Marijuana Decriminalization Shaping Up To Be A Major Issue In 2016 Presidential Race

Although several high powered politicians, including President Obama, have admitted to using marijuana in their younger years, the issue of whether or not to decriminalize the drug at a federal level has put politicians’ past behaviors under the public microscope.

Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush’s admission that he smoked marijuana in high school has sparked a debate as to whether or not his stance against decriminalization of the drug is hypocritical. Although Bush has since said his experimentation with marijuana was a mistake that he regrets, those who support more lenient punishments for non-violent drug offenders say Bush was protected by his upbringing and never had to suffer the consequences that he wants to enforce.

On Friday, Senator Ron Paul used  a Boston Globe article detailing Bush’s history with the drug to chip away at his arguments against decriminalization. Paul has been a supporter of the decriminalization of marijuana and is one of the few Presidential candidates who is behind legalizing the drug at a federal level.

Marijuana is shaping up to be a major issue in the 2016 presidential race as more and more states begin to revise their laws and allow medicinal and recreational usage. The growing momentum behind legalizing pot is forcing the Federal Government to take a look at its own legislation, causing a divide among policymakers. President Obama has said he believes marijuana should be considered a public health problem alongside tobacco or drunk driving, but Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch said she plans to maintain the drug’s illegal status if confirmed.