Explore Candidates → Christopher Dodd on Medical Marijuana and Drug Policy
Christopher Dodd on Medical Marijuana and Drug Policy
Q:Can you give me a good reason why, in a free and fair society, marijuana should be illegal? DODD: Well, Bill, I've taken the position, certainly with medical use of marijuana, that it ought to be allowed. And many states, I think 12 or 13 states allow that today. In fact, we just had a huge debate in the committee in which I serve dealing with the issue and I've strongly advocated that these states not be biased or prejudiced because they allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Presidential forum sponsored by Slate, Yahoo, and the Huffington Post September 12, 2007
I don't know enough about the science of this, but I'm satisfied enough that it can be a source of significant pain relief for people and therefore under medication, a doctor's support, I don't have the difficulty with that at all
When asked about ending the federal raids, Dodd responded, "Well, if that's what goes on, then yeah, I would. I want to leave states to decide what the right thing is to do on this."
Voted NO to add an additional $53 million (raising the total to $213 million) to international narcotics control funding, and pay for it by taking $25 million from international operations funding and $28 million from development assistance.
Bill HR 3540 ; vote number 1996-244 on Jul 25, 1996
Supported Plan Colombia - a military and other aid package to the Colombian government in fighting drug cartels: Mr. President, as you know, earlier this year when the Congress considered the Administration's $1.3 billion emergency request to support Plan Colombia, I voted in favor of that measure, as did a majority of our colleagues in the House and Senate. I said at the time of the Senate debate on this matter that, while I believed that a substantial assistance package was necessary to help address the multiple challenges confronting Colombia and the Andean region as a whole, I would not have allocated monies among the various programs in the same way as was requested by the Administration. U.S. financial assistance is heavily focused on the military component of Colombia's counter narcotic effort with lesser amounts available for other programs such as alternative development programs, protection of human rights workers, resettlement of displaced persons, and judicial and military reforms. The United States can do more to assist Colombia on the economic front by moving forward in the remaining days of this Congress to extend NAFTA-parity to Colombia and other members of the Andean Trade Preference Agreement. This would help Colombia work its way out of its current economic recession by giving a boost to an important domestic industry and creating more jobs for average Colombians, other than in the coca fields.
Colombia is in real trouble. It's spreading to Ecuador, it was in Bolivia, it's still in Peru to some extent, Brazilians are worried about it, the Venezuelans are worried about it. Transit points in Costa Rica and Panama and the Dominican Republic and other nations; this is a spreading cancer. And if we don't take it on aggressively, more aggressively, here at home and abroad, it can get a lot worse.
"I hope that Secretary Rice will join me in urging the Colombian government to take the critical steps outlined in this letter," said Dodd. "The infiltration by paramilitaries and drug lords of important sectors of the Colombian state is no minor corruption problem. The Colombian government must act quickly and decisively to sever all ties to terrorists and drug traffickers and complete the demobilization of paramilitaries across the country. If these proposals are not put into place and reports of corruption continue, I believe it will be time to take a hard look at the impact of our foreign aid in Colombia and whether we can continue to justify the expenditure."
Whether we like it or not, we are engaged in the conflict in Colombia. Because of events in that country and because of our own habits in this nation, people are dying in the streets of America. This is not some distant conflict without any ramifications here at home.
And again, the overall, the general of allowing the decriminalization, I strongly advocate as well. We're cluttering up our prisons, frankly, when we draw distinctions. And let me go beyond marijuana here and deal in terms of crack cocaine or powder cocaine, where we have differentials in prison sentences here. So I would decriminalize, or certainly advocate, as president the decriminalization of statutes that would incarcerate or severely penalize people for using marijuana.
Presidential forum sponsored by Slate, Yahoo, and the Huffington Post September 12, 2007
Voted NO to increase penalties on certain drug-related crimes. The amendment would specifically target the manufacturing or trafficking of amphetamines & methamphetamines and possession of powder cocaine, and set stronger penalties for dealing drugs
Bill S.625 ; vote number 1999-360 on Nov 10, 1999