Candidate

Grade

More info

A+

Former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel has been edged off the Democratic debate stages, but not before making some strong statements against the War on Drugs. The addiction problem is public health problem," he said after the June 5 CNN debate. "If I'm president, I'll do away with the 'War on Drugs' which does nothing but savage our inner cities and put our children at risk," he said in the June 28 PBS debate.

Candidate

Grade

More info

A+

Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has been a consistent advocate of marijuana decriminalization and an outspoken critic of DEA raids on medical use facilities. He spoke with us recently: "We need to look at drug abuse as a medical problem and help people get the medical care, the mental health care that they need in order to put their lives together again. When you put judgment on people because they have used drugs, you make it difficult for people to be able to take a new path," he said.

Candidate

Grade

More info

A-

Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd made waves in September when he stated his support for marijuana decriminalization. This led to a "decrim" question being asked by Tim Russert at the MSNBC debate Oct. 30. When we caught up with Dodd in November, he criticized the front-runners for their lack of courage. He asked: "Aren't they satisfied we're clogging our prison system? That's ridiculous."

Candidate

Grade

More info

B

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has been an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana. He signed legislation in his state earlier this year that empowered the state government to provide authorized patients access to medical marijuana, and when the feds threatened to arrest state employees, he blasted the White House in an open letter to the president. When we saw him, we asked about decriminalization. "I can't support that yet, but the 'War on Drugs' is failing," he said.

Candidate

Grade

More info

C

New York Senator Hillary Clinton says the DEA's medical marijuana raids are "excessive," but she opposes marijuana decriminalization. At the June 28 debate, Clinton staked out her general position: "We need diversion, like drug courts... we need to make sure that we do deal with the distinction between crack and powder cocaine."

Candidate

Grade

More info

C

Former No. Carolina Senator John Edwards has improved his medical marijuana position since 2003, when he said it would be "irresponsible" to discontinue the DEA raids in medical marijuana states. In the Oct. 30 debate, he disagreed with marijuana decriminalization: "I think it sends the wrong signal to young people, and I think the President of the United States has the responsibility to ensure that we're sending the right signals to young people."

Candidate

Grade

More info

C

From an anti-prohibitionist's perspective, Illinois Senator Barack Obama may be the biggest wildcard of this presidential race. He doesn't have much of a record on drug policy, but he's okay on medical marijuana, and he has been frank about his own history with marijuana and cocaine. Among potential general election opponents, Giuliani praised Obama in November for being honest about his drug use, after which ROmney countered that candidates should not discuss their past "indiscretions."

Candidate

Grade

More info

C-

Delaware Senator Joe Biden has introduced legislation to eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, and he authored legislation creating drug courts to divert first offenders into treatment. However, he hasn't made a very strong statement on marijuana, and he opposes decriminalization. Also, Biden's website boasts that he "created the Drug Czar's office in the White House." (We figured that alone was worth the minus).