Mainstream politicians are jumping on the legalization bandwagon:
The 2014 candidates’ pro-pot stance appears mostly to be a way for them to distinguish themselves in primaries where the candidates largely share the same views, particularly on social issues. In Maryland, for example, the candidate pushing legalization, Heather Mizeur, also is vying to be first openly gay governor of the state and is running a campaign designed to appeal to liberals and young people. Mizeur rejects “old paradigm assumptions about conventional wisdom and what is and isn’t safe to do in politics,” she said. “I am a candidate who never plays it safe. I always stand up for what I believe in. In the past, politics has been about catching up to where people are.”
In Pennsylvania, former governor Ed Rendell told The Daily Beast that he thought [John] Hanger’s position on marijuana was what distinguished him most among voters with the Democratic primary five months away.
Hanger said he agreed.
“This issue alone could win me the Democratic primary,” he said.
The Dish 