Ohio GovernorJohn Kasichtook a campaign swing through Michigan Monday as part of his bid to win the Republican presidential nomination.
At his first stop Monday at Grand Valley State University, he was asked about legalizing marijuana. Kasich says he’s not opposed to the medicinal use of marijuana, but has no interest in full legalization. In part, he says, because he doesn’t want to send a message that drug use is OK.
“I don’t want to ruin someone’s life because they smoked dope, but I’m not for legalizing it. And people say, well why not? Because I don’t want to send a double message to the country. This is a scourge.”
Kasich focused more on the widespread abuse of heroin and other opioids. Kasich also called for
a more muscular foreign policy, and said he supports overseas intervention to fight terrorism.
Additionally, Kasich is trying to set himself up as the calm, moderate alternative to more fiery candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz following a strong finish in the New Hampshire primary.
Kasich says solving controversies such as immigration, balancing the budget, and protecting the US from terrorists requires a more bipartisan approach. This was at a stop at Grand Valley State University.
“We will only get these things done if we are Americans, and not Republicans or Democrats.”
But that did not stop Kasich from bashing President Obama on foreign policy and excessive use of executive orders. Michigan’s primary is three weeks away on March 8th.
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— Rick Pluta is the State Capitol Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
