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Leaked Emails: Hillary Clinton Gave Thumbs Down To Pot Legalization

Leaked Emails: Hillary Clinton Gave Thumbs Down To Pot Legalization

Legalization

Leaked Emails: Hillary Clinton Gave Thumbs Down To Pot Legalization

Leaked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign could land her in hot water with the cannabis community. They show her giving legalization the thumbs down.

Leaked emails show Hillary Clinton does not support marijuana legalization

Leaked emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign could land her in hot water with the cannabis community. That’s because a correspondence with her campaign chairman shows her giving legalization the thumbs down. Throughout her campaign, Clinton has been vague on the question of legalization. But now, the leaked message could shed new light on her position.

The Details

Wikileaks published a file full of emails between Clinton and John Podesta. The messages touch on a broad range of issues. But one paragraph is especially relevant to anybody interested in cannabis law.

That paragraph describes Clinton doing a Q & A session with Xerox CEO Ursula Burns. It was part of an event back in March 2014.

In the exchange, Burns asked Clinton to use Wall Street jargon to describe her stance on pot legalization. Here’s how the conversation went. And remember, this is straight from the leaked emails.

URSULA BURNS: So long means thumbs up, short means thumbs down; or long means I support, short means I don’t. I’m going to start with—I’m going to give you about ten long-shorts.

SECRETARY CLINTON:Even if you could make money on a short, you can’t answer short.

URSULA BURNS: You can answer short, but you got to be careful about letting anybody else know that. They will bet against you. So legalization of pot?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Short in all senses of the word.

So what does all that mean? Burns said that “short” means you don’t support something. “Long” means you do. She then asked Clinton if she supports legalizing marijuana or not.

And Clinton said she does not. In fact, her answer is a bit more than a simple “no.” She drove the point home by saying “in all senses of the word.”

Where Does Hillary Clinton Stand?

Of course, this entire conversation happened back in 2014. But that still begs the question: Where does Hillary Clinton stand when it comes to legalization?

Throughout her career, she’s been a bit vague. Her general attitude seems to be a wait and see. She’s repeatedly said there’s not enough research yet to make any clear decisions.

She’s also focused on waiting to see what happens in states that have legalized.

Earlier this year, she explained her stance to Jimmy Kimmel. She said: “I think what the states are doing right now needs to be supported. But I want to see what the states learn from that experience. Because there are still a lot of questions that we have to answer at the federal level.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-cOmrBWydA

“Let’s take it off the Schedule I and put it on a lower schedule so that we can actually do research about it.”

But she also disagreed with Bernie Sanders’ call to flat-out decriminalize marijuana.

The leaked emails reveal yet another complication. On the one hand, Clinton has said we need more research before making any decisions. But when speaking with Ursula Burns things were a little different. There, she gave legalization what sounds like pretty enthusiastic thumbs down.

The Legalization Scene

Despite Clinton’s position, there’s widespread popular support for legalization. In fact, there’s more support than ever before.

And things could change a lot this fall. That’s because nine states have marijuana-related bills going up for a vote. And five of them will choose whether to legalize recreationally.

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