HIGH HOPES: Christie, Paul, Perry Push To Legalize Pot

But the Obama administration has said it will give states leeway as long as they don’t see evidence that criminal gangs are trafficking the drug or that children are increasingly gaining access.

That makes pot an issue in states that will be important in the 2016 elections, including New Hampshire, which hosts the first-in-the-nation presidential primaries and where dozens of Republicans in the state legislature helped pass a bill legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, the Republican sponsor of the bill, said he is “absolutely ashamed” that Republicans opposed same-sex marriage when it passed in New Hampshire and hopes they will not be on the wrong side of history again on the marijuana issue.

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