House Member Grades from Pro-Legalization Group Don’t Fall Neatly Along Party Lines

/BY JOIN TOGETHER STAFF

October 30th, 2014/

0

Report card grades for members of the U.S. House of Representatives, issued by the pro-marijuana legalization group Drug Policy Alliance, do not fall neatly along party lines. Some conservative members of Congress are among the 49 House members who earned an A+, while some prominent Democrats are among the 141 members who received an F.

The group’s advocacy arm, Drug Policy Action, issued the report card Wednesday, according to U.S. News & World Report. Representative Steve Stockman, a conservative Republican from Texas, earned an A+, while Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, from Florida, earned an F.

The group based the grades on seven House votes. Three involved hemp and two involved banking rights for marijuana businesses. One would have cut funding from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and one was designed to protect medical marijuana in states where it is legal.

Members who voted in a way the group considered pro-drug reform in six of the votes received an A. Those who voted for reforms in one or none of the votes received an F. The group gave 56 percent of House members (179 Democrats and 64 Republicans) a grade of C or better, which indicated they favored reform in at least three of the seven votes.

The group did not grade senators, saying there were not enough drug policy votes in the chamber to consider.