The White House has said that “nothing” has changed in President Joe Biden’s stance towards marijuana. He declined to state if he supported Ohio’s decision to legalize cannabis this week, or if he supports further reforms of federal cannabis laws.
A reporter asked Karine Jean Pierre, White House Press Secretary on Wednesday if the administration supported the Tuesday decision of Ohio voters to legalize adult use cannabis. She also asked if Biden felt “marijuana regulations should be loosen on the federal scale.”
“The president announced his position on marijuana a little over a year ago. Jean-Pierre stated that nothing has changed.
She said. “We have been very clear.”
The press secretary misrepresented the vote. While the marijuana measure was a statutory measure that could be amended, Ohioans passed a separate abortion rights measure which is now enshrined into the state Constitution.
Biden has been a strong opponent of federal legalization for adult use, but he has expressed support for states setting their own policies. Biden did, however, direct an administrative review of federal marijuana scheduling just over a decade ago. This process led to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommending moving cannabis from Schedule I into Schedule III under Controlled Substances Act.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), is now completing its part of the evaluation before making a decision on final scheduling.
Despite the fact that advocates were encouraged by Biden’s review directive and the mass marijuana pardons he granted last year, have been pressing him to do more. This includes a call to the president to endorse an end to the federal prohibition of cannabis.
According to a recent Gallup survey, he has not done so despite his declining poll numbers leading up to the 2024 Presidential election, and the overwhelming support of the public for legalization. A record 70 percent now back legalization.
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Biden has repeatedly promoted his cannabis pardons and scheduling directive to show that he is working on fulfilling his marijuana promises. However, he often overstates the extent of the relief when he suggests it freed people from prison or resulted in expungement of criminal records.
In September, White House referenced the mass pardons and scheduling review directed by Biden in a campaign called “Fight for Our Freedom”, which was meant to “mobilize youth” ahead of the next election.
In July, the White House Drug Czar stated that President Obama’s reform measures last year were part a larger effort to create a cohesive cannabis policy in midst of varying state legalization models.
The Justice Department also began issuing marijuana pardon certificate, to give people documentation that they have received formal forgiveness.
Biden, however, has not personally commented on HHS’s recommendation to reschedule cannabis. However, the White House Press Secretary did state in August that that the president had been “very clear,” that he has “always supported legalizing marijuana for medical use.”
Biden’s “always” supporting cannabis reform is not true. As a Senator, he championed a number of pieces of legislation which intensified the war on drugs.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) said that Ohio’s decision to legalize cannabis at the ballot was just one of many recent examples of Americans rejecting “MAGA extremeism,”. He added that he is committed to working on a bipartisan level “to continue moving forward on bipartisan marijuana legislation as soon we can.”
Congressional researchers warn that high federal marijuana taxes could inhibit the industry’s economic potential
The post White House Says “Nothing Has Changed” With Biden’s Marijuana Position As Ohio Becomes the Latest State To Legalize first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
