Rep. Tom McClintock doesn’t approve of marijuana use.
He sees “clear evidence” its use can cause neurological problems in children.
He’s a reliable Republican, conservative vote in Congress.
Yet he’s one of the few congressional Republicans who for years has consistently called for easing federal restrictions on the drug’s use.
“He has the best record on the marijuana issue of any Republican congressman in California,” said Dale Gieringer, California NORML director.
“He’s pretty unique. He’s a pretty conservative Republican and conservative Republicans tend not to be the best friends of cannabis reform,” said John Hudak, a senior fellow in governance studies at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution and author of “Marijuana: A Short History.”
This year, McClintock, R-Elk Grove, joined with liberal Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland and Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, to sponsor a measure to withhold money to enforce federal laws against marijuana activity that a state has deemed legal. The House could consider the proposal when it returns next month.
A LONELY REPUBLICAN VOICE
McClintock has a long history of opposing most federal restrictions on the drug.
When he ran for governor in 2003, he was asked during a debate about the state’s 1996 Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana.
“The people of California spoke clearly on that subject. The federal government has no right to intervene,” he said. Federal laws on marijuana have been tougher and more restrictive than state law.
Part of McClintock’s view stems from a libertarian streak, that people should be able to live as they please as long as they don’t endanger others.
Another part of his philosophy is practical, he says. Current laws, he says, simply are not working.
Hudak saw another reason. “He’s representing his constituents. Northern California is fairly pro-cannabis,” he said.
Over the years, McClintock has been resolute.
“Just laws protect us from others. Tyrannical laws try to protect us from ourselves,” he said in 2018.
At a House crime subcommittee hearing the next year, he explained that “Personally, I believe cannabis use in most cases is ill-advised. But many things are ill-advised that should not be illegal, but rather be left to the informed judgment of free men and women.”
Current laws are often ineffective but counterproductive, he argued. Asked for a comment last week, spokeswoman Jennifer Cressy cited those 2019 comments.
DO WEED LAWS CREATE TROUBLE?
For years, McClintock has used this example of how current marijuana policy spawns trouble:
A deputy sheriff once said that if he gave two high school students each a $20 bill, sent one to buy marijuana and the other to buy alcohol, the child seeking cannabis would succeed first, McClintock relates.
“They know where to get it and the dealer’s entire business is built on ignoring the law. The youth sent to buy alcohol would visit one liquor store after another, get carded and get thrown out — precisely because the dealer’s entire business depends on obeying the law,” McClintock said.
What’s needed are sensible state regulations and enforcement, he has argued.
“I believe very firmly that treating marijuana in a regulated, legal environment is a far more effective way of keeping it out of the hands of young people and it is a far…
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