Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: 'DeSantis' Opposition To Marijuana Decriminalization Is Wrong'

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed Sunday that if he becomes president he would decriminalize marijuana on the federal level.

What happened:  Following the recent revelation from Ron DeSantis (R) that he would not support cannabis reform if elected, RFK Jr. tweeted he was wrong to oppose it.

Why it matters: DeSantis argued that there are too many people in this country already using drugs, but he seems unaware of various studies that confirm how cannabis legalization doesn’t increase youth usage rates. For example, a 2021 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded “Consistent with estimates from prior studies, there was little evidence that [recreational marijuana laws] or [medical marijuana laws] encourage youth marijuana use.”

JFK Jr. also highlighted another important issue – the contradiction between federal and state laws, especially now that 23 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use for adults 21 years and older and some 38 states have legal medical marijuana programs. By clashing federal and state laws, problems occur in various areas such as banking, jobs at federal agencies, whether registered medical marijuana users are allowed to obtain a firearm, if medical marijuana in nursing homes and assisted living conditions is legal, and many more.

What’s next: It seems that it all depends on who’s elected. But that doesn’t necessarily need to be the case, as constant advocating for a cause on a large scale can sometimes make the difference. 

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons and Matthew Sichkaruk on Unsplash