Bernie Sanders wants to talk about marijuana and looks to Colorado

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he plans to make marijuana an issue in the 2016 presidential campaign — and he is looking to Colorado for guidance.

In an interview with The Denver Post, the Democratic candidate said he supports the legalization of medical marijuana and his home state’s effort to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

On Saturday, as he traveled to a campaign rally at the University of Denver, Sanders said he wanted to learn more about Colorado’s legalization of recreational pot before he talks about what he wants to see happen at the national level.

“It’s something that we are going to look at,” he said. “In fact, I do want to talk to some people tonight and tomorrow to get a sense of what is going on in Colorado. We will be talking about this issue.”

In a recent Reddit conservation, Sanders said when he was mayor of Burlington, Vt., “very few people were arrested for smoking marijuana. Our police had more important things to do.”

Vermont is one of the states considering legalizing marijuana. A delegation of elected and state officials traveled to Denver in February to meet with Colorado officials and tour marijuana facilities.

“Colorado has led the effort toward legalizing marijuana and I’m going to watch very closely to see the pluses and minuses of what they have done,” Sanders told supporters on Reddit.

In a 2014 Time magazine interview, Sanders downplayed the issue saying the legalization of recreational pot “is not one of the major issue facing this country.”


http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2015/06/23/bernie-sanders-marijuana-legalization-colorado/121410/