USA Today: on Drugs


Deval Patrick: 2012: As governor, opposed pot decriminalization

In July 2012, Patrick declared that "warehousing non-violent offenders is a costly policy failure" and proudly signed a bill that offered parole to a few hundred non-violent drug offenders. But despite the governor's rhetoric, Massachusetts continued rounding up and locking away vast numbers of people caught with prohibited substances. Patrick strongly opposed decriminalizing marijuana.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary Nov 27, 2019

Andrew Yang: Fines and judgements to fund treatment of opioid crisis

Andrew's first step is to decriminalize personal use amounts of opioids so that individuals can be referred to treatment instead of arrested and placed in jail. After that, utilizing fines and judgments against the companies that created this epidemic, we should fund treatment centers and give everyone who needs it access. The government was complicit in this, and so Andrew believes we have a moral duty to address it.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary Nov 7, 2019

Lincoln Chafee: Not proud of trying cocaine as college student

Referring to the media's ''dogged'' pursuit of George W. Bush's possible drug use, the younger Chafee decided to be forthcoming with his own cocaine use when asked about it. ''I had three choices: lie, which was not an option, or evade it and receive the consequences of that, or be honest. And I chose to be honest,'' Chafee said. Chafee said he tried cocaine several times around 1974, as a student at Brown University. ''It's not something I'm proud of,'' Chafee said.
Source: USA Today on 2020 presidential hopefuls Aug 23, 1999

  • The above quotations are from Columns and news articles in USA Today.
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2020 Presidential contenders on Drugs:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Sep 23, 2022