JD Vance on Drugs

Rated C by NORML: "Not a fan" of recreational marijuana

NORML Politician Info: rated C

J.D. Vance (R - OH) Holds office U.S. Senate

• When asked about Ohio legalization, he said he is "not a fan of recreational marijuana," adding that he thinks "that where you've seen [cannabis] legalized you see youth usage rates go up, you see traffic fatalities go up." (11/10/23)
• "The SAFER Banking Act could pave the way for more widespread marijuana use and federal legalization. The Department of Justice also noted that this bill could facilitate money laundering. I am worried that this could open the door for other illicit activities, like the trafficking of fentanyl and methamphetamines, to access depository insurance." (10/26/23)
• During a campaign event in Wisconsin, Vance said he spoke to a police officer who told him that "we’ve got fentanyl in our marijuana bags that our teenagers are using," echoing a claim about laced cannabis that’s been routinely contested by advocates and certain state regulators. (8/16/24)

Close the border to end drug trafficking zone

[Is that true that drugs come across the southern border?] Most of the fentanyl seized by U.S. border authorities is seized at official checkpoints, not in between ports of entry. Drug policy and immigration experts have told PolitiFact that physical barriers at the border probably won't stop drugs from coming in, because drug cartels find ways around them--including through tunnels and under legal goods in trailer trucks that seek to cross the border legally. Annual fentanyl seizures at the southwest border have been steadily increasing since at least fiscal year 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration has reported.

Border wall would stop flow of fentanyl

Vance said, "What have you actually done to reduce the flow of fentanyl so that people like my family are not as affected by this terrible addiction crisis?"

Tackle drug epidemic, eliminate drugs coming into community

2017: Founded non-profit to fight the opioid epidemic

Plenty of politicians seek to bolster their image by pointing to their philanthropic efforts. In reality, though, it's not clear what, if anything, Vance has achieved through his charity. A review by Insider of Our Ohio Renewal's tax filings showed that in its first year, the nonprofit spent more on "management services" provided by its executive director -- who also serves as Vance's top political advisor -- than it did on programs to fight opioid abuse. The group, which has shut down its website and abandoned its Twitter account after publishing only two tweets, says it commissioned a survey to gauge the needs and welfare of Ohioans, but Vance's campaign declined to provide any documentation. A spokeswoman for Ohio's largest anti-opioid coalition told Insider that she hadn't heard of Vance's organization.

Addictions based on grim future without hope

I was one of those kids with a grim future. Whatever talents I have, I almost squandered until a handful of loving people rescued me. That is the real story of my life. From low social mobility to poverty to divorce and drug addiction, my home [in Appalachia] is a hub of misery.

Prescription "hillbilly heroin" was invited, not invaded

Folks back home speak of heroin like an apocalyptic invader, something that assailed the town mysteriously and without warning. Yet the truth is that heroin crept slowly into Middletown's families and communities--not by invasion but by invitation.

Very few Americans are strangers to addiction. Shortly before I graduated from law school, I learned that my own mother lay comatose in a hospital, the consequence of an apparent heroin overdose. Yet heroin was only her latest drug of choice. Prescription opioids--"hillbilly heroin" some call it, to highlight its special appeal among white working-class folks like us--had already landed Mom in the hospital. In our community, there has long been a large appetite to dull the pain; heroin is just the newest vehicle.