New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is once again threatening marijuana users in states that have legalized the drug, telling them to "enjoy it" while they can because, if he becomes president, there'll be a crackdown.
“If you’re getting high in Colorado today, enjoy it,” Christie said Tuesday during a Newport, New Hampshire, town-hall meeting, Bloomberg reports. “As of January 2017, I will enforce the federal laws.”
Christie, one of 16 Republicans campaigning for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, has made no secret of his long-held opposition to cannabis. As governor of New Jersey, he has opposed even his own state's limited medical marijuana program and has called similar laws in 22 other states a "front" for full recreational legalization. He has described taxes generated from the sale of marijuana as "blood money." And earlier this year in no uncertain terms, he said that, as president, he would "crack down and not permit" recreational cannabis in states that have legalized it.
To date, four states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for adult use -- although D.C. still bans sales. As many as 10 more states are expected to consider legalization in the next several years.
But marijuana, be it medical or recreational, remains prohibited under federal law, and states rely on guidance from the Department of Justice urging federal prosecutors to refrain from targeting state-legal operations.
The kind of federal crackdown that Christie espouses does not appear to be popular with most Americans, as multiple recent polls have found a majority in support of legalizing marijuana.
Even Christie's fellow Republicans don't seem to favor such a hard-line stance. According to a recent Pew survey, while most GOP voters do not support legalization, they do support states' rights when it comes to marijuana -- with 54 percent saying that the federal government should not interfere with states that have already legalized cannabis. Among millennial Republicans, support for legalizing marijuana is significant -- with 63 percent in favor.
In New Hampshire, the state that hosts the nation's first primary election, a recent WMUR Granite State poll found wide backing for legalization -- 60 percent -- with an even higher percentage favoring decriminalization.
"Gov. Christie is either totally clueless or utterly careless," Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, told The Huffington Post. "If Gov. Christie is trying to distinguish himself from the other Republican candidates, he’s doing a good job. He clearly has the least respect for states’ rights and the most desire to maintain our federal government’s failed program of marijuana prohibition."
Politicians On Pot
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom at the 2014 California State Democratic convention(01 of11)
Open Image Modal“But for almost 20 years now, we’ve sat back admiring our accomplishment while the world, the nation, and states like Colorado and Washington have passed us by. It’s time to legalize, it’s time to tax, it’s time to regulate marijuana for adults in California.” (credit:Getty Images)
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom during an appearance on MSNBC's "Ronan Farrow Daily" (02 of11)
Open Image Modal"I think it’s wrong to use language like 'potheads' or 'stoners' or 'hippies.' I think this is a serious issue and it requires a serious debate. It’s impacting too many people and too many lives and it’s costing the tax payers a fortune." (credit:Getty Images)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during an interview with TIME(03 of11)
Open Image Modal"To me it is not one of the major issues facing this country." (credit:Getty Images)
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) after the first legal sales of recreational pot began in the state(04 of11)
Open Image Modal"By regulating marijuana like alcohol, Colorado voters hope to reduce crime and keep marijuana away from kids.” (credit:AP)
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) after introducing two pieces of legislation to de-federalize marijuana policy and create a framework for the federal taxation of cannabis(05 of11)
Open Image Modal“Congress should simply allow states to regulate marijuana as they see fit and stop wasting federal tax dollars on the failed drug war.” (credit:AP)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) after introducing the States' Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act in Congress(06 of11)
Open Image Modal"The people of California have made it legal for patients to have safe access to medicinal marijuana and as a result thousands of small business owners have invested millions of dollars in building their companies, creating jobs, and paying their taxes. We should be protecting and implementing the will of voters, not undermining our democracy by prosecuting small business owners who pay taxes and comply with the laws of their states in providing medicine to patients in need." (credit:AP)
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in a letter to the legislature's Joint Budget Committee(07 of11)
Open Image Modal"Indeed, we view our top priority as creating an environment where negative impacts on children from marijuana legalization are avoided completely." (credit:Getty Images)
Former president Bill Clinton in an interview with Fusion TV's Jorge Ramos(08 of11)
Open Image Modal“I didn’t say I was holier than thou, I said I tried. I never denied that I used marijuana." (credit:Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in a Las Vegas Sun interview(09 of11)
Open Image Modal"If you’d asked me this question a dozen years ago, it would have been easy to answer -- I would have said no, because [marijuana] leads to other stuff, but I can’t say that anymore." (credit:Getty Images)
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo) in an e-mail to supporters after the first state-sanctioned sales of marijuana began in Colorado(10 of11)
Open Image Modal“I’m working hard to make sure that Congress passes legislation to respect states and the overwhelming majority that voted to legalize marijuana in 2012.” (credit:Getty Images)
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) in an e-mail to supporters after the first state-sanctioned sales of marijuana began in Colorado(11 of11)
Open Image Modal"It was a big week in Colorado. Across the state, recreational marijuana was sold for the first time. And guess what? The world didn’t end." (credit:Getty Images)
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