MARIJUANA MOMENT – Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, says that he would legalize marijuana and psychedelics if elected to the White House—and he’d tax both substances, using revenue to create “healing centers” where people recovering from drug addiction could learn organic farming as a therapeutic tool. He also voiced support for freeing up banking services for the cannabis industry.
The candidate’s position on drug policy reform had been vague around the time he entered the race—but it’s quickly come into sharp focus as he promotes progressive policies that in some cases go well beyond that of incumbent President Joe Biden.
During a wide-ranging town hall event with NewsNation on Wednesday, Kennedy talked about his own struggles with addiction during his youth and the lessons that he’s taken away from his decades in recovery. While he said he’s generally not one to recommend a drug to treat substance misuse, he’s seen in his own family how psychedelics can facilitate the type of psychological healing needed for long-term recovery.
“I would legalize psychedelic drugs—some form of legalization,” he said, adding that he doesn’t necessarily envision a commercial market where anyone could visit a shop to buy the substances, but that there should be regulated access. His plan doesn’t stop with simple legalization, however.
“I’m going to decriminalize marijuana on a federal basis, allow the states to regulate it, continue to tax it federally and use those taxes to fund the recovery programs,” he said. “And I would do the same thing for psychedelic drugs, which I do not think should be criminalized.”
The cannabis and psychedelic tax-funded recovery program that he has in mind is inspired by an Italian treatment center called San Patrignano, which takes people struggling with addiction, or those who are at-risk, and provides support through an agriculturally centered approach … READ MORE.
Image element courtesy of Gage Skidmore.
