Democrat Joe Cunningham, who is running to unseat South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, is an advocate for medicinal and recreational legalization of marijuana.
The Governor hopeful has said he would legalize the plant if he was elected.
“This is going to be a game changer in South Carolina,” Cunningham told The Associated Press last week.
This was ahead of his announcement on Monday of the official rollout of his marijuana plan. “There are so many reasons why we need to do this, and the time is now.”
According to Cunningham, legalizing marijuana solves multiple problems including freeing up police to focus on violent criminals, providing a treatment alternative for those who are terminally or chronically ill, and generating millions for a state he says is “dead last” in areas where funding has been a struggle, like education and health care.
Cunningham has said he would expunge criminal records for low-level marijuana-related crimes, giving a second chance to people “whose lives have been ruined over a bag of marijuana.”
Cunningham, 39, was the first in decades to flip a South Carolina congressional seat from red to blue. Two years later, he narrowly lost the 1st Congressional District to Republican Nancy Mace.
“This is something the people want,” Cunningham said. “If our politicians aren’t reflecting the will of the people, then we have to change out the politicians, starting with Governor McMaster.”