Iowa Democrats Want All Out Legalization? Apparently So.

I just got finished reading the Iowa Democratic Party Platform for 2008 today and wanted to share with you some interesting things I found.

Line 583: [We support] Taxing and regulating marijuana like tobacco and alcohol.
Line 593: [We oppose] The Iowa Drug Tax Stamp Act
Line 745: [We support] Legalizing Marijuana
Line 906: [We support] Research into the efficacy of marijuana.

Now as I recall, the 2006 platform didn’t outright call for legalization but merely decriminalization – this is something I’m working on verifying by requesting copies of platforms from previous years. I also don’t recall any talk of taxing and regulating marijuana – I would’ve remembered that as well.

The only other information I was able to extract from the internet was from DrugLibrary.net that was apparently compiled by Carl Olsen that stated the following about the Democratic Platform for the year 2000:

On Mental Health: Recognizing substance abuse as an illness and not criminal behavior.
On Healthcare: Medicinal use of marijuana as prescribed by a physician.

No mention of decriminalization or legalization, however that doesn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t there.

If my memory serves me right and I am not hallucinating, then it looks like the Iowa Democrats aren't too worried about political backlash associated with calling for laxer marijuana laws or alienating some of their constituents by going too "pro pot". I’m not too surprised though given the political environment with more and more politicians speaking about the failures of our countries draconian drug policies.

Although this is good news, I think I’ll try not to get too optimistic about this. However, I think this information is especially important to mention when wording correspondence to our representatives if they are Democrats. It seems that we might be able to move past quoting the scientific and economic arguments because, as the platform indicates, they might already “get” that.

As it stands now, there are 32 Democrats in the Senate and 56 in the house. We need to contact our representatives and tell them that we support lines 583, 593, 745, and 906 on their platform and that the issue decides our vote. Tell them that they need to start introducing legislation that coincides with their party's platform.

Even with strong majorities in both the house and senate, it didn't look like the Dems were able to unite and get much done this session. Lets hope they get it together for 2010.

By the way, I also went to the 2008 Iowa Republican Party Platform and nothing was stated on this particular issue. I think however, it might be a good bet that they're opposed to gay marriage. Maybe we need to call them and ask for some clarification about this marijuana thing.