Rep. Eric Swalwell

CONGRESS | 15TH DISTRICT | East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell is backing Proposition 64, the state initiative aiming to legalize cannabis use, according to a Sacramento Bee reporter. The state measure comes before voters this November.

Although the two-term congressman from Dublin often finds wiggle room along the left of center political spectrum, his support for medical cannabis dispensaries has been consistently progressive over the years.

Swalwell has been a signer of at least five different letters to President Obama, for instance, urging the removal federal barriers to cannabis research and the easing of the federal policy against dispensaries.

In 2014, Swalwell also supported rescheduling cannabis, currently listed as a Schedule I narcotic similar to heroin. A consequence of the designation, according to the letter, has led in part to the incarceration of a disproportionate number of African Americans.

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