Support for Medical Marijuana Helps Lift Senate Candidate to Primary Victory

For people who still don’t believe that medical marijuana is a mainstream issue supported by a majority of Americans, last night’s GOP Senate  primary in Kentucky provided just one more example.

Newcomer Rand Paul, son of Republican congressman Ron Paul, defeated establishment candidate Trey Grayson, in part, because of his support for medical marijuana laws.

Here’s how the L.A. Times described it:

“Grayson and his allies sought to portray Paul, a Bowling Green eye doctor, as something of a kook. They cited, among other things, his support for legalizing medical marijuana […] But the criticism served mainly to rally Paul supporters — many of whom backed his father for president in 2008 — and helped reinforce his image as a political outsider.”

If this can happen in conservative Kentucky, it can happen anywhere. Politicians of all stripes need to realize they have nothing to fear by supporting compassionate laws that protect seriously ill patients—and in fact, much to gain.