House Elections Show Promise for Reform
House Elections Show Promise for Reform
(from Winter 1996-97 Marijuana Policy Report)
The U.S. House of Representatives of the 105th (1997-1998) Congress is comprised of 227 Republicans, 207 Democrats, and one Independent (Rep. Bernard Sanders from Vermont). This 10-seat House majority is the smallest in more than 40 years.
Significantly, 16 of the House members who signed on to the medicinal marijuana bill introduced in the last Congress ran for reelection, and all of them won, including two Republicans. Most won by 75/25 or 80/20 majorities.
Three co-sponsors of H.R. 2618 did not run for reelection — Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-CA), Rep. Harry Johnston (D-FL), and Rep. Steven Gunderson (R-WI).
Perhaps the most interesting election was that of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). Rep. Paul, who served four terms in the House in 1976-1977 and 1979-1985, was the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate in 1988 and has openly declared his support for "legalizing drugs." While he has toned down the "legalization" rhetoric, Paul is out front in his opposition to the drug war and supports marijuana law reform.
During this Congress, Rep.Paul has already spoken out on the House floor in opposition to drug testing because it is a violation of 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. The MPP expects Rep.Paul — a medical doctor and a Republican — to be a strong advocate for medicinal marijuana in the months to come.
Three of the more conspicuous prohibitionists in the House lost their reelection bids:
- Rep. Andrea Seastrand (R-CA), who signed on to a number of Rep. Gerald Solomon's (R-NY) drug testing bills;
- Rep. Bob Dornan (R-CA), who also signed on to Solomon's bills and occasionally grandstanded on the House floor in favor of the war on drugs; and
- Rep. Jim Bunn (R-OR), who had introduced a bill that would have repealed the U.S. Sentencing Commission's positive marijuana sentencing reform amendment, which took effect on November 1, 1995. (Bunn's bill never moved through committee.)
As former U.S. Senator Bob Dole's failed presidential campaign shows, grandstanding on the drug issue does not guarantee an election victory. And, apparently, openly supporting medicinal marijuana doesn't hurt one's chances either. | 
