Berndog is back. Last month, the Vermont Senator announced that he’s seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential election once again. And now that Sanders’ campaign is in motion, the politician is re-emphasizing his commitment to drug reform and other socially-progressive causes as he makes the rounds at rallies and appearances around the country.
To wit, this past weekend Bernie spoke at rallies in Chicago and New York, where he articulated the failure of the War on Drugs, private prisons, and detention centers.
“Instead of spending $80 billion a year on jails and incarceration, we are going to invest on jobs and education. No more private prisons and detention centers. No more War on Drugs. No more keeping people in jail because they’re too poor for cash bail,” Sanders told a crowd in Chicago on Sunday.
On Monday morning, Sanders took his messaging to the media, and appeared on “The Breakfast Club” in NYC. In the forty-minute interview, the candidate spoke at length about cannabis reform and the nascent legal industry.
Among his talking points were how we should wipe cannabis from the feds’ Controlled Substances List, how twisted it is that heroin and marijuana possession are treated the same, and how legalization will be a “major step forward in the struggle for a fairer, less racist criminal justice system.”
On top of the obvious, Bernie discussed social equity and how marginalized groups are still being punished for the War on Drugs while big corporations are “making immense profits off cannabis.” He added that small businesses, particularly those owned by people of color, deserve to be a “part of [the legalization] process.”
Bernie even discussed his own cannabis use: “My recollection is I nearly coughed my brains out, so it’s not my cup of tea,” he said.
Watch the whole “Breakfast Club” interview below:
