Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) said during a WMUR debate last week that she would support legalizing cannabis at the federal level. Her opponent in the Democratic primary, state Rep. Paige Beauchemin, also pledged to back federal legalization. The debate came as New Hampshire’s primary elections got underway.
Goodlander framed her position around redirecting law enforcement priorities. “Law enforcement resources should be focused directly on the challenges that are most pressing for communities,” Goodlander said during the debate.
She argued that enforcement has targeted the wrong people for too long. “I believe that for far too long we have been focused on the wrong offenders so I do. …We have serious problems when it comes to drugs and cartels in this country and opioids have been one of the top killers in our communities.
We’ve been wrecked by the opioid crisis,” Goodlander said during the debate.
Beauchemin agreed that cannabis should be legalized federally but emphasized how a national retail market should be structured. She said small businesses, rather than large corporations, should be positioned to run cannabis stores.
“I think that it’s silly that we allow alcohol and don’t allow cannabis but we need to make sure we are implementing it in a way that small businesses are able to run those businesses as opposed to large corporations that are buying those businesses from the folks who have been on the other end of the criminal justice system,” Beauchemin said during the debate.
She also raised concerns about people with past cannabis convictions being shut out of the industry. “They shouldn’t have been punished and then not even be able to run a store, if that’s something they want to do,” Beauchemin said during the debate.
The University of New Hampshire Survey Center gives Goodlander a wide lead in the primary race. She holds 59% support compared to Beauchemin’s 19%.
New Hampshire’s primary elections are underway today.
The winner of the primary will carry the Democratic nomination forward in the race for New Hampshire’s congressional seat.
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