O’Malley targets marijuana voters

Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley is making a play for the marijuana vote.

The former governor of Maryland will speak with Colorado lawmakers and business owners on Thursday about legalizing marijuana, according to his campaign. 

Colorado was one of the first states to legalize pot, and O’Malley plans to use the state as a case study to determine whether such policies would be successful across the country. He called it a “laboratory in democracy.”

O’Malley is calling for the federal government to loosen its marijuana laws as part of his presidential campaign. He would like to reclassify pot so it is not listed with more dangerous drugs, such as heroin.

O’Malley started Maryland’s medical marijuana program and decriminalized pot as governor, his campaign noted.