Last updated on: 7/7/2016 11:57:44 AM PST
Should the United States Continue the War on Drugs?
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Con (No)
Con
"[Lester Holt: D]espite an estimated trillion dollars spent, many say the war on drugs has failed. So what would you do?
[Hillary] Clinton: Everywhere I go to campaign, I'm meeting families who are affected by the drug problem that mostly is opioids and heroin now, and lives are being lost and children are being orphaned. And I've met a lot of grandparents who are now taking care of grandchildren.
So I have tried to come out with a comprehensive approach that, number one, does tell the states that we will work with you from the federal government putting more money, about a billion dollars a year, to help states have a different approach to dealing with this epidemic…
We have to move away from treating the use of drugs as a crime and instead, move it to where it belongs, as a health issue. And we need to divert more people from the criminal justice system into drug courts, into treatment, and recovery."
Source: New York Times, "Transcript of the Democratic Presidential Debate," nytimes.com, Jan 17, 2016
Con
"How is it that the United States, the land of the free, has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world?
The answer is simple: Over time, the politicians have 'criminalized' far too many aspects of people's personal lives. The failed War on Drugs is, of course, the greatest example. Well over 100 million Americans have, at one time or another, used marijuana. Yet, today, simple possession and use of marijuana remains a crime — despite the fact that a majority of Americans now favor its legalization."
Source: Gary Johnson 2016, "Criminal Justice Reform," on his 2016 presidential campaign webite garyjohnson2016.com, available at web.archive.org, June 9, 2016
Con
"The whole drug war is completely baseless, foundless, immoral, racist, and it needs to be transformed into a public health agenda, and people who are currently serving time on account of using recreational substances, who have not been involved in violent crime should have their sentences commuted."
Source: CannabiFile, "Dr. Jill Stein: End the Immoral, Racist War on Drugs," youtube.com, May 10, 2016
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Now Not Clearly Pro or Con
"[George] Stephanopoulos: You used to think that legalization [of drugs], taking the profit out, would solve that problem. What changed your mind?
Trump: Well, I did and I—I—not think about it, I said it's something that should be studied and maybe should continue to be studied. But it's not something I'd be willing to do right now. I think it's something that I've always said maybe it has to be looked at because we do such a poor job of policing. We don't want to build walls. We don't want to do anything. And if you're not going to want to do the policing, you're going to have to start thinking about other alternatives. But it's not something that I would want to do. But it's something that certainly has been looked at and I looked at it. If we police properly, we shouldn't do that."
Source: ABC News, "'This Week' Transcript: Ben Carson and Donald Trump," abcnews.go.com, Nov. 8, 2015
[Editor's Note: Trump previously expressed a CON opinion on this question. Read Trump's former position on whether or not to continue the war on drugs.]
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FORMER CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear below in black and white and in alphabetical order.)
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Con (No)
Con
"We have more people in jail today than any other country on Earth. We have large numbers of lives that have been destroyed because of this war on drugs and because people were caught smoking marijuana and so forth. I think we have got to end the war on drugs."
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live, "Bernie Sander's Stance on Marijuana," youtube.com, Oct. 22, 2015
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None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 20, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Mar. 4, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 10, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on May 3, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 10, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Dec. 21, 2015; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 1, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on May 4, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 1, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Feb. 3, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
None Found
Withdrew on Mar. 15, 2016; no additional research done as of that date to determine candidate's position on this question.
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