As you can see in the video below (starting at around 33 seconds), the reporter asks the presidential candidate a viewer's question about medical marijuana after discussing gay marriage, a hot-button issue for Romney.
Medical cannabis is a big issue here and in sixteen other states, but Romney doesn't seem to think so. Nor did he like the question: He chastises the reporter like a father lecturing a mouthy high schooler for asking him about something he clearly finds trivial.
"Aren't there issues of significance that you'd like to talk about?" Romney asks. "The economy, the economy, the economy. The growth of jobs. The need to put people back to work. The challenges of Iran. We've got enormous issues that we face, but you want talk about -- go ahead -- you want to talk about marijuana?"
Then he dodges the issue of state-legal medical marijuana by equating it and its users with illegal drugs: "I think marijuana should not be legal in this country. I believe it is a gateway drug to other drug violations. The use of illegal drugs in this country is leading to terrible consequences in places like Mexico -- and actually in our country."
Then the reporter drops the issue, moving on to Romney's official talking points about the economy.
Never mind the fact that medical marijuana is an economic issue in this state, a legal industry that brings in millions of dollars in tax revenue and also creates hundreds of jobs. Apparently an economic reality in 34 percent of the states in this country isn't big enough for Romney to consider.
More from our marijuana archives: "THC driving bill killed in plot that snuffed out civil unions measure"; "Stoner MacGyver marijuana review: High Times cannabis cookbook"
