Sen. Bernie Sanders says he suspects he would vote “yes” on a bill legalizing recreational marijuana in Vermont.
“I would vote ‘yes’ because I am seeing in this country too many lives being destroyed for nonviolent offenses,” Sanders said in the Democratic debate sponsored by CNN Tuesday evening. “We have a criminal justice system that lets CEOs on Wall Street walk away, and yet we are imprisoning and giving jail sentences to young people who are smoking marijuana.”
His chief opponent, Hillary Clinton, hasn’t said whether pot should be allowed for recreational use. She didn’t take a position on the question Tuesday either, although she said states have an “opportunity” to decide that question for themselves.
Instead, Clinton also emphasized that Americans shouldn’t be imprisoned for using marijuana, saying she agrees with Sanders that too many people are locked up for nonviolent offenses.
“I agree completely with the idea that we’ve got to stop imprisoning people who use marijuana,” she said.
Several states have recently legalized medical marijuana for recreational use, while others including California allow it only for medical purposes. Clinton said she supports pot for medical reasons, adding that more research is needed to determine how to best use it.
The question of legalizing marijuana took up several minutes at the last Republican debate, in which Jeb Bush admitted that he used the drug in his past. Clinton has said she has never smoked pot.
