Crime, Policing and Prisons

Marijuana laws

70 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: Marijuana laws decide whether people can be arrested for having it, whether stores can sell it legally, and how states tax and regulate it.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether adults should be allowed to buy and use marijuana for recreation, which about half the states allow and federal law does not; a 2026 federal rule moved marijuana used under state medical marijuana licenses to a less restricted drug category (Schedule III).1,2

  1. Keep recreational use against the law
  2. Reduce penalties for having small amounts, without legal sales
  3. Let each state decide, with no federal penalties where a state allows it
  4. Make it legal for adults to buy and use

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Keep recreational use against the law (3)

  • Pro-Life ID Governor
    His campaign website says he opposes recreational marijuana.3
  • George E. McDermott MD-4
    A 2018 candidate survey posted on his campaign website says legalizing marijuana for recreational and nonmedical use is a mistake and that he does not support nonmedical use.4
  • Justin Murphy NJ Senate
    His campaign website says legalizing marijuana and other drugs harms young people and calls for a nationwide campaign against drug use.5

Reduce penalties for having small amounts, without legal sales (1)

  • Lauren Jewett LA-1
    Her campaign website says she will work to create a framework for national decriminalization of marijuana.6

Let each state decide, with no federal penalties where a state allows it (4)

  • T.P. Nykoriak MI-13
    His campaign website calls for decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, saying Congress should work with the President to take it off the federal controlled-substances list where appropriate and bring federal law in line with states such as Michigan that treat it differently; it says he will also push for a process to review, and where the law permits grant retroactive relief for, people whose only federal offense was low-level, non-violent marijuana possession.7
  • Hillary Herzig NJ-6
    It says she supports responsible cannabis reform, including ending the federal ban and employment penalties for lawful cannabis use, so that patients, veterans and small business owners are not punished for following state law.8
  • Afzal "Bobby" Khan NV-1
    His campaign website says he supports removing marijuana from the federal drug classification, ending federal penalties for people and businesses that follow state law, and expunging records for nonviolent marijuana offenses.9,10
  • William B. Redpath OH Senate special
    His campaign website says the federal government should end drug prohibition and leave the issue to the states.11

Make it legal for adults to buy and use (32)

  • Jeff Wadlin AR Senate
    His campaign website says adults should not be jailed for growing or using cannabis in private, and that adult use should be legal and regulated much like alcohol.12
  • Angélica María Dueñas CA-29
    Her campaign website says marijuana should be removed from the federal list of outlawed drugs, legalized and taxed, and that federal records for nonviolent drug offenses should be expunged.13
  • Mike Cargile CA-35
    His campaign website says cannabis should be legalized nationwide for adults and regulated like alcohol.14,15
  • Chad Humphrey CO-1
    Asked on his campaign website whether marijuana should be legal, he answers that a government that trusts people to vote, serve on juries and join the military can trust them with their own decisions.16
  • Clifton Brown CO-3
    His campaign website calls for ending the drug war and legalizing recreational drugs, sold at government-run pharmacies with the revenue going to drug rehabilitation.17
  • Sarah McBride DE-AL
    Her campaign website says she will push to legalize marijuana and expunge convictions.18
  • Mark Davis FL-16
    His policy platform calls for making marijuana legal at the federal level, clearing nonviolent cannabis convictions from records and freeing people who are imprisoned only for nonviolent marijuana offenses.19
  • Nikema Williams GA-5
    An earlier issues page still on her campaign website says she supports legalizing recreational marijuana use.20
  • Rob Sand IA Governor
    His campaign website says he would legalize adult-use cannabis for people 21 and older and regulate it like alcohol, with limits on THC content, packaging and advertising and no public consumption.21,22
  • Kelly Thompson IN-3
    Her campaign website says her Cannabis Freedom Act would fully legalize cannabis under federal law by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act, with a minimum purchase age of 21, automatic expungement of eligible federal cannabis convictions, and state authority to set reasonable regulations.23
  • David C Graham KS Senate
    His campaign website says he would vote to make marijuana legal under federal law and end the war on drugs.24
  • Cindy Holscher KS Governor
    Her campaign website says she supports legalizing recreational and medical marijuana in Kansas, which it says would raise money for schools and public services.25
  • Morgan McGarvey KY-3
    His campaign website says he supports full legalization and decriminalization of marijuana at the federal level, with commuted sentences and expunged convictions for low-level offenders.26
  • Pete Lynch KY-6
    His campaign website lists recreational marijuana legalization among its policy priorities, saying prohibition has failed and that legal marijuana could provide income for farmers, generate tax revenue and reduce the black market.27
  • Lydia Christensen MI Senate
    Her campaign website says she would push for federal legalization of cannabis and psilocybin, with worker safety protections.28
  • John James MI Governor
    His campaign website says the state should respect voters' 2018 approval of legal, regulated marijuana, and that he would repeal or sharply reduce the 24% wholesale marijuana tax and crack down on unlicensed sellers.29
  • Ilhan Omar MN-5
    Her campaign website's criminal justice page says she wants recreational cannabis legalized nationwide, with records expunged and amnesty for people jailed for cannabis offenses.30
  • Thomas Holbrook MO-4
    His campaign website says he opposes the war on drugs and supports legislation that would fully legalize marijuana, and that legalization, along with treating addiction as a medical rather than criminal problem, offers the best route to cutting off the cartels.31
  • Bo Whitehead NC-8
    His campaign website lists legalizing marijuana among the first legislation he would introduce.32
  • Mike Marvin NE Senate
    His campaign website's platform page says marijuana should be made legal across the United States for both medical and recreational use.33
  • Mark Cohen NE-3
    His campaign website says he supports legalizing and regulating marijuana for adults, and that he has seen no evidence it is more dangerous than alcohol.34
  • Cinde Warmington NH Governor
    Her campaign website says New Hampshire should legalize, regulate and tax adult-use cannabis.35
  • Stephen Villee NH Governor
    His campaign website says cannabis should be fully legal for adults, and that in the long term he would like all drugs to be legal.36,37
  • Andres Jinete NJ-12
    His campaign website calls for legalizing marijuana at the federal level and ensuring dispensaries can get banking services.38
  • Melanie Ann Stansbury NM-1
    Her campaign website says she voted in 2019 to decriminalize cannabis, supports expunging records of nonviolent drug offenders, and supports legislation allowing recreational cannabis, regulated in the way alcohol is.39
  • Ken Krawchuk PA Governor
    His campaign website calls for immediately decriminalizing marijuana and other drugs, treating them like alcohol, and pardoning all nonviolent drug offenders.40
  • Walid Hakim SC Governor
    His platform calls for legalizing cannabis, decriminalizing small amounts of some other drugs and clearing records for drug possession for personal use.41
  • Jerri Green TN Governor
    Her platform calls for legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational use.42
  • James Talarico TX Senate
    His campaign website says he would legalize and regulate marijuana for adults and clear arrest records related to marijuana use.43,44
  • Ted Brown TX Senate
    His campaign website says he would remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances right away and work to repeal all drug laws.45
  • Pat Dixon TX Governor
    His campaign website praises the governor's veto of a ban on hemp-derived THC products and says Texas should go further, letting adults make their own choices as long as they do not harm others.46
  • Rachel Fetty Anderson WV Senate
    Her campaign website says marijuana use should not be a crime, commercial marijuana products should be tightly regulated and adults should be allowed to grow marijuana for their own use.47

Statements that don't match one option (30)

  • Steve G. Parsons AR-1
    His campaign website says drugs should be legalized as much as possible, that any drug laws should exist only at the state level, and that treatment is more cost-effective than prison for drug users.48,49
  • Jimmy Gomez CA-34
    His campaign website says he cosponsored the MORE Act to remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances and voted to decriminalize it federally.50
  • Jason Crow CO-6
    His campaign website says he supports criminal justice policies that reduce incarceration and decriminalize marijuana.51
  • Angie Nixon FL Senate special
    Her campaign website says she supports federal decriminalization of marijuana.52
  • Mike Sell FL-4
    His campaign's platform calls for federal cannabis legalization with automatic expungement of prior records, and supports the MORE Act and the SAFE Banking Act.53,54
  • Thomas Laehn IA Senate
    His campaign website says the first bill he would introduce would decriminalize the possession and use of marijuana.55
  • Dave Bushaw IA-2
    His platform page says he will work to decriminalize marijuana nationwide, advocate full record expungement of nonviolent marijuana convictions, and create a plan to support communities hit hardest by criminalization.56
  • Matt Loesby ID Senate
    His campaign website says he would push to remove all drugs from the federal controlled substances schedules and to end the drug war.57
  • Delia Ramirez IL-3
    Her campaign website lists among her Illinois House record voting to legalize cannabis.58
  • JB Pritzker IL Governor
    His campaign website lists expunging cannabis-related arrest records for 780,000 people, and directing hundreds of millions of dollars in cannabis revenue to communities harmed by violence, excessive incarceration and economic disinvestment, among his accomplishments.59
  • William Eric Henry IN-2
    His campaign website lists ending federal cannabis prohibition and expunging all federal cannabis records among his issues.60
  • Drew Cox IN-4
    His campaign website says he will advocate for removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.61
  • J.D. Ford IN-5
    His campaign platform says he would modernize marijuana laws to reflect support among Hoosiers for some form of legalization.62
  • Cynthia (Cinde) Wirth IN-6
    Her campaign website says she supports legalizing medical cannabis and decriminalizing possession of cannabis, and that she has spoken out against the federal ban.63
  • Tonya L. Hudson IN-9
    Her campaign website says she supports the MORE Act and legalization of marijuana, that laws criminalizing personal use should be reversed, and that people should have criminal records expunged for small amounts of personal possession.64
  • LaVeta Davenport MI-1
    The Green Party of Michigan 2026 platform text on her campaign website, which says she fully aligns with it, calls for expunging marijuana convictions for actions now legal in Michigan, broadening who can grow and sell cannabis, regulating uses shown to be hazardous, and making use of hemp.65
  • Tom Schmitz MO-1
    His campaign website says the drug war should end and that substances now controlled by law should be legalized and regulated the same way as alcohol.66,67
  • Valerie P. Foushee NC-4
    Her campaign website says she is advocating in Congress to decriminalize marijuana.68
  • Guy Meilleur NC-4
    His campaign website says medical cannabis should be decriminalized, and that medical research indicates it eases pain, nausea and other symptoms of several serious conditions.69
  • Steven Feldman NC-10
    His campaign website says drug prohibition should end, with drugs legalized or decriminalized at the federal level and enforcement decisions made locally.70
  • Helene Neville ND-AL
    Her campaign website says she supports reviewing North Dakota's medical cannabis program to reduce barriers for patients, and calls for an evidence-based national conversation about cannabis policy.71
  • Dan Osborn NE Senate
    His campaign website says he will work to support the adoption of medical marijuana in Nebraska.72,73
  • Lynne Walz NE Governor
    Her campaign website says she would sign an executive order legalizing medical marijuana with a doctor's prescription.74
  • Cory Booker NJ Senate
    His campaign website says that in 2019 he reintroduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize marijuana at the federal level and provide relief to people with past marijuana convictions.75
  • Don Kissick OH Governor
    His campaign website says it wants to get government bureaucracy out of the marijuana industry, saying state rules favor the profits of a few distributors.76
  • Robert E Brooks Sr OK Governor
    His cannabis plan supports expanding research on medical cannabis and other holistic treatments, product testing standards, and keeping the industry open to small businesses and family farms.77
  • Jermaine Johnson SC Governor
    His campaign website says he would make medical marijuana legal, commute the sentences of prisoners held on nonviolent marijuana charges and put recreational cannabis to a statewide vote.78
  • David Hatley TN Governor
    His campaign website says he would make a state-regulated medical cannabis program a priority in 2027 and sign it into law.79
  • Lauren Pinkston TN Governor
    Her campaign website supports a regulated medical cannabis program.80
  • Tom Tiffany WI Governor
    His campaign website says he supports legalizing medical marijuana in Wisconsin through a program with strict age requirements and oversight.81