Drug Policy

Donald Trump

Trump's Drug Policy (section page):

Trump has stated he does not drink, smoke, or use drugs.(DTI)

Marijuana

• Opposed marijuana legalization (DTS)
• In favor of medical marijuana (DTS)
• Believes in states' rights to decide whether to have marijuana or not (DTS)

Bernie Sanders

Bernie's Drug Policy (section page)

"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." - Bernie Sanders (DD3)

"I find it very strange that a major financial institution that pays $5 billion in fines for breaking the law, not one of their executives is prosecuted, while kids who smoke marijuana get a jail sentence." - Bernie Sanders (DD4)

"There is a responsibility on the part of the pharmaceutical industry and the drug companies who are producing all of these drugs and not looking at the consequence of it." -Bernie Sanders (DD4)

Bernie believes that the war on drugs has failed and instead of pursuing a path of punishment America should try to treat drug addiction. He supports medical marijuana and decriminalization of recreational marijuana. He believes that states should have the right to vote on full legalization. For hard drugs Bernie supports increased education and rehabilitation. (OTIBSD)

He also wants drug companies to take responsibility for the outcomes and uses of the drugs they bring to market, specifically opioids. (DD4)

Chris Christie

Christie | Drug Policy | (section page)

Focus on Treatment First with Expansion of Drug Courts:

Governor Christie has championed the use of drug courts in the state of New Jersey, which allow first time, non-violent offenders, the opportunity to get the treatment they need rather than serving jail time. The Governor expanded mandatory drug court for first time non-violent drug offenders across the state, and is calling for the expansion drug courts to every state.

• The rate at which drug court graduates are re-arrested for new offenses is 16% and the reconviction rate is 8%. This is compared to re-arrest rates for drug offenders released from prison, which stand at 54% with a re-conviction rate of 43%.
• An average institutional cost per inmate is approximately $38,900, whereas the cost for an active drug court participant is roughly $11,379.

Governor Christie also called for ending the current dysfunctional, ad-hoc approach for implementing drug courts being used on the federal level.

• As President, Christie would make drug court mandatory in all 94 federal districts. He will implement a system to review and analyze outcomes of the various drug court models and institute best practices guidance for federal judges and prosecutors.

(CCWJR)

Simplified Quotes

• Allow private sector to offer drug treatment programs. (Nov 2015)
• Treatment, not jail, for drug addicts; it's a disease. (Nov 2015)
• I support medical not recreational marijuana. (Sep 2015)
• Mandatory drug treatment, not jail, for first time dealers. (Sep 2015)
• Drug addiction is a disease: treatment instead of jail. (Apr 2015)
• Drug addiction is a disease & it can be treated. (Jan 2015)
• Drug courts: mandate treatment, not imprisonment. (Jan 2014)

(OTI:Drugs) Full quotes available on source.

Rand Paul

Paul's Drug Policy (section page)

Advocate of more rehabilitation and less incarceration

• Apply the 10th Amendment to allow states to make marijuana legal
• Bans on marijuana discriminate against lower income levels
• Higher levels of incarceration exist among poor children than wealthy children
• In addition to ending the over-criminalization of marijuana, Paul has risen awareness of another important issue among drug-related incarcerations - the unintentional racial outcome of the war on drugs
  • "Even though whites used drugs at the same rate as black kids, the prisons are full of black kids and brown kids. There are Republicans trying to correct this injustice." (OTI - DP)

Paul believes we should:

• Legalize medical marijuana
• Exclude industrial hemp from definition of marijuana
• Exempt industrial hemp from marijuana laws
• Support community treatment rather than federal anti-drug programs
• Deal with drug abuse on the state level (not a federally pressing issue)

(OTI - DP)

Ted Cruz

Cruz's Drug Policy (section page)

Marijuana

• Cruz does not personally support the legalization of marijuana but does support a state's right to legalize its use (HuffPost)
• However, has criticized the way Obama has dealt with state legislation that makes marijuana legal while under federal law it is still illegal (HuffPost)

Incarceration

• "As of February 2015, nearly half--49%--of [federal prison] inmates were sentenced for drug crimes. This has contributed to overcrowding. Federal prisons now house 39 percent more inmates than their capacity. It is far from clear whether this dramatic increase in incarceration for drug crimes has had enough of an effect on property and violent crime rates to justify the human toll of more incarceration. Given the undeniable costs and dubious benefits of mass, longterm incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders, Congress should take steps to give judges more flexibility in sentencing those offenders. The Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015, which was introduced by Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), and of which I am an original cosponsor, is a significant stride in that direction. Among other things, the bill lowers minimum sentences, cutting them in half, to give judges more flexibility in determining the appropriate sentence based on the unique facts and circumstances of each case." (OTI - D)
• Cruz has called for converting regulatory crimes to civil offenses (OTI - D)

Ben Carson

Carson's Drug Policy (section page)

Though Carson's official platform doesn't explicitly address marijuana legalization or other drug policies, he has mentioned the subject in interviews and during debates. Here are some quotes from those exchanges:

On preventing the spread of drugs

• One of his top priorities as president would be to seal the border with Mexico "to stop the flow of drugs and violence into the United States." (BCWBS)

Against marijuana legalization

• "Growing up in poverty, [Carson has] seen the crippling effects drug addiction can have. Gateway drugs, such as a marijuana, lead many down a road to harder illegal drugs, like heroin, that devastate the individual and the family. We must prioritize stopping the flow of illegal drugs into our neighborhoods and inner-city communities." (BCWM)
• "I think medical use of marijuana in compassionate cases certainly has been proven to be useful. But recognize that marijuana is what’s known as a gateway drug. It tends to be a starter drug for people who move onto heavier duty drugs—sometimes legal, sometimes illegal—and I don’t think this is something that we really want for our society." (The Atlantic)

Carly Fiorina

Fiorina's Drug Policy (section page)

Opposes marijuana legalization but respects states' choices

• "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. But I think Colorado voters made a choice. I don't support their choice, but I do support their right to make that choice." (Hill)

Drug addiction a serious problem

• "I very much hope I am the only person on this stage who can say this, but I know there are millions of Americans out there who will say the same thing. My husband Frank and I buried a child to drug addiction. So, we must invest more in the treatment of drugs." (RD2)

• Putting people in prison for drug related crimes is not the solution (RD2)
• "We do need criminal justice reform. We have the highest incarceration rates in the world. 2/3 of the people in our prisons are there for non-violent offenses, mostly drug related. It's clearly not working." (RD2)

Lost daughter to drug addiction

• There's a very real reason Carly Fiorina is against legalizing marijuana: She watched her stepdaughter, Lori Ann Fiorina, battle drug addiction and die an early death, at just 35 years old. (CNN)