Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says he supports federally legalizing marijuana and allowing veterans with PTSD to use certain psychedelics\u2014but his campaign is also attacking a recent Fox News article that suggested he supports decriminalizing \u201ccertain hard drugs\u201d even though he recently said the broader reform would be an \u201cimportant\u201d part of broader strategy.<\/p>\n
\u201cVivek is in favor of federal legalization of marijuana\u201d his campaign said on Monday in response to the news report. \u201cThe current state-level \u2018legalization\u2019 farce contributes to the culture of lawbreaking. It\u2019s literally against the law. For us to pretend otherwise only undermines the rule of law in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramaswamy also posted on social media: \u201cI support decriminalizing ayahuasca & ketamine for veterans suffering from PTSD, to prevent the epidemic of fentanyl & suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statements come as the 38-year-old entrepreneur works to clarify his position on drug policy following the Fox News article, which described him as \u201cbreaking with his party\u201d by supporting drug decriminalization.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you strike the swamp, the swamp strikes back,\u201d he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, dismissing the article as \u201cmore planted trash.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMore planted trash. I support decriminalizing ayahuasca & ketamine for veterans suffering from PTSD, to prevent the epidemic of fentanyl & suicide. It\u2019s pathetic that Establishment candidates are using lies as a substitute for a message. When you strike the swamp, the swamp\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/NHrQ2lxadb<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 15, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Despite painting himself as the victim of a media smear, however, Ramaswamy did not specify which portions of the Fox report<\/a>, if any, were inaccurate. And while his campaign\u2019s comments to Fox News clarified his position on marijuana, it did not address his comments on other drugs.<\/p>\n
In fact, in a recent interview, Ramaswamy repeatedly described decriminalization as an \u201cimportant\u201d piece of a more comprehensive drug policy, emphasizing his view that tighter border security and reduced U.S. demand for drugs are also essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in the long run\u2014and I\u2019m talking about over a long run period of time\u2014decriminalization, serially, is an important part of the long-run solution here,\u201d he said during an appearance in late June at the Porcupine Freedom Festival (PorcFest) in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n
Ramaswamy said at the event that he\u2019s skeptical of prohibition and is \u201cnot a war-on-drugs person.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also stressed the availability of psychedelics as a viable alternative for people who are suffering from mental health conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m probably the only person in the modern history of our party that is open to a conversation about, for veterans at least. Let\u2019s start with PTSD, where there\u2019s good evidence for psychedelics, from ayahuasca to ketamine,\u201d Ramaswamy said. \u201cYou could actually have an open discussion about rationally giving people off ramps.\u201d<\/p>\n
A number of other GOP politicians have recently come out in favor of loosening restrictions on psychedelics. Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), for instance, called his personal experiences with ibogaine \u201cone of the greatest things that ever happened to me.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Ramaswamy, for his part, said that \u201cI personally know parents whose kids have died, who believe\u2014and I think on good authority\u2014that their kids could have at least survived by having an alternative path.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the same interview, he also said the U.S. needs to strengthen border protections to prevent the entry of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl from Mexico and China. \u201cMany of the people who are dying of fentanyl usage, they thought that they were smoking a different drug\u2014smoking weed, potentially potentially having a Percocet.\u201d he said. \u201cActually a lot of kids are getting it through Snapchat, via Percocet, directly coming across the southern border via Mexican drug cartels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we need to deal with the demand side problem here,\u201d Ramaswamy said, \u201cdecriminalization is an important part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for marijuana, prior to his campaign\u2019s comments on Monday in favor of federal legalization, the GOP candidate typically said he supported the more limited decriminalization of cannabis.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI think it should be decriminalized,\u201d he said last month during an appearance on the Cartier Family YouTube channel. \u201cI think it\u2019s a farce that we have a local regime where it\u2019s decriminalized with the federal government says wink and nod, look the other way. We got to catch up with the times. It\u2019s not a popular position in the Republican party, but I, just again, like I said, I had to speak the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other GOP presidential candidates have so far been more circumspect about legalizing marijuana federally.<\/p>\n
Former President Donald Trump has simultaneously described cannabis as \u201ca very popular thing\u201d<\/a> even while contending that it \u201cdoes damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCanada has gone all that way [with legalization], and other countries have gone all that way. Some countries won\u2019t do it,\u201d he said during a recent interview with Newsmax. \u201cBut I am going to take a look at some final results. But indications are that is not exactly helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeSantis, for his part, said in June that he would not federally decriminalize cannabis if elected<\/a>. He said he\u2019s concerned about the potency of marijuana and, despite a lack of evidence, the possibility that products could be laced with more dangerous drugs such as fentanyl. \u201cIf you do something with that, it could be goodnight right then and there,\u201d he said. \u201cYou could die just by ingesting that, so I think that that\u2019s problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mike Pence, who served as vice president under Trump, has long been against marijuana use and has consistently opposed even incremental reform<\/a>, claiming that cannabis is a gateway to other illicit drugs. As governor of Indiana, he pushed the legislature to ramp up criminalization of illicit substances\u2014saying the state was \u201cleaning into the war on drugs\u201d<\/p>\n
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, meanwhile, claimed in June that he would \u201cend\u201d the drug war if elected, but only partially<\/a>. He said he wants to focus instead on treatment, but he prescribed a tougher approach for those who sell drugs. \u201cThe dealers who are making money off of this, you bet they should be penalized,\u201d he said during a CNN townhall. And Christie still opposes the legalization of marijuana, describing tax revenue from regulated sales as \u201cblood money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as a Democrat, took a swipe at DeSantis over his opposition to reform. If elected, he said, \u201cI will decriminalize cannabis at the federal level.\u201d<\/a> He later declined an invitation to smoke a joint with comedian Bill Maher.<\/p>\n
Kennedy\u2019s decriminalization position aligns him to some extent with President Joe Biden, who has also backed decriminalization and allowing states to set their own cannabis laws. The president has also directed an administrative review into marijuana\u2019s federal scheduling that one top official recently told Marijuana Moment he hopes to have completed by the year\u2019s end<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nBiden Admin Has No Record Of Marijuana Letter Cited By DEA Head In Congressional Testimony<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
The post GOP Candidate Ramaswamy Supports Federal Marijuana Legalization And Allowing Veterans To Use Psychedelics<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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