States such as Oregon and Colorado have led the way, and now there is new hope for the nationwide legalization of marijuana.
The plant, which has long been federally illegal to possess, is finding new inroads with state legislatures who see the success of decriminalization and outright legalization of marijuana in the locales that have already taken the pot plunge.
Mayor Pete Buttigieng of Indianapolis, who is currently running for the Democratic nomination in 2020, has now come out in favor of the end of weed’s prohibition.
Many Democrats seeking to unseat President Trump in 2020 are calling for decriminalizing marijuana possession on the federal level — including South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who told reporters Wednesday he’s tried the drug a “handful” of times in the past.
“I have, a handful of times, a long time ago, and I’ve also encountered a lot of people whose lives have really been shaken by the old war on drugs approach,” Buttigieg told Fox News in Las Vegas.
Nevada legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2017. Several other states have made similar moves, although the drug is still considered illegal on the federal level.
Buttigieg’s ambitious proposal has been to “decriminalize all drug possession” while expanding access to addiction treatments and improving drug-abuse and mental-health treatment.
This heavily libertarian approach to drug policy has simply infected the liberal left as of late, thanks to the opportunities provided in locales that have moved froward with their own native laws.
Well over half of the states in America have laws allowing some form of legal or decriminalized marijuana.
