CLINTON: Heroin is a major epidemic. I would like the federal government to offer $10 billion over ten years to work with states.
O'MALLEY: The number of heroin deaths is growing significantly. We have to tell doctors who are prescribing opiates that we cannot have this huge number of opiates out there.
SANDERS: Today we have more people in jail than any other country on earth, 2.2 million people. Predominantly African-American and Hispanic. We are spending $80 billion a year locking up Americans. I think we need a major effort to come together and end institutional racism. We need major reforms of a broken criminal justice system. What does that mean? It means that we have to rethink the so-called war on drugs which has destroyed the lives of millions of people, which is why I have taken marijuana out of the Controlled Substance Act. So that it will not be a federal crime.
Van Ostern and Connolly called for decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, with Connolly saying he would sign such a measure as governor.
A: Strongly Oppose - These findings are consistent with the idea of marijuana as a "gateway drug." However, most people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, "harder" substances. Also, cross-sensitization is not unique to marijuana. Alcohol and nicotine also prime the brain for a heightened response to other drugs and are, like marijuana, also typically used before a person progresses to other, more harmful substances.
A: No, This is a subject that has worked quite well for Colorado. NH should seriously consider learning from that state.
I strongly encourage the Task Force to approve Governor Hassan's full package of recommendations, which address key objectives like improving access to treatment, providing law enforcement with new tools and resources, and establishing drug courts that have proven instrumental in helping to fight this scourge. Every day we delay another life is lost, a family is destroyed, and a community is sent into mourning. We must act now.
I strongly encourage the Task Force to approve Governor Hassan's full package of recommendations, which address key objectives like improving access to treatment, providing law enforcement with new tools and resources, and establishing drug courts that have proven instrumental in helping to fight this scourge. Every day we delay another life is lost, a family is destroyed, and a community is sent into mourning. We must act now.
Van Ostern and Connolly called for decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, with Connolly saying he would sign such a measure as governor.
Marchand: We need to continue to provide the resources that continue to give a suite of services to those in the midst of recovery, beyond simply detoxification of the addictive substance. Until recently, I think a lot of people in the world of politics saw recovery as largely detoxification. The reality is that if we simply just detoxify people and then we put folks back in a situation where addiction became the norm, the likelihood of relapsing is really high. I priced it out last year in that it would be an additional $8 to 10 million a year of resources that would provide a level of stability for local and regional recovery centers. I think it's a relatively low amount of money, that would improve lives, reduce costs, and directly address what New Hampshirites say is the most important issue facing us.
Marchand: I do favor the legalization, regulation, and taxation of marijuana. I do feel it would have a net positive impact in terms of lowering costs for law enforcement and judicial entities. I also think that it will improve health outcomes and reduce addiction rates, and it will generate revenue.
A: The good news is that the solution is not a ton of money, necessarily. It is some legislative changes, it is more effective use of the state's database. Some of it, frankly, is cultural. It requires that we have to be more aggressive in fully funding drug courts, to really get us in a position where we're not trying to punish and incarcerate, we're trying to rehabilitate and get towards recovery. And the wait list is where the real problem is--we have 13 health zones in the state--in most of those we have a waiting list. We have people on a weekly basis dying, waiting on the waiting list. So I sat down with a bunch of people trying to start recovery centers around the state, and did budgets with them. I asked them to price it out. The price tag? Smaller than you'd think--typically about $300,000-$500,000 a year on average, per recovery center. This is an $8-10 million initiative that I've been looking at.
A: I favor the legalization of marijuana. First of all, I do not think it's a gateway drug to other drugs. Second, we have seen lots of studies that we actually reduce use in certain groups. You legalize it, you regulate it, you tax it. We can actually help public health by reducing its use under 21 and doing it responsibly for those that, frankly, already doing it over the age of 21.
That means ensuring that the 70 open State Police positions are filled. Addressing the actual opioid crisis, he said, should be done through economics. "I think that comes with creating opportunities in this state. So people all have a chance to make a living and have a good life."
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| 2024 Presidential contenders on Drugs: | |||
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Candidates for President & Vice-President:
V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA) Chase Oliver(L-GA) Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA) Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL) Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH) Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN) Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ) |
2024 presidential primary contenders:
Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE) N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R) N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R) Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R) S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R) Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R) Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN) U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN) Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH) S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R) | ||
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