About five thousand people filled the main hall of the Oncenter on Tuesday to hear democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders just a week ahead of the New York state primary. The crowd cheered after about every other sentence as Sanders relayed his message to the people of Syracuse. Sanders drew cheers of support when he compared harsh drug laws and their consequences to crooks on Wall Street.
"Some kid in Syracuse, NY today gets picked up with marijuana, that kid will have a police record that stays with him his entire life. But if you are CEO of a large financial institution whose illegal behavior destroyed this economy, you don't get a police record."
Along with addressing drug laws came Sanders’ opinion on drug abuse and the overdose crisis gripping the nation. His position on this growing epidemic generates some of the biggest applause from the crowd.
"The best way to address that crisis is to understand that substance abuse is a health issue not a criminal issue!"
He stressed the urgency of treating people with mental health issues right away to combat the crisis. On the same topic of healthcare, Sanders said the Affordable Care Act has done good things but that the government must go further.
"I believe there is something profoundly wrong when the United States of America, our great nation, is the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all people."
Sanders was the latest presidential primary candidate to visit Syracuse. Donald Trump made a stop in Rome on Tuesday, and is expected to swing by Syracuse on Saturday. New York's primary is April 19th.
