Time To Ignore President Biden's Obviously Outmoded Objections To Federal Cannabis Legalization and Just Get It Done

 It is time for President Biden to educate himself on cannabis benefits, understand his egregiously outdated knowledge of cannabis, and his unjustified and immoral support for the 1994 crime bill that resulted in the explosion in the prison population for the non violent crime of smoking weed. An activity that hurt NO ONE. 

If Biden refuses to pull his head out of the darkness then congress and the senate should force his hand. Get a law to decriminalize and legalize out of both houses and see what Bisen does. Hopefully he actually places his trust in the America people as he so often said he does. It is time to PROVE it.

On to the article...

Anyone surprised that Joe Biden would scrutinize the weed-smoking habits of his White House staff hasn't paid attention to one of the more consistent policy threads of his decades-long career.

He’s just not ready to embrace cannabis.

Despite a shift in public opinion toward legalizing marijuana over the past 30 years, the president’s more conservative approach to weed policy is well-known on Capitol Hill. When the Daily Beast reported late Thursday that “dozens” of young White House staffers had been suspended, asked to resign or placed in a remote work program after admitting to prior marijuana use, pro-cannabis lawmakers were dismayed Friday but hardly shocked.

“It is another very vivid example of the clash between outmoded past policies, and where America is, and where America is going,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Capitol Hill’s unofficial weed czar, said in an interview. “It's not, probably, surprising.”

Blumenauer is already putting together a letter with other lawmakers “seeking clarification” from the Biden administration on the dismissals.

Many Republican and Democratic lawmakers, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have shifted their positions on cannabis legalization in recent years. But Biden — who, as a senator, shepherded the 1994 crime bill that disproportionately hit communities of color and set mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana possession — has never truly warmed to the idea. As recently as last year, Biden’s staff rejected marijuana legalization as part of the Democratic Party policy platform. It was a step backwards from 2016, when the party made history by endorsing a “pathway” to legalization.

“They did not support descheduling and legalization,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus who worked with the Biden campaign on the Democratic party platform last summer. She’s requesting a meeting with the administration to discuss cannabis policy, including the latest uproar about personnel. In an interview, she added that the White House’s recent actions don’t surprise her. “What this shows is the impact of those laws.”

Instead of endorsing full legalization, Biden’s campaign proposed a patchwork of changes to federal drug law that would legalize, decriminalize and continue to prohibit cannabis in a variety of ways that experts say will be difficult to implement.

“His approach is very piecemeal,” said John Hudak, an expert on cannabis policy and executive powers at the Brookings Institution. “It’s hard to see how that plays out.”

The White House’s decision to dismiss or penalize employees for marijuana demonstrates the gap between the Biden administration and the majority of his party, who increasingly see decriminalization or outright legalization as a major criminal justice reform issue.

Time to get on board Joe. The boat has pulled away from the dock and maybe you should start considering the wisdom of the American people who voted you in the office you now hold.

More BELOW the FOLD.