2018 WI Senate race: on Drugs


Leah Vukmir: Keep marijuana a Schedule 1 drug; no medical use

Q: Legalize or decriminalize marijuana?

Tammy Baldwin (D): Yes. Early supporter of medical. Sponsored bill to remove federal penalties & let states decide.

Leah Vukmir (R): No. Opposes recreational use & believes that "as a Schedule 1 drug. it has very little medical use."

Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Wisconsin Senate race Oct 9, 2018

Tammy Baldwin: Legalize medical marijuana; let states decide

Q: Legalize or decriminalize marijuana?

Tammy Baldwin (D): Yes. Early supporter of medical. Sponsored bill to remove federal penalties & let states decide.

Leah Vukmir (R): No. Opposes recreational use & believes that "as a Schedule 1 drug. it has very little medical use."

Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Wisconsin Senate race Oct 9, 2018

Leah Vukmir: Don't let our veterans down, like with opioids at Tomah VA

Vukmir met with veterans, heard their concerns, and then criticized Baldwin over her response to the opioid scandal at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

"Make no mistake about it: Tammy Baldwin let our veterans down at the Tomah VA," said Vukmir, a state senator from Brookfield. "To have sat on a report, to have been the only person in this congressional delegation to have known that a doctor was over-prescribing opioids, a veteran died and many others became addicted, to me, it's unconscionable."

The Tomah VA was wracked several years ago by a scandal involving over-prescription of opioids. Republicans accuse Baldwin of failing to act in 2015 on problems at the facility. Baldwin disciplined top aides for bungling whistleblower complaints about the facility, including sitting on an inspector general's report. Since then, Baldwin co-sponsored legislation that toughened opioid prescription guidelines and pushes education for VA providers.

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on 2018 Wisconsin Senate race Sep 19, 2018

Ron Johnson: Death penalty for drug dealers

Q: At a rally last night, the president made the case for the death penalty for drug dealers. Let's listen to this.

(VIDEO CLIP): TRUMP: When I was in China and other places, I said, "Mr. President, do you have a drug problem?" "No, no, no, we do not." I said, "huh, big country, 1.4 billion people, right? Not much a drug problem." I said, "What do you attribute that to?" "Well, the death penalty." So, honestly, I don't know that the United States, frankly, is ready for it. They should be ready for it.

(END VIDEO) Q: Now, the death penalty for drug dealers, is that something that you agree with? And should we be following China's lead when it comes to criminal justice?

JOHNSON: I would say we probably should not be following China's lead when it comes to criminal justice. I'm a supporter of the death penalty, but only in those types of instances where we absolutely are 100% certain that the person is 100% guilty. I'm not sure it would be applicable to drug offenses.

Source: CNN interviews for 2018 Wisconsin Senate race Mar 11, 2018

Leah Vukmir: More law enforcement grants to prevent drug flow into WI

State Sen. Leah Vukmir and state Rep. John Nygren released legislation that would give law enforcement more tools to address the heroin and opioid epidemic facing Wisconsin:

"As a member of Governor Walker's Task Force on Opioid Abuse, I am pleased to join my colleagues as we unveil legislation that builds on the Legislature's efforts to combat opioid abuse in Wisconsin," said Vukmir who has more than 20 years' experience as a nurse practitioner. "It is critical that our communities have the tools necessary to combat the rising problems that stem from heroin abuse."

The legislation focuses on providing law enforcement training grants targeted at preventing drug flow into Wisconsin, offers funding for programming to prevent substance abuse, and gives grants to counties for medical-assisted treatment. This legislation will strengthen our law enforcement efforts and save lives. Additionally, the bill creates regional drug prosecutors to assist local District Attorney's prosecuting drug crimes.

Source: Urban Milwaukee on 2018 Wisconsin Senate race Jan 19, 2018

Leah Vukmir: Opposes stronger penalties for drunk driving

The debate provided a rare chance to see Vukmir at a non-scripted event and on the same stage with her opponent. She has campaigned door-to-door in her district, but has mostly avoided debates, press events and interviews.

The debate questions, presented by two panelists, covered a wide range of issues, including clean energy (he's for it, she's against it), high-speed rail (he's for it, she's against it) and stronger penalties for drunk driving (he's for them, she's against them).

Source: Wisconsin Gazette on 2018 Wisconsin State Senate debate Oct 20, 2010

  • The above quotations are from 2018 Wisconsin Senate race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Drugs.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Tammy Baldwin on Drugs.
Candidates and political leaders on Drugs:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R)
Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Jan 06, 2019