Hilary Clinton Supportive of Medical Cannabis, Open to Recreational Legalization

Hilary Clinton Supportive of Medical Cannabis, Open to Recreational Legalization

Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who many consider a potential frontrunner for the 2016 presidential election, has made one of her first public statements regarding medical cannabis and the recent legalization of recreational cannabis in Washington in Colorado.

“I think we need to be very clear about the benefits of marijuana use for medicinal purposes,” Clinton told CNN yesterday. “I don’t think we’ve done enough research yet, although I think for people who are in extreme medical conditions and who have anecdotal evidence that it works, there should be availability under appropriate circumstances.”

Although her statement doesn’t come off as incredibly supportive, it’s still a good sign that she understands that cannabis does have medical benefits, and that those who are seriously ill should have access to it.

On recreational legalization, Clinton sees Washington and Colorado as experiments, but doesn’t seem to be opposed to their recent legalization of cannabis for everyone (including tourists) 21 and older; “On recreational, states are the laboratories of democracy,” Clinton said. “We have at least two states that are experimenting with that right now. I want to wait and see what the evidence is.”

When asked if she’s ever tried cannabis, she says; “Absolutely not… I didn’t do it when I was young, I’m not going to start now.”

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released today found that 38% of registered voters would vote to make Hilary Clinton America’s next president; 37% said they would vote against her, with the remainder being undecided.

– TheJointBlog