In Short
The former mayor of New York City has stated publicly that he does not support ending the federal raids on state medical marijuana patients and caregivers.
What Former Mayor Giuliani Has Done:
Mayor Giuliani has neither cosponsored nor voted on any legislation specifically addressing medical marijuana.
What Former Mayor Giuliani Has Said:
On June 6, 2007, at a town hall meeting in New Castle, New Hampshire, Mayor Giuliani talked about being a strong proponent of states’ rights and individual freedom. Former Maryland statehouse delegate Don Murphy asked Mayor Giuliani, “Considering your comments regarding choice and personal responsibility, can you please comment on marijuana use by cancer and AIDS patients with their doctors’ approval?”
To this Mayor Giuliani replied: “I believe there are a lot of alternatives people have other than using marijuana.”
Just over a month later, on July 10, 2007, at a town hall meeting in Concord, New Hampshire, Mayor Giuliani was asked if he would end the DEA’s raids on seriously ill patients and their caregivers living in the 12 states that have passed medical marijuana laws. He responded, “Good question. I told you we were going to disagree about something. Sit down and I’ll tell you what you’re going to disagree with. I’m very opposed to any form of legalizing marijuana; I think is a mistake. I know a lot about this particular area for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is as a prosecutor for more of my life then anything else. You can accomplish everything that you want to accomplish with things other than marijuana, probably better. Meaning, there are pain medications much superior to marijuana. And, marijuana is a very dangerous substance. And, in an era in which we want — I have always found this really strange — in an era in which we’re really worried about clean air, clean forests, and clean atmosphere, why people want to pollute their bodies with things that are really, really damaging, I don’t get. We’d be much better off telling people the truth; marijuana adds nothing to the array of legal medications and prescription medications that are available for pain relief. And marijuana is a very serious and addictive drug that particularly harms lots and lots of young people. And we should keep it illegal, and I will keep it illegal.”
When Giuliani was asked a follow-up regarding how medical marijuana differs from the numerous legal