They see it as less of a "Big Government" thing and more of a "Tough on Crime" thing, which has traditionally had a home in the Republican party since Nixon and Reagan championed the Drug War.
Its insane to me as well, but the traditional Republican base likes to see "dirty criminals" go away and support police efforts to do so, cannabis is still associated with them in their minds.
Personally I think its changing amongst the voting base but theres still a strong cultural momentum around demonizing these drugs, especially amongst the Evangelical White Southerners that make up the core of their voting base.
Edit: There's a cynical side to this as well - Neither party wants to "give" the party anything without getting something in return. Republicans allowing cannabis reform does nothing for them politically but makes the Democrats look good. Why would they allow that to happen without getting something back?
Its insane to me as well, but the traditional Republican base likes to see "dirty criminals" go away and support police efforts to do so, cannabis is still associated with them in their minds.
Personally I think its changing amongst the voting base but theres still a strong cultural momentum around demonizing these drugs, especially amongst the Evangelical White Southerners that make up the core of their voting base.
Edit: There's a cynical side to this as well - Neither party wants to "give" the party anything without getting something in return. Republicans allowing cannabis reform does nothing for them politically but makes the Democrats look good. Why would they allow that to happen without getting something back?