What Is Biden’s Battle with Cannabis?

Joe Biden legalization

Only one obstacle seems to be standing in the way of cannabis reforms on a federal level during this administration. That obstacle seems to be the President, Joe Biden.

Before the elections, Biden's campaign promises included plans to free Americans jailed due to cannabis-related counts. He also promised to use his executive powers, if elected, for certain non-violent and drug crimes.

Now, with more than 100 days used in office, it is becoming apparent that the Biden administration has no solid plan in place for marijuana legalization on a federal level.

Is Biden just another "Faux-cannabis" politician

Over 70% of the American population is on board with cannabis reforms. This is one of the reasons why a lot voted for these democrats. Instead of sticking to the promises made during the campaign, the president for one has ignored all prompts about following his predecessor's example on these reforms.

President Trump took concrete steps for the cannabis community by freeing more than a dozen federal prisoners who were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 15 years to life for cannabis-related counts. These counts include the cultivation, transportation, and sales of marijuana on American soil.

Biden is reluctant all of a sudden to play out the next phase for cannabis reforms.

Biden has always been anti-cannabis reforms since the beginning of his career as a U.S. politician. Some of the harsh laws against cannabis legislation can be attributed to Joe Biden; he wrote several bills to toughen the criminal penalties of these drugs.

In his early days as a lawmaker in the house, Biden was an ardent drug warrior. He also made sure he bragged about the ancient sentences he helped sign into law.

It is now 2021, but it seems the 78 years old President has still not caught up with the stance of several Americans on cannabis policies.

Recent polls show that of the 70% that prefer cannabis, 78% are Democrats and 62% are Republicans. One cannot but wonder why the President opposes something his party wants.

The irony is that the opponents he beat for his party's presidential ticket all support marijuana reforms. The current Vice President, Kamala Harris also supports repealing the federal marijuana ban. Biden is one of the few minorities in his age bracket that opposes these federal reforms.

Recently…

The White House terminated the appointments of over five members of the Biden administration. This occurred in March this year. These people were said to have admitted to using cannabis in the past.

The White House, under the authority of Biden, did this with the excuse that cannabis is illegal under federal law. This is not the progressive stance Americans hoped for when Biden came into office. This approach rather comes off as being disappointing. Hopefully, there's more to it than is being told.

What Does President Biden Want

I was able to gather that the President would rather support a federal policy that decriminalizes low-level possession of the drug, rather than remove the federal ban. A lot of Americans will not support this view. It is archaic.

Not to mention, it will not correct any of the systemic complexity in the US cannabis industry.

What's the use of a federal policy that would have minimal effect at the same federal level?

Doing this would not delist the drug from its current status as a schedule 1 drug. Hence the conflict between the Controlled Substance Act and the state laws that allow decriminalization of cannabis would remain.

The VP's Stance

VP Harris on the other hand is one of the lead sponsors of the MORE Act. Although the ACT hasn't been fully approved. When it is approved, it is going to remove cannabis from the controlled substances list. That is, it will decriminalize cannabis on a federal level. It would also make certain that the stigma assigned to previous cannabis users becomes a thing of the past.

The recent termination of these previous users however contradicts what the VP claims to believe in. More like she's sharing Biden's beef with cannabis. It makes no sense. It would only do more to persuade other anti-cannabis reform Americans to terminate the employment of previous cannabis users, as well as maintain the discrimination attached to the drug.

Not Democrat-like! Democrats are known for using their platform to call for the decriminalization and rescheduling of cannabis products. The party is also all-in on approving cannabis for medical use on a federal level.

Is Biden's reluctance in away way related to son's drug problem

There are speculations that the President seems to be holding off on cannabis reforms due to what he has been through with his son, Hunter.

The 51-year-old Biden has previous issues with cocaine addiction. His book—Beautiful Things—tells of his dark experience with alcohol and cocaine.

Even if the President has the best intentions at heart, the legality of this situation cannot be ignored. During his campaign, Biden himself concurred that nobody should be in jail for smoking pot. This is May and no concrete step has been taken yet. The excuse of the Presidency is focused on getting people food, vaccines, and back to school will get old at a point.

No president should be too busy to set up a progressive policy that would impact the lives of his citizens.

Meanwhile…

Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, has started taking steps for the legislature to finally decriminalize marijuana. Sen Schumer has said that by the next unofficial weeds day—04/20, cannabis legalization needs to have taken progressive steps forward.

But, this can hardly be done if the President is not in full support.

Republicans will also try to stall the process, in addition to the filibuster that would be present.

To overcome this filibuster, at least 10 GOP votes are needed

Bottom Line

Biden will not be quick to sign cannabis reforms into law because he has an anti-marijuana stance.

However, the sooner he gets rid of his old school way of thought, the earlier the US pot industry can be perfectly taxed and regulated to influence the country's economy.

The federal lawmakers need to convince the president by letting him in on the benefits of these much-needed legal proceedings.

The president needs to wake up and smell the coffee ASAP!