| MANCHESTER, NH - September 24 - Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana
(GSMM) announced on Tuesday that it is raising Democratic presidential candidate and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's grade to a "C" in the group's voter guide, based on his recent positive statements about medical marijuana.
Newly announced candidate and retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark -- already the front-runner in some polls -- is the race's mystery man. With no record or public statements on medical marijuana, Clark gets an "Incomplete."
Dean's grade was previously the lowest of any Democratic presidential candidates. Now U.S. Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham
(D-FL) are tied for the lowest, each rating a "D-" for supporting the continued arrest of seriously ill patients.
Dean told GSMM members at a campaign stop in Berlin last Friday that he would impose a moratorium on Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) raids on seriously ill medical marijuana patients while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would study the drug, saying, "Will I do what [Attorney General] Ashcroft is doing? No, absolutely not." The call for a moratorium is new for Dean, who has previously said he would order the FDA to study medical uses of marijuana.
GSMM also raised U.S. Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) grade from a "C" to a "B" after he said at a campaign stop on September 20 that he would stop DEA raids on medical marijuana patients and providers in states with medical marijuana laws. Kerry's grade remains higher than Dean's because Kerry pledged a permanent end to the raids while Dean pledged only a moratorium. "In addition, Governor Dean killed medical marijuana legislation when he was governor of Vermont, and we have to take that into account," said GSMM Campaign Coordinator Aaron Houston.
Four of the 10 major Democratic presidential candidates have now pledged to end the arrests of patients in states with medical marijuana laws: Kerry, Dean, former U.S. House leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO), and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH). GSMM's complete candidate guide is available at http://www.GraniteStaters.com.
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