Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2015: on Drugs
Chris Christie:
Allow private sector to offer drug treatment programs
Q: Critics note that while you support drug treatment programs for addicts, you have opposed building more state drug treatment centers in New Jersey and they note that in 2013, only 10% of people seeking drug treatment in
New Jersey could be accommodated, they also note that you want to repeal Obamacare, which has expanded insurance coverage for people with mental health problems or with substance abuse problems.
Isn't there a contradiction there?CHRISTIE: No, a few things. First off, more people are getting drug treatment today in New Jersey than ever before. We have 21 drug courts in all 21 of our counties.
Secondly, I don't want this to be purely a government solution. By putting more money into our treatment budget we allow the private sector to come in to be able to provide this kind of treatment.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Nov 8, 2015
Chris Christie:
Treatment, not jail, for drug addicts; it's a disease
Q: A video went viral this week of you talking about criminal justice, more treatment than imprisonment for people that suffer from drug addiction. What's your larger point?CHRISTIE: My larger point,
is that this is a disease. People who are committing violent acts, who are dealing drugs, they need to go to prison. But for the addicts, the people who are small-time users, we need to give them treatment. Although, I'm opposed to drug legalization.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 Coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Nov 8, 2015
Donald Trump:
Yes to medical marijuana; otherwise, decide state by state
In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state. Marijuana is such a big thing. I think medical should. And then I really believe we should leave it up to the states.
And of course you have Colorado. There's a question as to how it's all working out there, you know? That's not going exactly trouble-free.
Source: Washington Post 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Oct 29, 2015
Ben Carson:
Exposure to marijuana results in decreased IQ
Carson has said he's a fan of the war on drugs, and he told "The Blaze" he would "intensify it." He also supports medical marijuana "in compassionate cases." At a June campaign event in Colorado, he noted that "regular exposure to marijuana in
the developing brain has been proven to result in a decreased IQ. The last thing we need is a bunch of people running around with decreased IQ." Therefore, he says, he'd enforce federal drug laws in which the use of marijuana is considered a crime.
Source: Mother Jones 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Oct 28, 2015
Carly Fiorina:
I don't support legal pot, but I support states' pot choice
Fiorina has come out against marijuana legalization under all circumstances, but she also supports states' rights. "I don't support legalized marijuana for a whole host of reasons, including the fact that this is a very complex chemical substance,
and when we tell young people it is just like drinking a beer, we are not telling them the truth," she told the Hill in June. "But I think Colorado voters made a choice, I don't support their choice, but I do support their right to make that choice."
Source: Mother Jones 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Oct 28, 2015
Donald Trump:
1990: Drug enforcement is a joke; 2015: only medical pot
The GOP front-runner's position has changed over the years. In 1990, he was quoted in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune as saying that US drug enforcement efforts were "a joke" and that drugs should be legalized to "take the profit away from these drug czars."
Fast-forward 25 years and now Trump is opposed to legalization. "I say it's bad," he told the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in June, in response to a question about
Colorado's legal weed. "Medical marijuana is another thing, but I think [recreational marijuana] it's bad. And I feel strongly about that." But what about states' rights? "If they vote for it, they vote for it.
But they've got a lot of problems going on right now, in Colorado. Some big problems. But I think medical marijuana, 100 percent."
Source: Mother Jones 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Oct 28, 2015
Marco Rubio:
Medical marijuana could be OK, but not recreational use
Q: How do you feel about state legalization of marijuana?RUBIO: Well, I've said that I'm open to medicinal uses of anything, and particularly marijuana. And if, in fact, it goes through the
FDA process and you can come up with a proven medicinal benefit to that substance, I'm open to that. I'm not in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana, and I never have been.
Q: Would you then use the federal government to supersede the laws of states that have legalized?
RUBIO: Well, federal government needs to enforce federal law.
Q: You would enforce the law?
RUBIO: Absolutely. I believe the federal government needs to enforce federal law.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Aug 9, 2015
Jim Gilmore:
I'm not a legalization guy
I'm not a legalization guy. I think that it's not a substance, it's a lifestyle, and a quality of life and approach that I'm afraid I can't adhere to. I understand that some people are able to use marijuana in a
recreational way and it probably doesn't hurt society, but at the end of the day, I don't believe we ought to be legalizing and putting the legitimacy of the state on to substance abuse.
Source: WMUR 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Jul 19, 2015
Lincoln Chafee:
Taxing legal pot to fix potholes is appealing
Let's take it step by step. We want to see how it's working in Colorado. Certainly, the revenue is enticing for all governors. Somebody was saying to me with the bad weather we've had back home and all the potholes,
we should have the revenue go to infrastructure--pot for potholes. Fix up our roads and bridges and fill our potholes.
Source: Green Rush Daily 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Jul 16, 2015
Marco Rubio:
No responsible way to recreationally use marijuana
Rubio believes there is "no responsible way to recreationally use" marijuana, saying he thinks legalization of the substance would be "bad for the country." In an interview, Rubio was asked whether he had ever smoked pot: "Here's the problem with that
question in American politics: If you say that you did and suddenly there are people out there saying 'Well, it's not a big deal. Look at all these successful people who did it,'" Rubio said. "I don't want my kids to smoke marijuana.
And I don't want other people's kids to smoke marijuana. I don't believe there's a responsible way to recreationally use marijuana."
He continued: "On the other side of it, if you tell people you didn't they won't believe you.
The bottom line is, I don't think people should smoke marijuana." The senator has previously dodged the pot question, saying his own experience is "irrelevant" to drug policy.
Source: Huffington Post 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
May 9, 2015
Rick Santorum:
Colorado has no right to violate federal drug laws
Colorado is violating the federal law. And if we have controlled substances, they're controlled substances for a reason.
The federal law is there for a reason, and the states shouldn't have the option to violate federal law. As Abraham Lincoln said, you know, states don't have the right to wrong.
Source: Bustle.com 2015 weblog on 2016 presidential hopefuls
Apr 27, 2015
George Pataki:
OK to legalize if we can contain addiction and kids' access
I would not be adverse to changing the law if we could guarantee there was no spillover to, three things actually--no spillover to adjacent states, protection for minorities that are ironclad, and the third is there's no increase in dependency as a
result of that. If all of a sudden we see the state that legalizes it is resulting in much higher dependency costs that the federal government has to pay for, I think the federal government has the right to say you can't do that.
Source: HughHewitt.com 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Apr 23, 2015
Mike Bloomberg:
No legalization; pot lowers IQ by 5 to 10 points
When an audience member at the Aspen Institute asked Bloomberg about Colorado marijuana, he responded that it was a terrible idea, one that is hurting the developing minds of children.
Though he admitted to smoking a joint in the 1960s, he said the drug is more accessible and more damaging today: "What are we going to say in 10 years when we see all these kids whose
IQs are 5 and 10 points lower than they would have been?" he asked. "I couldn't feel more strongly about it, and my girlfriend says it's no different than alcohol.
It is different than alcohol. This is one of the stupider things that's happening across our country."
Source: Aspen Times 2015 coverage of 2016 Presidential hopefuls
Feb 9, 2015
Ted Cruz:
I foolishly smoked pot when young, but never since
Sen. Ted Cruz's team admitted the tea party Texan smoked marijuana when he was a teen -- but never since. And he's hardly the only top-ranking politico, Republican or Democrat, to confess to the drug use in recent days."Teenagers are often known for
their lack of judgment, and Sen. Cruz was no exception," one of Mr. Cruz's campaign spokesman told The Daily Mail. "When he was a teenager, he foolishly experimented with marijuana. It was a mistake, and he's never tried it since."
Source: Washington Times 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Feb 4, 2015
Page last updated: Nov 30, 2021