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Joe Biden has a history of supporting anti-drug, tough on crime policies as well as those that imposed punitive penalties for drug offenses and facilitated discrimnation against drug users.
His current criminal justice reform plan includes provisions that would decriminalize the use of cannabis and automatically expunge all prior cannabis use convictions. Read more at https://joebiden.com/justice/
Following the passage of Congressional amendments limiting the Justice Department from taking prosecutorial actions against those in legal marijuana states, President Trump has consistently issued signing statements indicating that he believes that he has the power to disregard these amendments because he believes that they are unconstitutional. (Source)
"Supports...treating [cannabis] the same as any other agricultural commodity." Chico News
A representative from her campaign headquarters responded to a survey from Cal NORML: "Audrey supports decriminalizing marijuana use and removing it from the Schedule 1 federal drug list."
Denney previously challenged incumbent Doug LaMalfa in 2018 and appears to be the strongest candidate to beat him in 2020. From January to September in 2019, Denney brought in about $599,000 in campaign contributions compared to $445,000 for LaMalfa.
Has consistently opposed cannabis reform bills in state legislature and Congress.
Huffman had a good voting record on marijuana while in the state assembly. In 2012, he cast the deciding vote in committee in favor of California's landmark bill to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis. In Congress, Huffman has co-sponsored reform bills, and introduced bills to deal with illegal marijuana grows on public lands, such as 2013's PLANT Act to direct the US Sentencing Commission to enhance penalties for drug offenses involving use of poisonous chemicals, water diversion, or vegetation removal.
A hard-core small-government conservative, McClintock has taken a libertarian line on marijuana laws. A leading House Republican supporter of cannabis reform, he co-sponsored an amendment to stop DOJ from interfering in state adult-use legalization laws.
Progressive-leaning voters who are impatient with McClintock's conservative stance on environmental, econonomic and social issues are leaning toward this Democratic alternative. Supports cannabusiness and "federal decriminalization across all states." Boasts of her long-time district residency and business experience.
Matsui (pictured third from left) met with citizen lobbyists from Cal NORML at Lobby Day 2015. She has voted well on marijuana bills in Congress.
An MD, Dr. Bera is a strong advocate for medical marijuana but isn't quite on board with recreational. He co-sponsored the SAFE Banking Act (2019) and on other bills (see below).
Familiar with medical benefits of medical cannabis from work with disability community. On the campaign trail, she’s focused on expanding access to affordable healthcare and protecting the environment, both which she believes will win her support from voters regardless of their party affiliation. Believes cannabis is a "perfect opportunity" for economic development in the community and that cannabis when used by consenting adults appropriately is something that should be "their business and their business alone." See Bubser speaking at a cannabis town hall at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB3IVjeTrEA&feature=youtu.be
State Assemblyman Obernolte is a front-runner to win a seat in this district, which opened up when Paul Cook retired.
Obernolte has a bad voting record as an Assemblyman.
Harder won a hard-fought race to flip the 10th district to the Democrats in 2018, defeating anti-marijuana Republican Jeff Denham.
The National Republican Congressional Committee announced early in the 2020 cycle that Harder’s district would be one of its priorities to take back, one of seven such districts in California.
"Remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and end the failed war on drugs. Further amend the Controlled Substances Act to reduce mandatory minimum sentences by passing by the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 (S.2123)."
https://shahidforchange.us/issues/
As Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has a policy of not voting on bills. Her leadership however has empowered House leaders to advance the most sweeping marijuana reform and legalization measures in the history of Congress.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee is a longtime friend and champion of the marijuana reform movement.
She is a Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.
Congressman Ro Khanna has supported marijuana reform since his election to Congress and is a lead co-sponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act to end federal prohibition, expunge records, and reinvest in the communities that have been hardest hit by prohibition.
Mr. Cox is in favor of expanding economic opportunities around cannabis in the district.
Cox won a hard-fought race in 2018, flipping the district Democrat by narrowly defeating Republican Valadao, who is challenging him again in 2020.
As an Assemblyman and Congressman, Valadao voted against every marijuana reform measure and opposes recreational legalization. In the California legislature, he co-sponsored an industrial hemp bill.
Congressman Nunes has never been a friend to the marijuana policy reform movement and voted against the Blumenauer/McClintock/Norton amendment to protect California's legalization program. However, he did vote in favor of the SAFE Banking Act.
Congressman McCarthy has never been a friend to the marijuana policy reform movement and voted against the Blumenauer/McClintock/Norton amendment to protect California's legalization program. However, he did vote in favor of the SAFE Banking Act.
Smith lost the special election in May 2020 to Garcia for this seat vacated by Katie Hill. She is now campaiging to unseat Garcia.
Cardenas has a solid pro-marijuana voting record, both in the Assembly and in Congress, going back to 1999.
Democrat running as progressive alternative to establishment Democrat incumbent; spurns corporate and LEO funding. Well informed on cannabis policy. Supports STATES Act and MORE Act as well as SAFE Act.
Co-sponsor, MORE Act and SAFE Banking Act of 2019. Says cannabis a "Criminal and racial justice issue." Has reached out for input from cannabis community.
Congresswoman Bass previously opposed marijuana policy reform but has recently come around to support the repairative components of legislation such as The Marijuana Justice Act and The MORE Act.
She is the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security where the MORE Act had a favorable hearing in July of 2019 and was later passed by the full Committee with Rep. Bass's vote.
Congressman Takano is the Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee. In this leadership role, he has yet to call for a vote on any of the multiple bills that have been introduced to address veterans' issues in relationship to cannabis policy.
Has favored drug legalization for decades. "We should have learned the lesson of Prohibition." A federal solution is necessary.
Porter is the first Democrat to be elected to represent her district, which covers much of south-central Orange County. She was voted toughest questioner in Congress for her tough questions to corporate executives on wage and banking issues.
She raised more than $1 million in the final quarter of 2019, leaving her with $2.7 million in the bank in her bid to hang on to the seat she won in 2018. Her leading opponent, Republican Donald Sedgwick of Laguna Hills, reported $521,405 on hand.
Has championed marijuana for veterans and repealing obsolete border restrictions against marijuana users.
Supported by San Diego cannabis reform groups.
"Our nation’s marijuana laws are outdated, ineffective, and too costly, It’s wrong that we waste billions every year arresting and locking up and destroying the lives of tens of thousands of people for low-level, non-violent marijuana violations." -Campaign Twitter
Gomez's website says, "In Congress, Georgette will fight for treatment programs for non-violent drug offenders, federal legalization of marijuana, eliminate mandatory minimums, end cash bail and increase funding for the FBI’s Civil Rights Division."
The first LGBTQ Latina elected San Diego City Council President, Gomez has Elizabeth Warren's endorsement.
Her website says: It’s time for the federal government to de-criminalize cannabis. And we need to make sure that tax money derived from legal cannabis sales go back to rebuilding communities that have been devastated by the drug wars, and that we pardon all those who are in the criminal justice system due to non-violent marijuana-related offenses that would now be considered legal. https://sarajacobsforca.com/criminal-justice-reform
Longtime, strong supporter and cannabis advocate. Led campaign for Berkeley's 1979 marijuana initiative. One of first legislators in U.S. to vote for a total legalization bill in 2009. Has headed off bad legislation as chair of Public Safety Committee.
Cal NORML legislator of the year, 2018. Sponsored AB 34, allowing tax-free giveaways of medical cannabis to needy patients.
Josh Becker is founder of a philanthropic fund that supports nonprofits and is one of the few legislative candidates to have the formal backing of Gov. Gavin Newsom. He’s also raised a fair amount from Silicon Valley’s biggest venture capitalists.
Dave Cortese has been on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors since 2008, and ran for San Jose mayor in 2014 with the support of organized labor. Before that, he was a defense attorney, and was disturbed by the number of marijuana and drug offenders in prison. Cortese has been one of two Santa Clara supervisors to support establishing local cannabusiness.
"It's time to turn the page on overtaxation," Cortese told the state of cannabis conference, saying that taxation should be modest and not used to fund other state services. He regards expungement as "justice served."
Democrat Ann Ravel was an Obama appointee to the Federal Elections Commission. She stepped down within a few weeks of President Trump’s inauguration, decrying in her resignation letter the “unlimited, often dark money” channeled into political campaigns. Now she’s running on her pro-transparency bonafides and support for small business. She is well-versed in cannabis issues, having close acquaintances who use it medically or who have been convicted for past marijuana offenses.
She has the endorsement of the San Jose Mercury News.
Supported by the Women's Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Santa Cruz. Formerly Mayor of Santa Cruz, where he had a long history of defending safe access to marijuana. Believes overtaxation of cannabis is a key problem.
Republican Mike Morrell, who represents this district, has termed out. Medina is the Democratic nominee for the seat; she is the City of San Bernardino school board president who has the backing of many of the state’s top elected officials.
Newman (D) was recalled on June 5, 2018 after he voted for a gas tax. Former Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang (R) was selected to replace him. He defeated Chang in 2016 for the seat and is running for it again.
Her website says: Let me be very clear: as your Assemblywoman I will vote to get rid of the laws which let dangerous felons out of jail early, and which have decreased penalties for drug and property crime. At the same time, we need to have some compassion for our fellow Californians.
Has a good voting record. Introduced bill to regulate CBD products in CA.
One of five key Assembly sponsors of legislation regulating cannabis industry; voted against Prop 64.
San Joaquin County Supervisor Kathy Miller voted in favor of putting a measure on the ballot to license an unlimited number of cannabis businesses in 2018.
Miller said setting a strict limit to the number of allowable cannabis businesses in the county would increase the monetary value of licenses, creating its own set of repercussions.
“Creating artificial value to licenses, we’d create a system that’s ripe for favoritism and corruption, and we also open ourselves up to challenges on equity issues because it makes it far more difficult for smaller retailers to have a chance,” Miller said.
Source: https://www.recordnet.com/news/20180807/supes-move-forward-on-crafting-cannabis-policy
Attorney, law professor and environmental advocate. Has a good voting record.
Longtime S.F. libertarian activist - strongly pro-cannabis, anti-prohibition.
Lee is a young Gen Z progressive from a more conservative Chinese constituency. He is enthusiastically in favor of legal marijuana, social equity, employment rights for marijuana users, and more. He doesn't use drugs, but is open to discussing legalization of psychedelics.
November will be a re-match between Republican Mathis and his Democratic challenger Drew Phelps. Mathis took nearly 2/3 of the vote in March in this Republican district.
Julie Solis is a member of the pro-cannabis Brownie Mary Democratic Club and the Kern County Democratic Central Committee. Her group worked to register over 3000 voters in the 2018 election.
Democrat Steve Bennett, 69, is a Ventura County supervisor. In March 2017, he voted in favor of land-use amendments that would allow a limited number of dispensaries, processing plants and farms to provide marijuana for medicinal purposes in Ventura County.
“I asked the Board to approve a direction to staff to begin the process of developing proper regulations needed to have safe, practical access to medical cannabis while minimizing any negative impacts on the community,” Bennett said in 2016. “I made that request because I believe medical benefits of cannabis use are becoming more broadly known and we will only have safe, practical access with minimal negative impacts on the community if we invest the time and energy to create rational, effective regulations with a broad stakeholder input.”
New to Assembly in 2018. Has a good voting record. Won handily in the March primary against her Republican challenger, earning 72% of the vote.
As San Bernardino County Supervisor has repeatedly voted in opposition to legal cannabis in the county. Has a bad voting record in the Assembly, one of the worst for a Democrat. Took 57% of the vote in the March primary against his Republican opponent.
Weak voting record. In a three-way March 2020 Primary, took 35% of the vote, to Republican challenger Kotyuk's 33% and Democrat Mazingo's 31%.
Public school teacher, consumer and social justice advocate; has reached out to cannabis community.
Rodriguez, the young mayor of Walnut, CA, reached out to Cal NORML expressing his support for legalization.
Carlos is a progressive Democrat running for this vacant seat that was represented by Republican Melissa Melendez, who has just won a state senate seat (and had a bad voting record).
The only member of Irvine City Council to have voted for licensing cannabusiness in the city, she is personally knowledgeable about cannabis, especially medical use.
In 2018, Assemblywoman Gonzalez held up the medical marijuana users' employment rights bill AB 2069 as chair of the Assembly Appropriations committee, citing safety concerns from labor unions. She did co-sponsor Asm. Bonta's bill to automatically expunge past marijuana convictions.
Issa is a staunch drug warrior with a terrible voting record who advocated for a DOJ crackdown on state MMJ laws.
When asked whether or not she supports medical or recreational legalization, her campaign responded to Cal NORML, "California voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, and Eleni believes that now we need to make sure that the implementation of the law protects the public, especially our kids. Regulations must be put in place for a wide-range of aspects, from ensuring products are properly labeled, to setting up a banking system which keeps the industry from operating on an all-cash basis. Legalization poses other new challenges to public safety that must also be addressed, including a possible increase in people driving under the influence. Eleni believes we can develop effective regulatory practices to address these problems by imposing taxes, ensuring strict identification for purchases, and proposing and supporting bills that are specifically designed to protect our kids, and the public at large."
Has consistently opposed cannabis reform bills in state legislature and Congress.
Huffman had a good voting record on marijuana while in the state assembly. In 2012, he cast the deciding vote in committee in favor of California's landmark bill to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis. In Congress, Huffman has co-sponsored reform bills, and introduced bills to deal with illegal marijuana grows on public lands, such as 2013's PLANT Act to direct the US Sentencing Commission to enhance penalties for drug offenses involving use of poisonous chemicals, water diversion, or vegetation removal.
A hard-core small-government conservative, McClintock has taken a libertarian line on marijuana laws. A leading House Republican supporter of cannabis reform, he co-sponsored an amendment to stop DOJ from interfering in state adult-use legalization laws.
Matsui (pictured third from left) met with citizen lobbyists from Cal NORML at Lobby Day 2015. She has voted well on marijuana bills in Congress.
An MD, Dr. Bera is a strong advocate for medical marijuana but isn't quite on board with recreational. He co-sponsored the SAFE Banking Act (2019) and on other bills (see below).
Harder won a hard-fought race to flip the 10th district to the Democrats in 2018, defeating anti-marijuana Republican Jeff Denham.
The National Republican Congressional Committee announced early in the 2020 cycle that Harder’s district would be one of its priorities to take back, one of seven such districts in California.
As Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has a policy of not voting on bills. Her leadership however has empowered House leaders to advance the most sweeping marijuana reform and legalization measures in the history of Congress.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee is a longtime friend and champion of the marijuana reform movement.
She is a Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.
Congressman Ro Khanna has supported marijuana reform since his election to Congress and is a lead co-sponsor of the Marijuana Justice Act to end federal prohibition, expunge records, and reinvest in the communities that have been hardest hit by prohibition.
Mr. Cox is in favor of expanding economic opportunities around cannabis in the district.
Cox won a hard-fought race in 2018, flipping the district Democrat by narrowly defeating Republican Valadao, who is challenging him again in 2020.
Congressman Nunes has never been a friend to the marijuana policy reform movement and voted against the Blumenauer/McClintock/Norton amendment to protect California's legalization program. However, he did vote in favor of the SAFE Banking Act.
Congressman McCarthy has never been a friend to the marijuana policy reform movement and voted against the Blumenauer/McClintock/Norton amendment to protect California's legalization program. However, he did vote in favor of the SAFE Banking Act.
Cardenas has a solid pro-marijuana voting record, both in the Assembly and in Congress, going back to 1999.
Co-sponsor, MORE Act and SAFE Banking Act of 2019. Says cannabis a "Criminal and racial justice issue." Has reached out for input from cannabis community.
Congresswoman Bass previously opposed marijuana policy reform but has recently come around to support the repairative components of legislation such as The Marijuana Justice Act and The MORE Act.
She is the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security where the MORE Act had a favorable hearing in July of 2019 and was later passed by the full Committee with Rep. Bass's vote.
Congressman Takano is the Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee. In this leadership role, he has yet to call for a vote on any of the multiple bills that have been introduced to address veterans' issues in relationship to cannabis policy.
Porter is the first Democrat to be elected to represent her district, which covers much of south-central Orange County. She was voted toughest questioner in Congress for her tough questions to corporate executives on wage and banking issues.
She raised more than $1 million in the final quarter of 2019, leaving her with $2.7 million in the bank in her bid to hang on to the seat she won in 2018. Her leading opponent, Republican Donald Sedgwick of Laguna Hills, reported $521,405 on hand.
Has championed marijuana for veterans and repealing obsolete border restrictions against marijuana users.
Supported by San Diego cannabis reform groups.
"Our nation’s marijuana laws are outdated, ineffective, and too costly, It’s wrong that we waste billions every year arresting and locking up and destroying the lives of tens of thousands of people for low-level, non-violent marijuana violations." -Campaign Twitter
Longtime, strong supporter and cannabis advocate. Led campaign for Berkeley's 1979 marijuana initiative. One of first legislators in U.S. to vote for a total legalization bill in 2009. Has headed off bad legislation as chair of Public Safety Committee.
Cal NORML legislator of the year, 2018. Sponsored AB 34, allowing tax-free giveaways of medical cannabis to needy patients.
Her website says: Let me be very clear: as your Assemblywoman I will vote to get rid of the laws which let dangerous felons out of jail early, and which have decreased penalties for drug and property crime. At the same time, we need to have some compassion for our fellow Californians.
Has a good voting record. Introduced bill to regulate CBD products in CA.
One of five key Assembly sponsors of legislation regulating cannabis industry; voted against Prop 64.
Attorney, law professor and environmental advocate. Has a good voting record.
November will be a re-match between Republican Mathis and his Democratic challenger Drew Phelps. Mathis took nearly 2/3 of the vote in March in this Republican district.
State Assemblyman Obernolte is a front-runner to win a seat in this district, which opened up when Paul Cook retired.
Obernolte has a bad voting record as an Assemblyman.
Smith lost the special election in May 2020 to Garcia for this seat vacated by Katie Hill. She is now campaiging to unseat Garcia.
New to Assembly in 2018. Has a good voting record. Won handily in the March primary against her Republican challenger, earning 72% of the vote.
As San Bernardino County Supervisor has repeatedly voted in opposition to legal cannabis in the county. Has a bad voting record in the Assembly, one of the worst for a Democrat. Took 57% of the vote in the March primary against his Republican opponent.
Weak voting record. In a three-way March 2020 Primary, took 35% of the vote, to Republican challenger Kotyuk's 33% and Democrat Mazingo's 31%.
In 2018, Assemblywoman Gonzalez held up the medical marijuana users' employment rights bill AB 2069 as chair of the Assembly Appropriations committee, citing safety concerns from labor unions. She did co-sponsor Asm. Bonta's bill to automatically expunge past marijuana convictions.