Kucinich Says Legalize It

drcnet.org

Dec 19--For the first time since the days of Jimmy Carter, a prominent presidential candidate has called for an end to marijuana prohibition. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a progressive and therefore long-shot candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, quietly announced on his campaign web site last week that, if elected, he would end federal prohibitions on the use of marijuana by adults and would instead move to regulate it like alcohol.

"Statistical evidence shows that marijuana use follows a pattern very similar to that of alcohol," wrote Kucinich. "Most marijuana users do so responsibly, in a safe, recreational context. These people lead normal, productive lives -- pursuing careers, raising families and participating in civic life... A Kucinich administration would reject the current paradigm of 'all use is abuse' in favor of a drug policy that sets reasonable boundaries for marijuana use by establishing guidelines similar to those already in place for alcohol... A Kucinich administration would work to implement a drug policy that removes responsible recreational users and medical users of marijuana from the criminal justice system, in order to redirect resources toward the following goals:

Visit http://www.kucinich.us/issues/marijuana_decrim.php to read the full text of Kucinich's marijuana plank online.

Visit http://www.kucinich.us/issues/drugwar.php to read Kucinich's overall drug policy reform stances.