▼ Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR)

At a private house party in Francestown, New Hampshire, on June 4, 2007, Huckabee was asked if he would end the federal raids on medical marijuana patients. He responded, "Well, you know, I think I'd leave that to the DEA. Let me just be very blunt. I don't support the idea. I think there are better ways to treat medical illnesses than the use of a drug that has really caused so many more people to have their lives injured than it has to necessarily have their lives helped. There are so many different ways in which, whether it's pain or other ways, I think we can deal with medical issues. I'm just not convinced that smoking marijuana is a great idea right now, given the culture of drugs in this country and how many lives it's destroyed. Even if a person says, 'but this is going to be a legitimate use,' for every legitimate use, there are many others. So, I'm probably not one who that's going to be real sympathetic toward relaxing drug laws, having seen what it's done in families and seen what it's done in our economy. I would just like to think that we could find better solutions to alleviating pain and suffering."

He was then asked by GSMM staff: "Until we do, what is the benefit to arresting people with cancer and AIDS and multiple sclerosis for using something that their doctors approve of?" Huckabee responded, "Well, you know I'm going to leave it up to the DEA whether they feel like there is a person who is being arrested because they are suffering from AIDS or because they really are doing something to significantly violate drug laws. But it comes down to laws are laws for a reason and if we don't change the laws, we don't have a right to break the ones we don't like. That's one of the reasons a lot of people are angry about the immigration laws. Its not because they don't think there ought to be something done to make them better, but they really don't like that there's been a complete sense of ignoring the laws we have. Then they wonder how you ever establish if we get to start picking and choosing the laws we agree with, the laws we like, the ones we can abide by, the ones we can't, do we become a nation of anarchy? And so the greatness, the genius, the brilliance of our system was that our founding fathers gave us the capacity to do something that's far more civil than to break a law that we don't like, is to change the law so that we like them better."

During a campaign event on June 7, 2007, in Contoocook, New Hampshire, Gov. Huckabee was asked if he would end the federal raids on medical marijuana patients. He responded, "You know, I don't support the idea of legalizing marijuana, so I want to be honest about that. I don't think there are as many wonderful things to come from it as there are some dangers to come from it. You know, if they're targeting people, I'm not sure that makes good sense, but I wouldn't go and say that you shouldn't follow the law. Many people at this rally today believe that we ought to be following immigration laws, we ought to be following Second Amendment constitutional rights and laws. And I wouldn't want to go say that I'm going to ignore a law. So I think the issue is, if folks like you believe in it, get the law changed. That's what ought to happen."

GSMM staffers then explained that supporters and legislators have changed the laws in states to protect ill residents but the federal government is intervening. He responded, "I probably just wouldn't make that a major priority one way or another." GSMM continued to push, repeating the question, "So you wouldn't end the raids?" Gov. Huckabee answered, "Probably not."

On September 29, at a house party in Londonderry, seriously ill New Hampshire resident and GSMM volunteer Linda Macia asked Gov. Huckabee if he would stop the federal raids on medical marijuana patients like herself in the 12 states that have passed laws protecting medical marijuana use. Gov. Huckabee responded, "Linda, let me just say I'm certainly sympathetic to anyone's pain and it's a terrible thing for anyone to have a debilitating disease of any kind. You've asked me the question about medical marijuana. My concern is that as much as I want to see something happen that can ease your pain, I'm not sure, and I have not been convinced with medical evidence by independent research. Again, I know that the people who are advocates are certainly very strong about it, but I have not seen independent research that clearly says that it is more effective than other forms of pain medication, whether it's narcotic or analgesic. And so what I want to do -- if somebody can present it to me, scientific and objective -- then I will certainly give it different consideration. But I know how much pain..."

Linda Macia stopped Gov. Huckabee and asked, "So you want to put me in jail? That's what they are doing, they are putting people in jail -- the sick and dying." To which Gov. Huckabee responded, "No, no, no, I'm not going to put you in jail, Linda. That's not the point we would do. But I think the question is whether I would favor legalization at a federal level, and until there is stronger scientific evidence, I am reluctant to do that."

Huckabee probably not end raids on the sick and dying.

During a house party in Bedford, New Hampshire on November 10, a GSMM staffer asked Gov. Huckabee, "Sir, in the past ten years, 12 states have passed laws protecting the seriously and terminally ill who use medical marijuana rather than opiates with their doctors' approval. George Bush began a policy of having armed DEA agents raid and arrest citizens, patients, and their doctors. Is that going to be a policy that you would continue — that specific policy?"

Gov. Huckabee responded, "Frankly, of all of the issues that I've got, that will be way down on the list. It's not something that occupies a great deal of my time. I get a lot of questions about it from the people that are part of the organization that are trying to push it. I don't support legalizing marijuana — certainly I don't. And if there was a way to get people to take it like a pill as opposed to some other form, that might be different if it had pure regulatory authority. But before I would get to that, I really want to take on health care, education, the borders, infrastructure, the war, then if there was somehow time in that eight years, I might take a look at that."

The GSMM staffer pressed Gov. Huckabee a little further, "So it wouldn't be a priority at all to raid people?"

Gov. Huckabee answered, "No, it would not. A priority to do it or not to do it, it just wouldn't be a priority. It just really wouldn't. Again, I'm going to just let you know that there are some issues way on fire."

Gov. Huckabee says medical marijuana isn't important to him