll miss these days soon. Legalization should just make it legal, and not another way to arrest people, or force them to buy from cartels.

i know this clip is 5 months old but it is still worth a listen


there are too many political opinion shows to watch more than a few. this kid isn't too bad

Notice how Rand Paul tries to skate around the issue and have it both ways. The punishments should be reduced, he says (the beatings will continue, but of shorter duration!). So does he support legalization? He can't say that and be a rebumblican so he says he'll defer to the states. But in the past he has criticized Obama/Holder for not enforcing federal laws in states that legalized! Paul is a tool out of the Palin wing of the party. Thankfully, he can't win the nomination or the election because he will reliably put his foot in his mouth, given half an opportunity.

Rand Paul thinks it's unfair that minorities are locked up for cannabis in hugely disproportionate numbers, though they consume it at similar rates to whites. So he's for justice, right? Right up to the moment he says it's ok for states to do that if they wish. Same thing with lesbian, gay, bi, trans. He has 'zero tolerance' for discrimination against these people. Except of course if the owner of a private business offering public accomodation wants to discriminate. Then he flops and is in favor of the right to discriminate, presumably based on religious grounds. Same thing with racial discrimination in general. He is vaguely against it. But when you get down to the details he'll defend to the death the people's right to discriminate. Putz! He is on every side of every issue, depending on who he is talking to, and of course every utterance is littered with caveats, equivocations, evasions, bolt holes. etc. He is deceiving people. If you look at his core views, such as a flat tax, it's obvious he wants us to return to a feudal aristocracy. He doesn't want to control accelerating inequality in society, he wants to enable its acceleration (pretty much like all other Republicans, it has to be admitted).

I've always found it odd that most Republicans, who are so big on "states rights", want the federal government to intervene in states where marijuana is legal for medical and/or recreational purposes. Marijuana legalization is, in theory, actually a conservative position. Republicans say they love small government, keeping the government out of our lives, and no "Nanny State." Well, here's their chance to prove their "Conservative" ideals.