As we have seen, Hillary Clinton has said she will oppose legalization on all fronts. She and her daughter have even made the absurd claim that marijuana kills people, on the campaign trail. The reason for her opposition is obvious, she is in the pockets of Big Pharma. Big Pharma does not want a cheap alternative to its expensive and dangerous drugs that are currently decimating communities across the country. Opiate addiction has been described as an epidemic. People are overdosing everywhere. Yet even still, it would be incredibly difficult for Hillary to flip-flop on this issue with the weight of incredibly powerful donors on her back.

The fact is, establishment politicians will NEVER touch this issue. Only an anti-establishment candidate like Trump would have the political will and the spine to see it through, but the best part is he wouldn't have to alienate the republican base by outright legalizing it. Simply offering a referendum on the issue would hand the responsibility over to the American public, which, if I am right, overwhelmingly believes that the laws prohibiting marijuana are archaic and that legalization is long over-due.

Ok, so let's break down the myriad benefits of legalizing marijuana under the assumption laws would be analogous to alcohol:

Medicinal and therapeutic usage would help millions of Americans suffering from various health problems, including helping people kick addictions to meth and other drugs

Exonerating non-violent cannabis offenders would end prison overcrowding and do more for the black community than Obama accomplished in 2 terms. This would have the side benefit of healing the racial divide felt between blacks and whites, as well as blacks and police

Stop-and-frisk in crime-ridden cities like Chicago would be more acceptable to the black community if they knew it only targets much more harmful hard drugs like heroine, cocaine, meth, etc and illegal weapons. Stop-and-frisk is an unsavory topic, but if handled properly it could bring back law and order and end the killing currently afflicting mainly blacks.

A marijuana tax could be levied and put towards reducing the $20T national debt and/or to rebuild the inner cities and schools. Trump could even exempt African Americans from paying this tax, as a form of reparations to the black community (in Canada, our Aboriginal community is exempt from certain taxes)

An entire industry would be born: including hemp farming (hemp has all sorts of cool properties that aren't being explored), urban entrepreneurs would open dispensaries and begin growing product, leading to new jobs and growth in the communities across the country

People who normally consume alcohol, which is both addictive and deadly, would have a non-addictive, non-lethal alternative - ending deaths from liver problems, on college campuses to alcohol poisoning, and many more from drunk driving. Additionally, productivity would likely increase as fewer people would miss work from hangovers

Finally, and importantly for those of us who believe in Trump, this announcement would make him bullet-proof -- and I mean that literally. If the powers that be were to assassinate him after making such a promise, I believe we'd be looking at a major popular revolution. It may not seem like such an important issue on its own, but it is emblematic of the kind of dinosaur political thinking that the common people are simply sick and tired of.

I'm sure there would be other benefits, but one thing is for sure: if Trump wants to leave a lasting legacy, leadership on this issue alone would secure him a place in the history books!