Paul Ryan - against legalizing pot, then fine with it, then against it

GOP VP pick Paul Ryan traveled to Colorado on Friday, an important swing state where medical cannabis is already legal and a ballot initiative legalizing marijuana outright appears likely to pass.  In the past, Congressman Ryan has opposed even medical marijuana in states that legalized it.

When asked his position on legalizing pot, he suddenly embraced a new position saying it's a "states' rights" issue in an interview with Colorado Springs television station KRDO:

I asked Congressman Ryan: “In Colorado we have medical marijuana. Under a Romney Ryan ticket, what happens?”

Ryan: “It’s up to Coloradans to decide.”

I said: “So even if federal law says marijuana is illegal, you’re saying?”

Ryan: “My personal positions on this issue have been let the states decide what to do with these things. This is something that is not a high priority of ours as to whether or not we go down the road on this issue. What I’ve always believed is the states should decide. I personally don’t agree with it, but this is something Coloradans have to decide for themselves.”

Nearly three quarters of Americans agree with this position, however none of them are named Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney promised to fight marijuana legalization “tooth and nail,” and he lost his cool with a Colorado reporter who asked him about the medical cannabis issue last May. So Ryan was forced to backtrack on Saturday, when a Ryan spokesperson claimed that Ryan “agrees with Mitt Romney that marijuana should never be legalized.”

Courage, clarity and commitment you can trust.

Via ThinkProgress