Bernie Sanders promises to legalize cannabis if elected

While on the Republican side, Donald Trump is the last candidate still in the race, on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are continuing their campaign rallies in an effort to win the primary election.

During a rally in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory in the Caribbean, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders promised to legalize cannabis if he were to become president.

Despite his poor Spanish, he answered a question from someone in the audience—«Would you legalize marijuana?»—first in Spanish, then in English.

Sanders quickly replied, «Yes.» And he continued, jokingly, «You see, my Spanish is good enough to answer your question.».

The reasons for his commitment to legalizing cannabis in the United States are simple. Too many people in the U.S. are penalized by criminal records related to nonviolent cannabis-related offenses. And these people then have a hard time finding jobs. Legalization could help relieve the burden on the courts and prisons, on the one hand, and boost the job market, on the other.

Canna-Bernie

This isn't the first time Bernie Sanders has spoken about legalizing cannabis. In fact, he has always been very open about this issue. At a rally in Michigan a few months ago, he admitted that he had smoked cannabis in the past.

«And the main effect it had on me was that I coughed a lot,» he added. «But I think other people have had different experiences.».

He also discussed the issue with rapper Killer Mike in a video about the War on Drugs. In the video, Bernie Sanders says there is an urgent need to change the way the United States tackles drug issues, particularly with regard to cannabis.

«The Controlled Substance Act »Federal law classifies cannabis on the same level as heroin. Of course, that's crazy. Everyone knows it doesn't make any sense," he can be heard saying in the video below.

Whereas More and more states are legalizing cannabis in the United States, the issue is often discussed by politicians. Earlier this year, President Obama stated that he would not change the laws on cannabis during his final year in office. In April, the The DEA had announced that it would consider reclassifying cannabis.

We'll let you take a look Bernie Sanders' speech in Puerto Rico below.