Biden missing opportunity on legalizing marijuana, advocates warn

Cannabis advocates say President Biden is reluctant to take bigger steps to legalize cannabis at the federal level, missing an opportunity to sway young voters.

The Biden administration has paved several avenues for marijuana reform, including issuing federal amnesties for simple possession and beginning a process that could potentially change marijuana’s status under the Controlled Substances Act from Schedule I to Schedule III. Ta.

But these measures have failed to excite supporters, with Biden failing to deliver on his 2020 campaign promises and raising concerns about drug over-criminalization, which disproportionately impacts minority communities. They claim that they have not been able to deal with the situation.

Progressive senators in the Senate are calling on the administration to go further and completely reschedule the drug, rather than making changes that would reduce penalties and restrictions. That would effectively decriminalize it at the federal level.

“Social positioning of marijuana” [Controlled Substances Act] It has had a devastating impact on our communities and is increasingly out of step with state law and public opinion,” 12 Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last month.

Karen O’Keefe, state policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told The Hill that while the schedule changes are better than “the status quo,” they are still “significantly below what the federal government and the public have asked for.” he said. its big. ”

“This issue is a popular issue and is available to any candidate who is willing to listen to the people,” O’Keefe added.

Public opinion strongly supports marijuana legalization. Found out in November’s Gallup poll a record 70 percent of Americans believe marijuana should be legal.

A recent poll by Lake Research Partners confirms public support for federal cannabis reform, with 58% supporting changes to Schedule III, compared to 19% opposed. .

Democratic pollster and strategist Selinda Lake said, “For some constituencies, Democrats are particularly vulnerable to the support of young people, African Americans, Democratic voters, people of color, and young people of color.” “It’s a very serious issue that we need to increase enthusiasm.” She is president of Lake Research Partners.

Haley Mats Meadvin, executive vice president of public affairs at Precision Strategies and a former Biden administration staffer, said the “overwhelming majority support” behind legalizing marijuana means Biden is pushing beyond political stances. He said it could help attract voters.

“This is a popular issue that motivates voters, but it’s not just motivating, it’s clearly not motivating.” [exclusively] Democratic Party. And…that’s going to be very important this fall,” Meadvin said.

Biden and his likely rival in 2024, Trump, are in close races nationally and in key battleground states. Elections in these states could be narrowed down to thousands of voters, making niche issues such as marijuana even more important.

During his 2020 White House campaign, Biden said, “No one should go to jail for marijuana. As President, I will decriminalize marijuana use and automatically expunge criminal records.”

Supporters say his actions so far have fallen short of that promise. And they said they may struggle to clearly communicate progress on marijuana reform, especially since some efforts remain unfinished. The DEA has not yet issued a decision on marijuana deferrals, and federal pardons issued last year do not apply to state-level convictions, but Biden has encouraged governors to follow his lead.

“We need to finalize our actions. That means we need to reschedule. We need to reclassify,” Lake said. “You can definitely keep saying, ‘I ordered the DEA and the Department of Justice to reclassify it.'”

Asked for comment, a White House spokesperson told The Hill: “The president has long made clear that our nation’s marijuana laws are outdated and degrade communities, especially communities of color. His campaign promise was to do everything possible to ensure that no one is jailed solely for marijuana possession. And he took historic action to accomplish that. ”

When asked for comment, the DEA said it did not have any updates regarding its evaluation of marijuana scheduling.

While marijuana reform may not be among the issues expected to dominate the 2024 election, such as abortion rights, the economy, and immigration, strategists like Meadvin believe there will be a number of smaller issues during the election cycle. He points out that it often breaks through the noise.

“There are many competing interests in every election, and last year was no different. This issue has been very prevalent in Ohio. Infections are increasing in states across the country and will continue to be. Deaf,” Meadvin said.

Lake said Biden’s sweeping marijuana reform actions demonstrate to voters that he is a “modern president” and are pushing for changes in states like Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. It is said that there is a possibility that it will bring about

“I want to reiterate how powerful this is in conjunction with criminal justice reform,” Lake said. “I don’t think it’s just a step. It’s a whole schema, it can be combined with criminal justice, it can be combined with what he said for the state. And this whole bundle is against young people. I think it’s a very strong message.”