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South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg continues to lead the polls in Iowa ahead of the first caucus and primary vote of the 2020 Democratic primary cycle. As he continues to discuss his plans for a potential presidency, Buttigieg discussed prison reform and commented on his drug policy.
If Buttigieg were to become President of the United States, he says that the country should move to decriminalize all drugs.
Buttigieg believes all drugs — including cocaine, meth, and ecstasy — should not result in incarceration. The presidential hopeful does not call for legalizing all drugs — he does want to legalize marijuana — but decriminalizing the drugs would be a starting point that could help stop overcrowding in prisons.
The 37-year-old mayor made his comments during an hour-long interview with the Des Moines Register.
“I would not have said even five years ago what I believe now, which is that incarceration should not even be a response to drug possession,” Buttigieg said. “But what I’ve seen is—while there continue to be all kinds of harms associated with drug possession and use—it’s also the case that we have created, in an effort to deal with what amounts to a public health problem, we have created a bigger problem, a justice problem, and its own form of a health problem, if you think about the impact on a child.
“We have kids in South Bend who have grown up with the incarceration of a parent as one of their first experiences. That makes them dramatically more likely to have an encounter with the criminal legal system. And so I’ve always been skeptical of mass incarceration but now I believe more than ever we need to take really significant steps, like ending incarceration as a response to simple possession.”
You can check out Buttigieg’s full comments below beginning around the 55:15 minute mark.
Buttigieg is currently leading in Iowa with 22 percent support among potential caucusgoers. Senator Bernie Sanders follows behind at 20 percent, while former Vice President Joe Biden has 18.8 percent support and Senator Elizabeth Warren has 16 percent. Buttigieg also polls in the top two for another early primary state, New Hampshire.
The Iowa Caucus will be held on February 3, 2020, so we will have to wait and see whether Buttigieg’s early support holds up and if he can continue to gain momentum in the race.
