Two recent polls have shown a big surge by Bernie Sanders, turning the Nevada caucus on Saturday into a dead heat. In such a close race, is it possible that marijuana legalization supporters could tip the scales in favor of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the more progressive candidate on federal cannabis policy?
The Washington Free Beacon poll was the first Silver State poll to show neck-and-neck race, giving both candidates 45% while a CNN/ORC poll has Clinton up by just 1%. New national polling also shows the race neck-and-neck, with Sanders actually the better general election candidate, worrying many Clinton backers who have seen her huge lead slip away.
Marijuana legalization will be on the Nevada ballot this November and it has a great chance of passage. Voters in the state supported medical marijuana by large margins, both in 1998 (59%) and 2000 (65%). With legalization polling at 58% nationwide and the successful passage in four states and our nation’s capitol, Nevada seems poised to join the growing group of states that want to treat marijuana similar to beer and wine.
There are many reasons to support either Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. Most Hillary supporters seem to cite her experience as the number one reason for supporting the former First Lady, New York Senator and Secretary of State. Most Bernie supporters cite his honesty and that he “cares about people like me.” In Nevada, the economy is the number one issue to most likely voters, according to the CNN/ORC poll and Bernie Sanders is carrying those voters 52% to 43%. Marijuana legalization could be a boon for a tourist destination like Nevada, possibly tipping the scales in favor of the anti-establishment Sanders.
Senator Sanders stated that he would vote for the Nevada marijuana legalization measure when the candidates were asked about the issue at the Democratic debate in Nevada last October: “I would vote yes because I am seeing in this country, too many lives being destroyed for nonviolent offenses. We have a criminal justice system that lets CEOs on Wall Street walk away and yet we are imprisoning or giving jail sentences to young people for smoking marijuana. I think we have to think through this War on Drugs which has done an enormous amount of damage. We need to rethink our criminal justice system and we have a lot of work to do in that area.”
Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton wasn’t ready to support ending the failed and harmful policy of cannabis prohibition. The Democratic front-runner at least touted support for the medical use and the need to improve the criminal justice system, but her incremental, rather conservative approach, isn’t likely to satisfy cannabis legalization supporters.
The next president is very important for the cannabis community and Drug War reform in general. Bernie Sanders has since proposed bills banning federal for-profit private prisons and ending federal cannabis prohibition. Hillary Clinton’s call to move marijuana to Schedule II, the same federal level as cocaine simply isn’t good enough and is out-of-touch with Democratic voters.
Classifying marijuana in the same category as cocaine ignores the major issue.https://t.co/mgmHtbXhtz
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 8, 2015
Ending federal prohibition, will have a dramatic impact upon our entire criminal justice system as state prosecutions will decrease without federal incentives to wage war against nonviolent citizens, who happen to be disproportionately poor and people of color. If voters in Nevada want to ensure that the will of the voters is fully implemented and to dramatically improve our criminal justice system, then they should caucus for Bernie Sanders and join us that already #FeelTheBern.
