mjplant.JPG

Oregon Republican Senate candidate Tim Crawley is trying to make marijuana an issue in the race.

(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)

Portland attorney Tim Crawley is one of the five candidates for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination

. But he is differentiating himself by becoming the only Senate hopeful to publicly endorse legalizing marijuana.

Tim Crawley

Crawley put out a press release this week saying he has "long been concerned with the

the criminalization of marijuana has involved."

The 31-year-old candidate said he has been discussing the issue as he talks with students at several campuses around the state. He said in an interview that he had hoped the Legislature would refer a legalization measure to the ballot -- which is something that won't happen -- and he now expects to support one of the citizen initiatives on the subject.

Crawley, who said he takes a "fairly libertarian view on this issue," added that if elected to the Senate, he would support removing marijuana from the controlled substances list.

-- Jeff Mapes