Senator Marco Rubio was on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning discussing a wide range of topics of concern to his bid for the Republican Party’s nomination for President. Towards the end of the interview, moderator Chuck Todd posed a question to Rubio submitted by a Facebook viewer. The question was how Rubio felt about states legalizing marijuana.
If you like weed, you might not like his answer (starts at the 33 minute mark):
For those of us who have been following along, his answer should come as no surprise. Here are a few quotes from Marco Rubio on marijuana courtesy of StopTheDrugWar.org:
“Marijuana is illegal under federal law. That should be enforced.” —ABC News, May 15, 2014
“The bottom line is, I believe that adding yet another mind-altering substance to something that’s legal is not good for the country, I understand there are people that have different views on it, but I feel strongly about that.” —Yahoo! News, May 19, 2014[Spokesman]: “Senator Rubio believes legalization of marijuana for recreational use is a bad idea, and that the states that are doing it may well come to regret it. Of course, states can make decisions about what laws they wish to apply within their own borders.” —Politico, Jan. 31, 2015
“I’m against the legalization of marijuana.” —C-SPAN, Feb. 27, 2015
[When asked if he would enforce federal law and shut down regulation in Colorado:] “Yes. Yes, I think, well, I think we need to enforce our federal laws. Now do states have a right to do what they want? They don’t agree with it, but they have their rights. But they don’t have a right to write federal policy as well. It is, I don’t believe we should be in the business of legalizing additional intoxicants in this country for the primary reason that when you legalize something, what you’re sending a message to young people is it can’t be that bad, because if it was that bad, it wouldn’t be legal.” —Hugh Hewitt Radio Show, April 14, 2015
It’s hard to believe with four states and DC with legal marijuana, and with as many as eight more states looking to legalize in 2016, that GOP candidates like Marco Rubio and Chris Christie would take a position that will ensure that they will never become President. It’s time for elected officials and candidates for office to understand that the marijuana voting bloc is powerful, and continuing to grow every day.
It’s not about getting high. It’s about freedom, smaller government, and the economy. All issues Republicans say they support.
