Hillary Clinton 2016 Issues & Politics: Former Secretary of State Talks About Pros, Cons of Marijuana
It looks like Hillary Rodham Clinton's views on marijuana legalization may be evolving.
On Tuesday, the former Secretary of State told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that she sees the "benefits" of medical marijuana and wants to "wait and see what the evidence is" from states like Washington and Colorado which have legalized the recreational of cannabis.
"There are younger people here who could help me understand this and answer it," said Clinton during her interview promoting her new memoir "Hard Choices." "At the risk of committing radical candor, I have to say I think we need to be very clear about the benefits of marijuana use for medicinal purposes. I don't think we've done enough research yet, although I think for people who are in extreme medical conditions and who have anecdotal evidence that it works, there should be availability under appropriate circumstances. But I do think we need more research because we don't know how it interacts with other drugs."
The potential 2016 presidential candidate also seemed supportive of the new laws in Colorado and Washington that have legalized recreational marijuana for adults.
"On recreational, states are the laboratories of democracy," Clinton said. "We have at least two states that are experimenting with that right now. I want to wait and see what the evidence is."
However, the former First Lady laughed when questioned if she would try smoking marijuana.
"Absolutely not," she said. "I didn't do it when I was young, I'm not going to start now."
Clinton's statements are a far cry from the positions she's taken in the past on the issue. Back in 2012, Clinton said drug legalization was not the answer to the War on Drugs, and that the sorts of "ruthless" drug lords would just "figure out another way" to make money, such as kidnapping or extortion.
"I respect those in the region who believe strongly that [U.S. legalization] would end the problem," she said at a forum, according to Think Progress. "I am not convinced of that, speaking personally."
Also in 2011, she told a Mexican news outlet she did not think legalizing drugs "will work" as a solution to violence on the black market because "there's too much money in it."
Furthermore, during her 2008 presidential run, Clinton said, "I don't think we should decriminalize, but we ought to do research into what, if any medical benefits it has."
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