The subject of marijuana has been a very important matter debated upon in the United States and it is indeed a national issue that has featured in most elections. The upcoming elections are not an exception. Due to the ever growing trend experienced in the cannabis industry, key politicians in the caliber of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have also declared their stand on the issue. Both the recreational and medical marijuana legalization will be present on the ballot in 9 of the US States come November 8, 2016. This time round, there has been a lot of development and increased interest in the marijuana industry. Surprisingly, both the democratic candidate and the republican candidate for the upcoming elections seem to have the same stand on the subject of weed legalization.

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have expressed their support for the use of medical marijuana and are pursuing the federal government to allow voting on decriminalization of marijuana in many more states. As of today, recreation marijuana is legal in only four states and there have been ongoing reforms on medical cannabis laws in about 24 states. However, for Donald Trump, he has never had a firm stand on the issue throughout his life even before he became a presidential candidate. In recent times, Trump expressed his support for the rights of the states to make a choice on how to legislate the medical uses of marijuana but has not evidently called for its decriminalization. He believes that on issues to do with marijuana and its legalization, it was more of a state issue rather than a national issue. However, he acknowledges that it is a big matter and is of the opinion that it should be accepted on medical grounds. He has been very careful not to force this on anyone or campaign for its acceptance at the federal level.

Marijuana Politics and their Influence

Politicians led by Donald Trump agree that people have serious conditions that can be addressed through the use of medical marijuana. For Trump, he really believes that it does help in dealing with these health complications and the symptoms too. This is a stand that seems to have changed looking at what he said in 1990. Back then, he believed that the legalization of the cannabis industry in Colorado was a real issue in an interview with O’Reilly. However, he is of the opinion that the war on drugs can only be won if the United States goes ahead to legalize them.

For his running mate, Mike Pence, he has had a somewhat different opinion saying that he does not support the legalization of marijuana. The State from which Pence comes from has very harsh sentencing laws linked to the trade of marijuana. Hiding in the premise of being a state matter, Trump has been taking calculated steps towards matters connected to the marijuana issue. On the campaign’s website, Trump scored a C+ on the legalization of marijuana.

The democratic nominee on her part is also not silent on the issue and she has pledged her support for states that are in the move towards both recreational and medical cannabis. She has also expressed her desire to see the removal of marijuana from schedule 1, something that DEA turned down in August, 2016. That way, scientists alongside policymakers would gain access to marijuana and use it for further research. There is a lot of evidence about marijuana pros and cons and the pros seem to overweigh the cons and looking at what this drug can do to people affected by cancer and other chronic ailments inducing pain in their lives, medical marijuana is receiving support for its use. Politics of the day seem to positively impact the outcome on the vote on marijuana in the near future.