Marijuana Reform May Be Slow Going

Marijuana Reform May Be Slow Going Under Biden.

BY JEAN-GABRIEL FERNANDEZ

On the campaign trail, Joe Biden was self has a well-documented, self-confessed which does not include any form of legalizathe only Democratic candidate history of marijuana use, giving the image tion. This came as Jen Psaki confirmed that who refused to support the federal of an administration that will apply a dif- Biden’s opposition to the legalization of legalization of marijuana, but he did support ferent set of rules for regular people and for marijuana remains unchanged. decriminalization. His now-vice president, elected officials. Transportation Secretary Kamala Harris, was a proponent of full Pete Buttigieg has also admitted to using Despite the promise to make cannabis legalization, and she admitted to using marijuana, but he will not see consequenc- reform a priority, especially to facilitate the marijuana in the past. This led to an overall es for it. expungement of hundreds of thousands of optimistic expectation of how Biden’s White individual records and release thousands House would handle cannabis cases—and “We still have a very uneven response” to of nonviolent prisoners, Harris stated that subsequently to the surprise of several marijuana in the White House, said Rep. marijuana has taken a back seat because White House staffers fired for past marijua- Earl Blumenauer, co-chair of the Congres- there are more pressing priorities. This na use. sional Cannabis Caucus. He added that goes against her personal pledge to pass this is an “antiquated response” and shows cannabis reforms as part of COVID-19 relief Despite marijuana use being legal in Wash- that Biden’s White House is “out of touch” efforts when Donald Trump was still in the ington, D.C., marijuana is federally illegal, regarding marijuana policies. He hopes White House. yet Biden did promise to adopt a more this will be “a thing of the past very soon.” flexible policy. Despite this, five people were Blumenauer led an action to denounce Joe At the time, the Democratic establishment summarily fired in March 2021 for marijuana Biden’s failure to live up to expectations rallied behind the idea that marijuana use. They were not the only ones: The Daily regarding unfair marijuana policies. reform should be part of the government’s Beast, which broke the news, revealed that COVID response, as legal weed would help “dozens” of staffers and applicants to the raise funds through taxation; legal banking new Biden administration were punished for pot businesses would greatly alleviate for disclosing past marijuana consumption the need for in-person contact with cusduring the interview process—many were tomers; and it would significantly reduce sidelined, suspended or even assigned to “Those in the upper ranks of your adminis- interactions between the police and low-inremote locations to be kept away from tration won’t face consequences for their come public. This stance has seemingly the president. cannabis use, and nor should they, but the been abandoned entirely. “Honestly, right same standard should be applied across now, we’ve been focused on getting people In response to this news, White House press the administration,” reads the letter, which food, helping them stay in their apartments secretary Jen Psaki announced that the was signed by 30 congresspeople. “Reper- or in their homes, getting kids back to new administration established policies “to cussions for cannabis use have always been school, getting shots into arms,” Harris said. ensure that past marijuana use wouldn’t unequal and those with the most power “That has been all-consuming.” automatically disqualify staff from serving have always faced the fewest consequencin the White House,” insisting that “only” es. We ask that you don’t allow that pattern One aspect of Biden’s plan is to reschedfive staffers were indeed fired for past to continue within your administration.” ule marijuana, moving it out of Schedule substance use. The White House did not deny that measures other than firings were employed to punish cannabis consumption among employees. FAILING TO LIVE UP TO CAMPAIGN PROMISES Leading up to the inauguration, hopes were high among the cannabis community that I—which is reserved to highly dangerous drugs like heroin, and where cannabis is mistakenly classified—and into Schedule II. Cannabis advocates have decried this decision, as Schedule II drugs are still vioA candidate’s personal drug use history, not only would Biden allow marijuana re- lently repressed and highly illegal. Cocaine, with the exception of past convictions, re- form simply because it is exceedingly pop- crystal meth and opium are all Schedule II lies on the candidate’s honesty to proac- ular, but also that Harris would influence drugs, meaning that the White House would tively disclose it. The staffers who were the president to adopt a more sensible and treat marijuana as if it were as dangerous punished for marijuana use had all re- modern view on minor drug offenses. The and addictive as crystal meth. vealed that information following the White opposite seems to have happened, with House’s promise that it would not be used Harris instead walking back some of her This scheduling promise comes with anagainst them, which was then betrayed. A more progressive statements on marijuana. other caveat: Biden promised that on the central point of contention has been the According to Bloomberg, Harris’ position campaign trail that “nobody should be fact that Vice President Kamala Harris her- on marijuana is now “the same as Biden’s,” in prison for marijuana,” a promise that

Column image by Getty Images/Galina Shafran. Tape image by Getty Images/martijnmulder. Marijuana image by Getty Images/Azure-Dragon.

cannot be fulfilled if marijuana is kept highly illegal on the federal level. When questioned about the promise made by the president to offer mass clemency to nonviolent marijuana offenders currently in prison, Psaki lied twice about the potential for mass expungements in an America where cannabis is still an illegal Schedule II drug, claiming that it “moves things forward,” which it does not.

Outside of the White House, the effervescence surrounding cannabis reform has not died down. Congressional Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have dedicated themselves to passing marijuana laws with or without the president’s approval. If Biden had demonstrated willingness to simply be passive on the topic and sign cannabis bills approved by a Democratic Congress, there would be high hopes to see significant reform in the immediate future.

However, Biden won’t say whether he will sign or veto such a bill if it comes to his desk. When questioned on the topic, his press secretary dodged the question, indicating that Biden’s stance is at odds with what the majority of Americans and Democratic lawmakers have been supporting. When asked whether the president would allow federal legalization if Sen. Schumer’s legalization bill were to be approved by Congress, the White House press secretary stated that “the president supports leaving decisions regarding legalization for recreational use up to the states,” which does not sound good for people hoping that a Biden administration would finally end Prohibition.

Jean-Gabriel Fernandez is a journalist and Sorbonne graduate living in Milwaukee.