Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign, 2016#Marijuana

Hillary Clinton Democratic presidential nominee Running mate: Tim Kaine

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There were more than a dozen potential and certified ballot measures relating to the legalization or regulation of marijuana in 2016. With a majority of Americans supporting the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, marijuana became a key social and criminal justice issue in the 2016 presidential election.^[1][2][3]

Proponents argued that legalization could lead to increased revenues for the state, improved health for consumers, and better law enforcement outcomes. Opponents were concerned with marijuana's potential impact on substance abuse, road safety, minors, and the environment.

See below what Hillary Clinton and the 2016 Democratic Party Platform said about marijuana.

Clinton on marijuana[edit]

• In 2016, Hillary Clinton received a grade of B+ from the Marijuana Policy Project for her support of medicinal marijuana research and the reclassification of marijuana as a Schedule II drug.^[4]
• According to her 2016 presidential campaign website, Clinton believed that federal law enforcement should be focused on violent crime rather than simple marijuana possession. It continued, "Marijuana arrests, including for simple possession, account for a large number of drug arrests. Significant racial disparities exist in marijuana enforcement—black men are significantly more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than their white counterparts, despite the fact that their usage rates are similar. Hillary will allow states that have enacted marijuana laws to act as laboratories of democracy and reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II substance."^[5]
• On November 7, 2015, Clinton proposed loosening restrictions on marijuana and rescheduling the drug in order to spur medical research. She said, "What I do want is for us to support research into medical marijuana because a lot more states have passed medical marijuana than have legalized marijuana, so we have got two different experiences or even experiments going on right now. The problem with medical marijuana is there is a lot of anecdotal evidence about how well it works for certain conditions. But we haven't done any research. Why? Because it is considered that is called a schedule one drug and you can't even do research in it." She recommended reclassifying the drug to Schedule II.^[6]
• Clinton said on October 14, 2015, that she would like Colorado to continue experimenting with marijuana policy. She said, “I really believe it’s important that states like Colorado lead the way so we can learn what works and what doesn’t work. I would certainly not want the federal government to interfere with the legal decision made by the people of Colorado.”^[7]
• In June 2014, Clinton said that she supported medical marijuana use “for people who are in extreme medical conditions." When asked about legalizing marijuana for recreational use, she said, "We have at least two states that are experimenting with that right now. I want to wait and see what the evidence is." Clinton said she would never try marijuana. "Absolutely not. I didn’t do it when I was young, I’m not going to start now," she said.^[8]
• Read what other presidential candidates said about marijuana.

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Hillary Clinton Marijuana Legalization. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

• Presidential candidates, 2016

Footnotes[edit]

v • e 2016 United States Presidential Election Overviews 2016 presidential election • 2016 presidential candidates • 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules • 2016 vice presidential candidates • Possible vice presidential picks Candidate profiles Hillary Clinton Donald Trump Jill Stein Gary Johnson Path to the presidency Republican Convention • Republican Primary Democratic Convention • Democratic Primary Policy positions Abortion • Defunding Planned Parenthood • Agricultural subsidies • Black Lives Matter movement • Budgets • Education • Energy and environmental policy • Federal assistance programs • Federalism • Foreign affairs • LGBTQ rights • Government regulations • Healthcare • Immigration • DACA and DAPA • International trade • Rural policy • Taxes On the campaign trail Ballotpedia's battleground poll • Campaign preparations • Political and leadership attributes • Presidential campaign trackers and opposition researchers Campaign staff Presidential campaign staff transfers, resignations and terminations • Staff leaks from 2016 presidential campaigns Clinton staffers • O'Malley staffers • Sanders staffers Bush staffers • Carson staffers • Christie staffers • Cruz staffers • Fiorina staffers • Huckabee staffers • Kasich staffers • Paul staffers • Rubio staffers • Santorum staffers • Trump staffers Debates PBS, February 11, 2016 (Milwaukee) • PBS, February 4, 2016 (Durham, N.H.) • NBC News, January 17, 2016 (Charleston, S.C.) • ABC, December 19, 2015 (Manchester, N.H.) • CBS, November 14, 2015 (Des Moines) • CNN, October 13, 2015](Las Vegas) February 13, 2016 (Greenville, S.C.) • ABC, February 6, 2016 (Manchester, N.H.) • Fox News, January 28, 2016 (Des Moines) • Fox Business, January 14, 2016 (North Charleston, S.C.) • CNN, December 15, 2015 (Las Vegas) • Fox Business, November 10, 2015 (Milwaukee) • CNBC, October 28, 2015 (Boulder) • CNN, September 16, 2015 (Reagan Library) • Fox News, August 6, 2015 (Cleveland) Analysis The media's coverage of Donald Trump • The media's coverage of Hillary Clinton Post-debate analysis overview Democratic: April 14, 2016 (CNN) • March 9, 2016 (Univision) • March 6, 2016 (CNN) • February 11, 2016 (PBS) • February 4, 2016 (MSNBC) • January 17, 2016 (NBC) • December 19, 2015 (ABC) • November 14, 2015 (CBS) • October 13, 2015 (CNN) Republican: March 10, 2016 (CNN) • March 3, 2016 (FNC) • February 25, 2016 (CNN) • February 13, 2016 (CBS) • February 6, 2016 (ABC) • January 28, 2016 (FNC) • January 14, 2016 (FBN) • December 15, 2015 (CNN) • November 10, 2015 (FBN) • October 28, 2015 (CNBC) • September 16, 2015 (CNN) Insiders Poll: First Democratic debate (October 13, 2015) • Presidential Nominating Index: Clinton remains choice of Democratic Insiders • Presidential Nominating Index: Bush remains choice of Republican Insiders • Insiders Poll: Winners and losers from the Fox News Republican Debate