Bernie Sanders has increased his lead on Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire according to the latest NBC/Marist poll. The progressive insurgent candidate that many cannabis law reform advocates have rallied around, has been the target of criticism from Clinton surrogates in recent day. Sanders responded that Clinton’s campaign must be “nervous” if they are taking shots at him.
According to the NBC/Marist poll, the Vermont Senator leads the former Secretary of State, by 9 points in the first primary state of New Hampshire. NBC reports:
Bernie Sanders has jumped out to a nine-point lead over front-runner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, and he’s gained ground on her among Iowa voters in the Democratic presidential race, according to a pair of brand-new NBC News/Marist polls.
In New Hampshire, the Vermont senator gets the support of 41 percent of Democratic voters, Clinton gets 32 percent and Vice President Joe Biden gets 16 percent. No other Democratic candidate receives more than 1 percent.
Back in July’s NBC/Marist poll, Clinton was ahead of Sanders in the Granite State by 10 points, 42 percent to 32 percent, with Biden at 12 percent.
These polling results are good news for Sanders and the cannabis law reform advocates that support him. Sanders’ proposed bill to abolish private prisons and willingness to legalize marijuana at the federal level have drawn cannabis activists to his cause. Clinton has not been in line with the Democratic base, or the independents that are likely to vote Democrat, on sensible cannabis laws, even opposing decriminalization in 2008. Fortunately, like many candidates, Clinton seems to have moderated her view; cannabis advocates will certainly continue pushing her to evolve her cannabis policy, aided by Sander’s surge. With the fate of four states’ legalization laws on the line, not to mention the twenty-plus medical states and the new states that will liberalize their marijuana laws in 2016, this presidential election is vitally important to the cannabi community. Recent polls, both on presidential candidates and marijuana law in general demonstrate good news for the cannabis community and our momentum shows no signs of slowing down at this point.
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.
