Answer Addiction

Tag: Beto O’Rourke

  • Yang, Beto Discuss Unusual Solutions to The Opioid Epidemic

    Yang, Beto Discuss Unusual Solutions to The Opioid Epidemic

    The presidential candidates made the case for marijuana legalization and opioid decriminalization during a recent debate.

    Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke spoke about marijuana as a replacement for opioid pain pills during the Democratic primary debate on Tuesday (Oct. 15), while fellow candidate Andrew Yang expressed his support for decriminalizing opioids and opening safe injection sites. 

    O’Rourke shared a story about a veteran he had met who was addicted to heroin. He suggested that if the man had access to marijuana, he wouldn’t have become hooked on opioids, according to Marijuana Moment. 

    Marijuana Legalization

    “Now imagine that veteran, instead of being prescribed an opioid, had been prescribed marijuana, because we made that legal in America [and] ensured the VA could prescribe it, expunge the arrest records for those who’d been arrested for possession and made sure that he was not prescribed something to which he would become addicted,” O’Rourke said. 

    Asked directly whether marijuana is part of the answer the the opioid crisis, O’Rourke answered, “Yes it is.”

    As O’Rourke was speaking, Yang said, “Yes, preach Beto.”

    Decriminalizing Opioids

    During the debate, Yang expressed his support not only for legalizing marijuana, but for decriminalizing opioids, including heroin. 

    He said, “We need to decriminalize opioids for personal use. We need to let this country know this is not a personal failing, this was a systemic government failing. Then we need to open up safe consumption and safe injection sites around the country because they save lives.” 

    Yang continued, “We have to recognize [addiction] is a disease of capitalism run amok.”

    He pointed out, “There was a point where there were more opioid prescriptions in the state of Ohio than human beings in the state of Ohio, and for some reason the federal government thought that was appropriate.”

    Public Health Issue

    Yang said that because the government was complicit in the over-sale of opioids, it needed to support people who are now addicted to opioids. 

    “If the government turned a blind eye to this company, spreading a plague among its people, then the least we can do is put a resource into work in our communities so that people have a fighting chance to get well, even though this is not a money problem,” he said. “We all know this is a human problem. Part of helping people get the treatment that they need is to let them know that they’re not going to be referred to a prison cell, they will be referred to treatment and counseling.”

    Other more mainstream candidates including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have supported harm reduction policies as well. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Beto O’Rourke: Ex-Marijuana Offenders Deserve “Drug War Justice Grants”

    Beto O’Rourke: Ex-Marijuana Offenders Deserve “Drug War Justice Grants”

    The Democratic presidential candidate believes we need to give back to those who were incarcerated under defunct marijuana laws.

    Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke says that the federal government owes Drug War Justice Grants to those who have been jailed for non-violent marijuana offenses to help them get their lives back.

    The proposed policy is part of O’Rourke’s larger platform that includes the legalization of marijuana. He promises that if he were elected President of the United States, he would grant clemency to all persons in the criminal justice system for possession of marijuana as well as expunge their criminal records related to those charges. Going one step further, he also wants to cross marijuana charges off the list of reasons someone could be deported or denied citizenship.

    While it might be easy to assume that O’Rourke is simply trying to gain a foothold in the Democratic presidential primaries by jumping on the legalization bandwagon—nearly all the Democratic challengers have advocated legalizing marijuana—the drug war has actually been an issue he’s long held dear.

    Back in 2009 as an El Paso city council member, he pushed for a resolution to advocate that the federal government undertake “open, honest, national dialogue on ending the prohibition of narcotics,” believing that marijuana legalization could help alleviate the stresses from drug trafficking at the border. In 2011, he co-wrote a book called Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico.

    The proposed Drug War Justice Grant would be funded entirely by taxes taken on legal marijuana, according to O’Rourke’s campaign. The grants would be doled out based on how much time each individual convicted person has spent in prison.

    Going a step further, the candidate would also spend the taxes on treatment and re-entry programs as well as social programs for communities that have been disproportionately affected by marijuana arrests. Additionally, he proposes using federal criminal justice funds to allow state and local governments to waive licensing fees for marijuana businesses for low-income people who were formerly convicted of marijuana crimes.

    “We need to not only end the prohibition on marijuana, but also repair the damage done to the communities of color disproportionately locked up in our criminal justice system or locked out of opportunity because of the War on Drugs,” said O’Rourke in a prepared statement.

    “These inequalities have compounded for decades, as predominantly white communities have been given the vast majority of lucrative business opportunities, while communities of color still face over-policing and criminalization. It’s our responsibility to begin to remedy the injustices of the past and help the people and communities most impacted by this misguided war.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Democrats Embrace Legalization In 2020 Primaries

    Democrats Embrace Legalization In 2020 Primaries

    A number of presidential hopefuls have been vocal about their experiences with marijuana and their desire to end its federal prohibition.

    Just a few election cycles ago, presidential candidates had to carefully craft their answers when asked whether they had ever tried marijuana. Heading into the 2020 campaign, however, many prominent Democratic candidates are vocally supporting marijuana legalization at the federal level. 

    Last week, U.S. Senator and presidential hopeful Cory Booker introduced legislation in the Senate that would legalize cannabis and expunge the records of people who have been convicted of federal marijuana-related expenses. Four other presidential candidates—Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren—co-sponsored the bill. 

    The movement also has momentum outside Congress. Former Texas congressman and likely candidate Beto O’Rourke sent an email to supporters this week announcing his support for changes to federal marijuana policy, according to Reuters. 

    “We should end the federal prohibition on marijuana and expunge the records of those who were locked away for possessing it, ensuring that they can get work, finish their education, contribute to the greatness of this country,” O’Rourke wrote. 

    Senator Kamala Harris opposed an effort to legalize cannabis in California in 2010. (A later measure legalized recreational cannabis in the state.) However, she recently joked about marijuana use, riffing on President Bill Clinton’s infamous remark during the 1992 election that he had smoked marijuana, but did not inhale. 

    “I inhaled,” Harris said. “Half of my family’s from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?”

    Bernie Sanders has said that he tried cannabis, but didn’t like it and “nearly coughed my brains out.” He added, “It didn’t do a whole lot for me.”  

    Still, Sanders has been outspoken about the need to legalize cannabis. His home state of Vermont was the first in the nation to legalize cannabis through legislative action rather than a vote. 

    “Too many lives are being destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people get criminal records. You know why? Because they have smoked marijuana,” Sanders said this week. 

    Another candidate, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, has been more cautious in his attitude toward marijuana reform. Despite the fact that he led a state that legalized marijuana early on, Hickenlooper has not called for federal legalization. However, he said that states should have the choice and federal banking laws need to change if that happens. 

    Polls show that most Americans—of both parties—favor legalizing cannabis. Among Democrats, three-quarters of voters feel that federal prohibition has to end. This cultural shift likely explains the enthusiasm from candidates, said Erik Altieri, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). 

    “The Democratic candidates are just acknowledging the practical and political reality—this is not only good policy, it’s good politics,” he said. 

    View the original article at thefix.com