On Super Tuesday, Where Does the Cannabis Industry Fit In?

So far in this election cycle, cannabis reform hasn’t been a significant issue. Earlier in February, the question came up at the South Carolina debate, but the mechanics of any one candidate’s cannabis reform plan haven’t yet received close scrutiny from the press or Washington power brokers.

Across the board, it’s not even a cut-and-dried issue on the Democratic side of the primary season. Most of the remaining candidates support some degree of legalization, while Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg have stuck close to the decriminalization argument. It’s a point that’s taken a backseat to more immediate national interests and broader economic and health care-related issues, but nonetheless the open question of cannabis reform is more visible than it’s ever been in presidential politics.

We published a poll asking cannabis business owners where they’re leaning as primary season heats up. Prior to Super Tuesday, we had at least seven candidates on the board. Then, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race.

In our poll, Buttigieg got the vote from 16% of respondents—second place overall in our results. While he went on to endorse Biden Monday night in Dallas, it’s unclear whether his base will follow his endorsement.

Much like in the actual primary campaign, Bernie Sanders led our poll with 44% of the vote (of 80 responses). He has maintained a strong pro-cannabis reform stance for a long time, speaking regularly about the importance of social justice and small business development—and going so far as to promise some sort of executive action on the first day of his presidency to legalize cannabis.

Here’s the full list of poll results:

Bernie Sanders: 44%

Pete Buttigieg: 16%

Elizabeth Warren: 7%

Amy Klobuchar: 4%

Michael Bloomberg: 3%

Joe Biden: 1%

Another 21% reported that they won’t be voting in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side of the primary season, 32% of respondents said they’ll be voting for President Trump. (No real Republican force has mounted a serious challenge to the incumbent.) The remaining respondents stated that they won’t be voting in the Republican primary either.

Let us know on social media whether the presidential campaign has changed the way you’re prediction cannabis legalization to unfold in the U.S.—or whether you think much good at all is going to come out of this year’s political moves.

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