Texas constitutional scholar Michael Badnarik is the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee.

Badnarik is on record voicing support for the removal of criminal penalties for the possession of marijuana for personal use. According to Badnarik's pre-nomination website: "The government's war on drugs violates the rights of Americans so egregiously that it is a bigger threat than the drugs themselves. Libertarians do not want our children taking drugs either, but we recognize that the several decades of drug interdiction haven't slowed the flow of narcotics into this country."

Specific to marijuana, Badnarik says: "Personally, I have never smoked a marijuana cigarette -- a fact most people find hard to believe for someone who attended college in the early 70's. Why are these people in jail? ... By releasing the half million people in jail for marijuana, we would have more than enough room to imprison all the violent criminals for their entire sentence, rather than releasing them early because of overcrowding."

Medical Marijuana

Michael Badnarik has recently updated his official website and gone on record voicing support for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. In a recently posted position paper, "Medical Marijuana and the Federal War on Drugs," Badnarik writes: "In the 2000 campaign for president, George W. Bush said that the federal government should not interfere with the medical marijuana policies of the several states. Like so many other promises, he went back on his word and has closed down medical marijuana facilities permitted by state governments. This is an outrage. ... According to nearly every scientific study on the subject, including ones conducted by the government, medical marijuana provides unique relief to patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and other illnesses, and the drug does not have the same addictive properties as alcohol."

He adds: "The federally approved Marinol contains the psychoactive THC but lacks other cannabinoids crucial to marijuana as an effective medicine. This is one of the many insanities of federal drug policy, which categorizes a plant that has never been shown to kill anyone as more illegal than cocaine, and certainly more illegal than alcohol. On a fundamental level, Libertarians believe that it is the unalienable and constitutional right of individuals to medicate themselves and choose for themselves what to put into their bodies, as long as they live up to the consequences of their actions. The federal government has no proper say in the matter, and state governments violate the rights of the people in their own attempts to enforce morality. The decision to ingest, smoke or consume any drug should be up to the individual, under the advice of his or her physician, when appropriate. Locking people up for trying to relieve their pain is cruel and unusual punishment for an act that hurts no one."

Repealing the Drug Offender Exclusionary Provision from the Federal Higher Education Act

Badnarik has not taken a public position regarding the repeal of a 1998 provision to the federal Higher Education Act (HEA) that bars convicted marijuana and drug offenders from receiving financial student aid. Badnarik is now in the process of updating his campaign website, and a more detailed position on this issue may be forthcoming.

Industrial Hemp

Badnarik is on record voicing support for allowing farmers to legally cultivate industrial hemp, and opposes any ban on edible hemp-based foods. He received an A+ grade on the Vote Hemp 2004 Presidential Candidate Report Card.

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