Toward the end of last year, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts announced that she was contemplating a presidential run in 2020. Considering the controversy stirred over the past couple of years by President Trump, this potential bid for the Democratic nomination appears to be a nicely timed political move. Still, some question whether Warren isn’t “likable” enough to win the hearts of the American people.
It doesn’t hurt, however, that she has become a relatively strong voice for marijuana reform in the United States. Now that well over 60 percent of the population supports the concept of legal weed, the next presidential candidates, regardless of whether they are a man, woman, Democrat or Republican, will need to be on board with ending prohibition across the nation or else run the risk of getting snuffed out.
RELATED: Elizabeth Warren Reveals How Jeff Sessions ‘Catalyzed’ Marijuana Legalization
But just how far would Warren go with pot reform if elected? And is it enough to go toe-to-toe with Trump’s flighty support on the issue?
Although Warren says she has never smoked marijuana, she is all for pot reform. The last major piece of legislation the lawmakers cozied up to was called the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act. The bill was designed to remove federal controls from those states that legalized marijuana.
The measure wouldn’t legalize marijuana nationwide, but it would keep Uncle Sam’s nose out of the scene enough to allow cannabis banking solutions and eliminate the possibility of any kind of federal crackdown – no matter how unlikely such a thing is at this juncture. “The federal government needs to get out of the business of outlawing marijuana,” she said last year in a statement regarding the STATES Act.
But it appears Warren would go all the way on the issue. She is also connected to the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana at the national level and lead to the expungement of criminal records associated with certain degrees of marijuana offenses.
Still, it has become clear that protecting the rights of states to legalize marijuana is most important factor right now. Warren understand this.
Last year, back when former Attorney General Jeff Sessions took his disdain for marijuana a step further by rescinding an Obama-era memo (Cole) put into place to allow states to experiment with marijuana legalization, Warren was part of a campaign demanding the memo be restored. The communication asserted that giving states this assurance would “create a pathway to a more comprehensive marijuana policy that respects state interests and prerogatives.”
RELATED: Watch Elizabeth Warren’s Video Supporting Cannabis Law Reform
Some Democratic lawmakers believe President Trump might use marijuana reform to secure the election in 2020. During his first campaign, Trump said that he was in favor of medical marijuana and believed legalization should be left up to individual states. Still, Trump is responsible for putting cabinet members in place that has made it difficult for the cannabis trade to operate with ease. The best we’ve gotten from him so far was earlier last year when he told reporters that he would “probably” sign the STATES Act if it crossed his desk. But as much as he flips on his word, it would be nothing for him to come out all of a sudden in favor of full-blown legalization.
It’s still too early to tell how the marijuana legalization issue will fit in with the 2020 election.
If she would happen to snatch the Democratic nomination, Senator Elizabeth Warren could end up being a favorite. New York Times columnist Krugman wrote this week that while he isn’t sure she deserves to be president, “she is what a serious policy intellectual looks and sounds like in 2019.”
