(KIWA Staff Photo)Iowa (RI) — Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand says Iowa should legalize recreational marijuana and regulate it the same way the state regulates alcohol.
Sand outlined the limits he’d support during a town hall in Dallas County this week.
Sand says cannabis products should not be marketed in ways that appeal to children.
He also says labels should clearly show potency, which he argues would address concerns he’s heard from Iowans.
Sand says state taxes on recreational marijuana sold by licensed retailers would help address Iowa’s budget gap. His comments came after a man in the audience raised the issue.
Sand is not proposing allowing adults to grow marijuana plants at home, a policy permitted in Missouri and 23 other states. He says growers, manufacturers, and retailers should be required to obtain state license, and he’d require state permits for transporting and selling cannabis.
Sand’s Republican opponent, Zach Lahn, does not support legalizing recreational marijuana.
The federal government criminalized marijuana in 1937. Over the past 30 years, 40 states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. Iowa lawmakers created the state’s medical marijuana program in 2017.
