Where does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stand on Marijuana?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who just took office as the youngest person ever elected to Congress, has taken the world of politics by storm, galvanizing liberal supporters and drawing endless attacks from conservatives over everything from her appearance to her dance moves. But where does stand on the issue of marijuana and cannabis legalization?

Ocasio-Cortez is a big supporter of not only marijuana legalization but ending the drug war in general and reforming the criminal justice system, as she has stated several times on social media and on her campaign website.

Ocasio-Cortez supports the federal legalization of marijuana, ending for-profit prisons and detention centers, the release of individuals incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses, the end of cash bail, and automatic, independent investigations each and every time an individual is killed by law enforcement, according to her campaign site.

Ocasio-Cortez also addressed the issue during a recent live Instagram video, calling marijuana “a tool” used to oppress black and brown people and suggested that it should be regulated in order to ensure a safe product.

On Twitter, Ocasio-Cortez further explained her stance.

“The United States imprisons more of its own people than any other country in the world, “ she wrote. “And more African-Americans are under correctional control today than were enslaved in 1850. Criminal Justice reform is long past due. I support efforts to reduce our prison population by 50 percent.”

In order to accomplish the 50 percent reduction, Ocasio-Cortez suggested legalizing cannabis, ending the drug war, stopping the use of prisons as mental wards, revisiting mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, pursuing parole and probation reform and supporting transition programs for those released from prison.

For more information on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, visit her campaign website, her Facebook page or her Twitter account.