In the fervor of election season, it is easy to forget that there are more than two options for President of the United States. Although, the media sure does a great job of helping everyone forget.
Well, not at the MM Report.
We took a chance and contacted the Libertarian Party candidate for President, Jo Jorgensen, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Clemson University. Her campaign, that includes repurposing the Hillary hashtag ‘#ImWithHer’, which promises such things as ending the war on drugs, promoting free trade, ending quotas on immigration, releasing non violent criminals from federal prisons, bringing all of America’s troops home, legalizing all drugs, shrinking government, reducing taxation, and protecting 2nd Amendment rights, appeals to many aspects of both sides of the aisle. To our surprise, she reached out, and took the time to chat with us a bit about herself, and a bit about marijuana.
MM Report: So, why do you want to be President? Why did you get into politics?
Jo: I never got into politics, and I don’t want to be in politics. Some people ask, “Were you student council?”, no I never ran for that, I hate the idea of a few elite people getting to make the rules for everyone else. I vote Libertarian as an act of self defense, so I can keep my freedoms. I am running so I can keep my liberty.
MM Report: Right to the point, do you have any experience with marijuana?
Jo: I made it through high school and college without smoking weed, not even cigarettes, but I think all drugs should be legal. Even if marujuana were dangerous, it should be up to the person. The problems we have are not from marijuana, it is from the fact it is illegal.
“I never got into politics, and I don’t want to be in politics. Some people ask, “Were you student council?”, no I never ran for that, I hate the idea of a few elite people getting to make the rules for everyone else.”
MM Report: So you support legalization at all levels?
Jo: People will typically get the drug or sex they are looking for, if we made it all legal they would not need to go underground. It’s the same with all drugs, heroin deaths, they say Janis Joplin received a stronger dose than she was used to. Street drugs do not have certifications, or ingredients. Government making it illegal puts it underground and makes it less safe. My drug of choice is Bourbon, I am not in this for me, I have legal access to my drug. I am fighting so that we all have our individual rights, and individual liberty.
MM Report: Your website does say you want to ‘End the War on Drugs’, so what exactly does that mean to you?
Jo: Well obviously the President can’t just end the war on drugs. But, the first day in office I would pardon all federal non-violent drug users, any non-violent crime, that really is not a crime because there is no victim. I would set that example and hope the states followed it. I would also tell the Attorney General, don’t go after them, because I am just going to let them out. Then I would work with congress to change these terrible laws. There is a saying, “liberty is right, and liberty works.” It’s the right thing to do both morally and practically. When is the last time you heard of a liquor store owner selling Gin to kids? When is the last time you heard of anyone stealing to support their liquor habit? When do liquor stores fight like gangs? The problem is not the drugs, not to say there aren’t drug problems, there are. But, the problem is the fact they are illegal.
MM Report: What are your thoughts on how marijuana should be regulated?
Jo: Marijuana should not be so highly taxed that people still go underground, and whoever wants to sell it, they should be able to sell it. I am fine with some restrictions, like with alcohol, for instance an age limit, but I don’t want it so highly regulated that only corporations can sell it, or that you have to grow it yourself. I don’t want to see the equivalent of bath-tub Gin out there where people have to go to the underground because it’s so highly taxed.
MM Report: What would be your message to the marijuana smoking voters in Michigan?
Jo: Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in 2012, they were against gay marriage. The younger people who weren’t around might ask, “Why is that?” It’s because they are not interested in individual rights, or individual liberty; they are interested in votes. Politicians don’t look out for the average individual, they want to run the world in a way that they see fit, that matches their beliefs. The Libertarian party is the only party that has supported individual rights since the 1970’s. Not because we are gay, or we use, but because we want to see each individual free. We want each individual to be free to make their own choices, regardless. Whether it’s getting married, smoking weed, or owning a gun. If it is consensual and between adults, and there is no victim, then there is no crime. Of course, that goes for sex work as well.
To learn more about Jo Jorgensen and her campaign for President visit:
