At a campaign stop in Urbandale, Iowa, Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said he supports letting states establish their own laws regarding medical marijuana.

"If states want to legalize medical marijuana, I think that's a state's right," Cain said, according to NBC News. "Because one of my overriding approaches to looking at all of these issue --most of them belong at the state, because when you do something federally . . . you try to force one-size-fits-all."

The federal government restricts consumption of marijuana under current law, but 16 states and the District of Columbia have passed measures to allow use of the drug in some form, causing friction between federal and state authorities. Despite support in years past from President Obama for reforming federal marijuana laws, the Drug Enforcement Agency continues to raid dispensaries that operate where marijuana use is legal on the state level.

A Gallup Poll conducted in October found that half of the population supports legalizing the drug. Cain's fellow GOP presidential candidates Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have also voiced support for allowing state and local discretion on the issue.

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