Senator Elizabeth Warren Open to Legalizing Marijuana

The outspoken US Senator has changed her stance and could be on a 2016 presidential ticket.

By Chris Goldstein

Senator Elizabeth Warren is open to legalizing marijuana

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts , has changed her stance on marijuana.

In a discussion with the Boston Globe’s Joshua Miller at Suffolk University that touched on a wide range of topics, Senator Warren was asked her opinion as a voter in the Bay State.

Several groups were approved to start gathering signatures for ballot initiatives to fully legalize marijuana in Massachusetts this week. Warren and her fellow Mass. residents could cast a vote on the issue in 2016.

“You were opposed to legalization in 2012,” Miller said to Warren. “As a Massachusetts voter, what’s your position today?”

Warren said that she is more receptive to the notion of legalization now. “I’m open to it,” she told Miller. “I think we’ve learned more.”

“A couple of states have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Frankly, I think we ought to be learning what we can from those states,” she said. read article

Of the 100 US Senators currently Warren joins only Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, who has expressed unequivocal public support for full legalization.

Even Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, who is o-sponsoring several reform bills has not officially taken a stance on the issue of actually ending cannabis prohibition.

Warren is best known for her fiery speeches in committees and on the Senate floor holding Wall St accountable for economic inequality, women’s rights and provisions to protect workers. She has quickly gained both respect and political power on Capitol Hill along with national popularity.

Some observers have hinted that she might be a contender for a spot as Vice President on the Democratic ticket during the 2016 election.