Bill Richardson and Medical Marijuana


Bill Richardson Friday signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in New Mexico. He's also running for president and was asked about whether this would hurt his chances:
"So what if it's risky? It's the right thing to do," said Richardson, one of the candidates in the crowded 2008 field. "What we're talking about is 160 people in deep pain. It only affects them."

The legislation would create a program under which some patients - with a doctor's recommendation - could use marijuana provided by the state health department. Lawmakers approved the bill Wednesday. The governor is expected to sign it in the next few weeks.

Richardson has supported the proposal since he first ran in 2002. But he pushed especially hard for it this year, leaning on some Democrats to change their votes after the bill initially failed.

Far from being risky, this kind of thing should help Richardson in the Democratic primaries. According to some Zogby polling last year, 59% of Democrats supported this sort of thing, with the strongest support on the East and West coasts. Medical Marijuana even gets 33% of Republican support. So I doubt this meets the definition of a risky move. Even in a general election Richardson can support this in states rights and libertarian values, which would make an interesting mix against a statist candidate like Rudy Giuliani.

In fact it's this type of thing that makes running for president as a governor much easier than running as a senator. Senators have to make ugly compromises. Governors sometimes find it easier to get things done (depends on the state).

Bill Richardson still hasn't been able to move the needle on his polling which is still in the single digits. As a conservative, I'm quite happy that the Democrats are ignoring their most electable candidate.

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