Explore Candidates → Dennis Kucinich on Medical Marijuana and Drug Policy
Dennis Kucinich on Medical Marijuana and Drug Policy
"Those who need medical marijuana for the relief of their pain should be able to achieve that without any interference from the DEA at all."
"And, of course, it's a matter between doctors and patients. And if doctors want to prescribe medical marijuana to relieve pain, compassion requires that the government support that. And so, as president of the US, I would make sure that our Justice Department was mindful that we should be taking a compassionate approach."
2007 HRC/LOGO debate Aug 9, 2007
"It's absolutely inappropriate for the federal government to be conducting raids, trying to put at legal risk people who are either prescribing medical marijuana or people who are users of medical marijuana."
"This is about compassion. The federal government should use its power to help terminally ill citizens, not arrest them. And states deserve to have the right to make their own decisions regarding the use of medical marijuana."
Voted NO to amendment to set up a task force on counter-terrorism and drug interdiction and allow military personnel to help patrol U.S. borders
Bill HR 2586 ; vote number 2001-356 on Sep 25, 2001
Plan Colombia is a $3.2 billion failed foreign operation.
US Congressional Report on Plan Colombia June 2004
So also would be the wholesale devastation we have brought to other countries. Countries like Colombia, where we send billions of dollars of military aid and spray hundreds of thousands of acres of populated land with dangerous herbicides in a country with nearly a million displaced people. And each military campaign or spraying is like a squeezing a balloon; production merely shifts to another site or goes into a temporary hiatus.
"There is a context here which is worth reflecting on, and that is the law enforcement policies of an administration which cannot effectively meet the challenge of international terrorism, but is ready to wage a phony drug war"
"Instead, federal penalties for all marijuana use, regardless of purpose, include up to a year in prison for the possession of even small amounts. Let us reflect again on how cynical and how dark it is to even contemplate sending someone to prison for a year, when they may not even have that much time left in their life; but since 1996, eight states have enacted laws to allow very ill patients to use medical marijuana in spite of federal law. The present administration has sought to override such state statutes, viewing the use of medicinal marijuana for purposes in the same light as heroin or cocaine."
This is why we need to make sure we focus this country on a cause which takes us away from this punitive approach that we use for people who are trapped in drug use. We need an approach which emphasizes rehabilitation over incarceration.
Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate Sep 9, 2003
When asked if he had tried marijuana, Mr. Kucinich answered "No...but I think it ought to be decriminalized."
NY Times Nov 9, 2003
Criminalization over treatment has led to increased violent crime, misdirected resources of law enforcement and restricted Constitutional liberties. The US must rethink a policy that produces many casualties, but benefits only the prison-industrial complex.