Sen. Rand Paul bested his rivals for the White House in a candidate report card issued Friday by the Marijuana Policy Project, one of the largest organizations pushing to regulate the drug like alcohol.

The group gave the Kentucky Republican an A- in recognition of his efforts to overhaul federal drug laws and his support of states’ right to legalize marijuana.

Second place – a B+ – went to former Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who has not officially announced a bid, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, a former Republican seeking the Democratic nomination.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent also seeking the Democratic nomination, got a B, as did former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican who favors reducing criminal penalties.



MPP leaders have discussed formally endorsing Paul, and the group's political action committee this year contributed $5,000 to his presidential campaign, $5,000 to his Senate re-election bid and another $5,000 to a Paul-supporting PAC.

None of the other presidential campaigns have received funding from the group, which helped spearhead the successful legalization campaigns in Alaska and Colorado.

No serious contender has said they support legalization, despite majority support in many polls. Sanders and Chafee, however, have hinted they may evolve on the issue.

The Democrats’ front-runner, Hillary Clinton, earned a B- in the report card for supporting states’ right to legalize the drug and expanded research.

