I’ve been a huge supporter for Bernie Sanders’ political revolution as his call to end federal cannabis prohibition, reform the Drug War and tackle civil rights abuses have been far and away the best of any mainstream candidate, especially after Republican Rand Paul dropped out of the race. Hillary Clinton, evolving from her unfortunate rhetoric in the early 1990s and 2008 presidential primary positions, has seemingly improved on cannabis policy and other criminal justice reforms, but she still lags behind the Democratic Party and the nation on marijuana legalization.

As the delegate math was looking bleak for Bernie Sanders’ attempt to to overtake the Democratic front-runner, even before Clinton won four out of five states on April 26th, Sanders has thrown out Elizabeth Warren as a possible running mate, a name that makes progressives salivate. As The Los Angeles Times reports:

“Elizabeth Warren, I think, has been a real champion in standing up for working families, taking on Wall Street,” Sanders said in an interview with MSNBC.

The Democratic presidential candidate said it’s too early to commit to a possible running mate, but that he thinks there are “many” qualified women for the position. He also reiterated that a presidential candidate needs to have “the guts” to take on Wall Street, perhaps Warren’s chief issue.

“The women of this country, the people of this country understand that it would be a great idea to have a woman as vice president, something I would give very, very serious thought to,” he said.

A Sanders-Warren ticket makes a lot of sense for a ton of reasons. Both progressives have shared a common distaste for Wall Street corruption and are champions of ending income inequality. Elizabeth Warren, even with much in common with Sanders, is seen as the more pragmatic Senator and she could expertly describe what needs to be done to implement Sanders’ domestic vision of ending Wall Street abuses and any notion of businesses are allowed to be “too big to fail.”

For criminal justice reformers, Warren has moved in the right direction and is open to marijuana legalization. Of course, many Democrats long to see a woman in the White House and a Warren vice-presidency would set up the progressive senator as a future commander-in-chief. As much as progressives would love to see a Sanders-Warren team campaigning for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we will likely be left wondering if this proclamation from Bernie Sanders was too little too late.

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Anthony Johnson

Anthony, a longtime cannabis law reform advocate, was Chief Petitioner and co-author of Measure 91, Oregon's cannabis legalization effort. He served as director of both the New Approach Oregon and Vote Yes on 91 PACs, the political action committees responsible for the state's legalization campaign. As director of New Approach Oregon, Anthony continues to work towards effectively implementing the cannabis legalization system while protecting small business owners and the rights of patients. He sits on the Oregon Marijuana Rules Advisory Committee and fights for sensible rules at the legislature as well as city councils and county commissions across the state. Anthony helps cannabis business comply with Oregon's laws and advises advocates across the country. He also serves as content director of both the International Cannabis Business Conference and the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference, helping share the vision of moving the cannabis industry forward in a way that maintains the focus on keeping people out of prison and protecting patients. He was a member of the Oregon Health Authority Rules Advisory Committee, assisting the drafting of the administrative rules governing Oregon’s state-licensed medical marijuana facilities. He first co-authored and helped pass successful marijuana law reform measures while a law student at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. He passed the Oregon Bar in 2005 and practiced criminal defense for two years before transitioning to working full-time in the political advocacy realm. His blogs on Marijuana Politics are personal in nature and don't speak for or reflect the opinions of any group or organization.