Bernie Sanders signaled a distinct shift in the debate over drug policy in the US on Tuesday night, when he indicated he would support marijuana legalization.
When Sanders was asked during the Democratic debate in Las Vegas how he would vote in a referendum on marijuana legalization in Nevada if he had a vote, the Vermont senator said: “I suspect I would vote yes.”
Sanders added: “We have a criminal justice system that lets CEOs walk away and yet we are giving prison sentences to young people who smoke marijuana.” This represented a shift from past statements where Sanders said he would have to look at the success of a law legalizing the drug in Colorado.
This is the first time a major presidential candidate has said “he’d probably vote for legalizing marijuana if given the chance”, according to Tom Angell, a spokesman for the pro-legalization group Marijuana Majority. He added in a statement to the Guardian: “That says a lot about how far the politics on this issue have shifted in a very short amount of time.”
In contrast, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton declined to weigh in on the topic. When asked if she was “ready to take a position on full recreational legalization tonight,” Clinton simply responded: “No.”
Angell added: “Legalization is at the forefront of mainstream American politics, and politicians are starting to treat it as such.”
