Phil has defended the Affordable Care Act and the rights of 700,000 Coloradans who have pre-existing health conditions, the 400,000 covered through the Medicaid expansion, and those under 26 years old who are on their parents’ plans. When these rights were challenged by the federal government, Phil defended the Affordable Care Act and Coloradans’ healthcare rights.
The ratification of Amendment 64 — which legalized cannabis in Colorado — once again showed that our state is a national leader when it comes to innovative, progressive solutions. Legalizing marijuana allows the state to tax the drug, producing revenue that can be directed to remarkable programs, including a mental health initiative in Eagle County1. In Pueblo, 563 students were given scholarships of up to 2000 dollars from revenue created by an excise tax on marijuana2 in the county.
Furthermore, at a time when our prisons are overcrowded and drug treatment options are lacking — an issue I will work on once elected — the legalization of marijuana allows us to treat cannabis possession as the public health and welfare issue it is, rather than as a criminal justice issue. Jeff Sessions’ attempted crackdown3 on marijuana legalization challenges the authority of states to make individual decisions on what’s right for them, and threatens Colorado’s sovereignty.