Nancy Pelosi Gives First Ever Public Statement on Marijuana Legalization

In her first ever public statement on the legalization of marijuana, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi recently told one of California’s largest newspapers that she fully intends to cast a favorable vote on Tuesday for a ballot measure aimed at establishing a taxed and regulated cannabis industry.

The Democrat representing California’s 12th District, who is also the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, told the Los Angeles Times on Friday that she will stand in support at the polls for Proposition 64.

“I will vote for it, but I have not made a public statement about it until right this very second,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi’s pro-marijuana statement is the largest endorsement for the state’s controversial ballot measure to come from an elected official, according to CNN. Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom has been somewhat of a spokesperson for the initiative, but Governor Jerry Brown has yet to give any indication whether he is in favor of or against the proposal.

What is known is that the majority of the California voters appear to be onboard with pulling the plug on the medical sector’s exclusive controls on the cannabis industry by allowing it to be taxed and regulated for every adult 21 and over. In fact, the latest USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found that 58 percent of voters plan to support Proposition 64 in Tuesday’s election, while only 37 percent say they will oppose. Most of the surveys released over the past month on this issue have produced similar results.

There is speculation that if California decides to tear down the walls of prohibition by allowing marijuana to become part of its economic foundation the federal government could be forced to start revising the national drug policies for every adult citizen across the nation. The manner of which this push for reform takes place could have a lot to do with the most crucial aspect of the upcoming election—the question of who will take over the White House in 2017?

Both Trump and Clinton seem to favor legalization for medicinal purposes, but neither candidate has yet to come out in support for the kind of reform that five more states are gunning for in tomorrow’s election. But, according to President Obama, the course for which the nation’s marijuana laws are potentially set to explode may no longer be at the hands of the federal government.

“If in fact it passed in all these states, you now have about a fifth of the country that’s operating under one set of laws, and four-fifths in another,” Obama told Bill Maher during a recent interview, adding that this could create a situation where federal marijuana enforcement is no longer “tenable.”

Related Prop 64 Coverage:
Pot Legalization in California Could Create 130,000 Jobs
Top 10 Myths about California’s Prop 64, Pt. 1
Top 10 Myths about California’s Prop 64, Pt. 2
California’s Prop 64 Underscores Absurdity of Holding Pot Prisoners in States Where It’s Legal
Watch the First Proposition 64 TV Ad from California
Here’s What Occurs if Californians Legalize Recreational Pot

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