Every Democratic candidate vying to be the next governor of Illinois believes the time to legalize recreational marijuana has come – as the GOP’s candidates continue to embrace prohibition.
The Democratic candidates participating in the March 20 primary are State Sen. Daniel Biss (9th District), entrepreneur Chris Kennedy, billionaire-businessman J.B. Pritzker, educator Bob Daiber, community activist Tio Hardiman and Dr. Robert Marshall.
Political competitors, two of the Democratic candidates took to their Twitter accounts earlier this month in an attempt to communicate and differentiate their positions on legalization. J.B. Pritzker, considered a front-runner for the Democratic nomination, claimed Chris Kennedy was feigning his support of legalization.
A political pugilist that has opposed legalization until recently, Kennedy fired back at Pritzker’s claim. Asking his supporters to ignore the politically charged tweets, phone calls, and mailers.
As for the Republicans, the two remaining candidates competing to become the next governor of the Prairie State are opposed to implementing adult use legalization, and have questioned “the future of Illinois medical marijuana pilot program,” according to NBC Chicago.
But while the Democratic and Republican candidates wage a public battle over reforming their marijuana laws, a recent pollperformed by Southern Illinois University’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute indicates 66 percent of Illinois’ registered voters favored legalization.
Good news for the state’s Democratic candidates,“Two-thirds (66%) of Illinois voters said they favored this measure compared to nearly one-third (32% who opposed),” according to the March 5, poll. While surveyed Republicans remained split – 49 percent support legalization and 49 percent oppose legalization – those who self identified as Democrats support legalization by 78 percent.
