Bernie Sanders says legalize it, don’t criticize it.
The independent senator and 2020 presidential primary contender announced on Thursday his plan to legalize marijuana by executive order within the first 100 days of his administration should he win the White House.
Sanders, whose home state of Vermont in 2018 legalized possession of one ounce of pot and let each adult resident grow two plants for personal use, has long been a supporter of decriminalizing marijuana nationwide. He’s argued that the criminalization of the drug has ravaged communities of color and created an unequal incarceration rate.
“Too many lives were ruined due to the disastrous criminalization of marijuana,” Sanders wrote in a tweet announcing his plan.
Too many lives were ruined due to the disastrous criminalization of marijuana. Today I am releasing my plan to:
✅ Legalize marijuana with executive action
✅ Expunge past marijuana convictions
✅ Invest in communities most affected by the War on Drugs https://t.co/0xQSHn6F3U— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 24, 2019
Along with legalizing marijuana nationwide, Sanders also proposed expunging all past marijuana-related convictions and funneling some of the revenue from the legal marijuana business into communities hardest hit by the so-called War on Drugs. – READ MORE