Virginia - U.S. Senate and House Candidate Endorsements based on drug war policy reform Note: This is an old Voting Guide. Go to the New Drug WarRant.net Voting Guide Make a difference in Virginia Drug WarRant is providing information to help you make decisions on voting and supporting candidates. Be aware that the information provided here ONLY relates to drug policy reform, and there are other reasons to vote for a candidate. However, drug policy reform is a critical issue, and one that is too often neglected by candidates, unless the voters make it critical. Below each candidate, you will see information about their drug policy reform views and/or voting record. (see the criteria at right for definitions). A red check mark is a Drug WarRant endorsement. A vote for them will be a vote for drug policy reform. In some cases there may be multiple good options. In other cases, there just isn't a good candidate. More endorsements will come as the election nears. If you have additional information about a candidate's drug policy positions, please contact Drug WarRant. If you don't know your district, go to Project Vote Smart and enter your zip code to find out your district and detailed information on all the candidates. Criteria 1. The National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) asks candidates which items they will support if elected. Not all candidates have answered the questionaire. For the purposes of Drug WarRant's endorsements, we have focused on the following specific items from the NPAT: NPAT Drugs: Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding drugs. Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs. Expand federally sponsored drug education and drug treatment programs. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. Eliminate federal funding for programs associated with the "war on drugs." Other or expanded principles For the purposes of endorsement, clearly the most important areas are "c, d, and f." A candidate with all three is gold. Selection "a" is a negative factor (although some consider this only for violent or major drug dealers). Selection "e" should be negative, but is confusing. There are some candidates who have an enlightened view of drug policy, who still choose "e" simply because of the heightened border concerns since 9/11, so there may be more involved in that response. At a minimum, a candidate should have chosen "d." The choice of "c" and/or "f" add greatly to their attractiveness. NPAT Colombia funding: Should the United States increase its financial support to Colombia to combat "the war on drugs"? "No" is the preferred answer here (at a minimum -- in fact, the answer should be to reduce funding, rather than just not increasing it). It is possible that someone could claim they are for increased funding to Colombia, but not for spraying or military purposes, but rather humanitarian purposes -- this seems a stretch, however, so I am looking for a solid "No" here. 2. The Hinchey Amendment. The incumbents have had two opportunities (2003/2004) to vote on an amendment that would stop the federal government from interfering with medical marijuana in states where it is legal. There was no legitimate reason to vote against this (and it was a bipartisan amendment), so a "no" vote is generally an indication of ignorance, or being in the pocket of the drug warriors. The proper response is: "Hinchey: Yes/Yes." 3. Other criteria. Where there is useful information from campaign web sites or news reports, those details are added here. If you have additional information (preferably with links), please let me know. US House 1 JoAnn S. Davis (R) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/No William A. Lee (I) NPAT Drugs: d,e; NPAT Colombia funding: No An easy one here. Davis has voted in favor of federal harrassment of medical marijuana patients, and Lee supports medical marijuana. US House 2 David B. Ashe (D) NPAT Drugs: no answers; NPAT Colombia funding: no answer Edward L. "Ed" Schrock (R) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/No I don't like this one. I'd automatically go with Schrock's opponent due to Ed's vote on Hinchey. However, Ashe doesn't look like very good choice. He has promoted increasing local drug enforcement efforts, and avoided answering the appropriate NPAT questions. And now, Schrock is dropping out due to impending scandalous allegations. I'll have to wait and see who the GOP stick in his place. US House 3 Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: Yes/Yes Winsome Earle Sears (R) No NPAT US House 4 James Randy Forbes (R) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/No Jonathan R. Menefee (D) NPAT Drugs: c,f; NPAT Colombia funding: No Another easy one. Menefee is in favor of decriminalizing marijuana and ending the federal drug war. Vote for him. US House 5 Virgil H. Goode (R) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/No Albert C. "Al" Weed (D) NPAT Drugs: b,c,d; NPAT Colombia funding: Yes Before you think Al Weed is some kind of long-haired hippy pot smoker, check out his website and photo. Still, despite some week answers, Weed is our man. US House 6 Robert W. "Bob" Goodlatte (R) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/No If you're in the 6th District, leave the section for U.S. House blank on your ballot. Then go out and start planning to run for the House in two years. US House 7 W. Brad Blanton (I) No NPAT Eric I. Cantor (R) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/No I'd probably go with Blanton just on the basis of Cantor's Hinchey vote. I'd still like to know more about Brad, but it seems, based on his books, that his approach is likely to be more on personal responsibility and helping others than government intervention, but I'm just extrapolating here. US House 8 James P. Moran (D) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: Yes/Yes Lisa Marie Cheney (R) No NPAT James T. Hurysz (I) NPAT Drugs: b,d,e,g CONGRESS MUST EVALUATE THE "WAR ON DRUGS". CONGRESS MUST FUND PROGRAMS THAT PREVENT DRUG ABUSE; NPAT Colombia funding: Undecided US House 9 Frederick C. "Rick" Boucher (D) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/NV Kevin R. Triplett (R) No NPAT Seth A. Davis (I) NPAT Drugs; a,b,e; NPAT Colombia funding: No answer Looking for some help on this one. US House 10 James R. Socas (D) No NPAT Frank Rudolph Wolf (R) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/No Wolf is clearly a bad choice, and while I haven't found much specifically on Socas' drug policy views, he has a strong statement on personal liberty and privacy from government meddling, which could mean a positive approach on drug policy. US House 11 Thomas M. "Tom" Davis (R) Incumbent No NPAT; Hinchey: No/No Ken Longmyer (D) No NPAT Joseph P. Oddo (I) No NPAT No decision here, yet. I need to do a little more investigating between Longmyer and Oddo. Any input? Back to main voting guide page.