Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson promised Monday that he would not use marijuana if elected to the White House.
“The notion of getting that call at midnight or two o’clock — people need to know there’s a firm voice on the other side,” Johnson said in an interview with the Hill.
Johnson has been open about his past recreational marijuana use, admitting to using it “as recently as a month ago,” but said he will be abstaining for the rest of his campaign and if he wins.
Before running for president, Johnson was an executive at a marijuana company. Though he supports its legalization, he doesn’t favor legalizing other drugs. Johnson, who said he hasn’t consumed alcohol for almost 30 years, called legalizing marijuana a “safer alternative” to alcohol and other substances linked to drug abuse.
Johnson said there have been no documented deaths associated with medicinal marijuana, whereas medicinal painkillers and antidepressants take the lives of 100,000 per year.
Previously the governor of New Mexico, Johnson became the Libertarian candidate after receiving more than half of the votes at the Libertarian National Convention last month.
