"As part of my work at the University, I began the Initiative for Public Deliberation, where I trained students to mediate dialogues between community members with diverse viewpoints on contentious issues. Because of that work and my teaching duties, I’ve remained assiduously non-partisan. As such, I avoided taking public positions on issues like marijuana legalization so that it did not distract from the community building work I was doing with IPD.  

That said, in several of the twenty in-person town halls I’ve held throughout my district, I’ve publically supported expanded opportunities for research into medical marijuana and called for the Department of Justice take a hands of approach to enforcing federal law in states where marijuana is legal. I have also called for expanding opportunities for industrial hemp production; the 3rd District has five rural counties, and all stand to gain from such a policy."- As submitted to the 'NORML Candidate Questionnaire' on 6/1

"I believe that the legalization of recreational marijuana is a states rights issue. Voters in Washington State have chosen to make marijuana possession and use legal for adults. By keeping it a Schedule I drug and leaving prosecution in the hands of the Department of Justice, the federal government is creating uncertainty in our marketplace. Such action deprives Washington State of necessary funding for public services and stifles our broader economy. Properly regulated, the legal marijuana trade stands to dramatically undercut the black market and make hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue for the states where it’s legal."- As submitted to the 'NORML Candidate Questionnaire' on 6/1

"I believe that marijuana must be descheduled at the federal level. More states decriminalize possession and use of marijuana every election cycle. The continued classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug impedes research into marijuana for medical purposes and disproportionately harms communities of color."- As submitted to the 'NORML Candidate Questionnaire' on 6/1

"It should be legal for doctors to prescribe medical marijuana for any malady for which there is a scientifically sound basis for it being prescribed. Congress should make funds available to the CDC for those studies. The longer we hamper the study of marijuana for medical purposes, the longer patients stand to suffer."- As submitted to the 'NORML Candidate Questionnaire' on 6/1