President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both touted their support for marijuana law reform to mark the cannabis holiday 4\/20 at exactly 4:20 p.m. on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The comments are latest sign the administration plans to continue to focus on the popular issue ahead of the November election.<\/p>\n
\u201cSending people to prison just for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,\u201d the president said in a post on X. \u201cIt\u2019s time that we right these wrongs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nSending people to prison just for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time that we right these wrongs. pic.twitter.com\/0avI1FmWf9<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\u201cNobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed,\u201d the vice president said in her own tweet at the same time. \u201cWe must continue to change our nation\u2019s approach to marijuana while reforming the justice system so it finally lives up to its name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nNobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.<\/p>\n
We must continue to change our nation\u2019s approach to marijuana while reforming the justice system so it finally lives up to its name. pic.twitter.com\/AJFmexf8a3<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
A day before, on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden has been \u201cvery, very clear\u201d about his support for decriminalizing marijuana. She added that the administration is waiting for the Justice Department to complete its review into cannabis scheduling and doesn\u2019t have any additional updates on advancing reform or further expanding pardons.<\/p>\n
She was responding to a question at a press briefing about advocates\u2019 criticism that Biden has not yet fulfilled his campaign pledge to federally decriminalize marijuana<\/a>, even though he has taken meaningful steps by directing the scheduling review and granting hundreds of cannabis pardons.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, on decriminalization the president has been very, very clear he doesn\u2019t believe that anyone should be in jail or be prosecuted just for using or possessing marijuana,\u201d she said. \u201cHe continues to say that. He believes that.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the second time the White House has been asked about marijuana policy in the last week<\/a>, as discussions around reform have been amplified around the cannabis holiday 4\/20. As was the case earlier this week, Jean-Pierre reiterated that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) based on a review that was \u201cguided by evidence [and] by science,\u201d which is \u201cwhat we believe here in this administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe scheduling review is now with the Department of Justice. Certainly, the process is still going\u2014the review is still going\u2014so DOJ has this,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the president has been really, really clear about how he feels about people being prosecuted just for using or possessing marijuana. That has not changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether there are any plans to further expand on the marijuana pardons the president has issued, the press secretary said \u201cas it relates to pardons, I don\u2019t have anything to preview at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut look, there\u2019s a review that Department of Justice is currently undergoing, so we\u2019ve got to let them do their review,\u201d she said. \u201cThe president has been pretty clear on where he stands on this, and so I would refer to Department of Justice on on rescheduling and their review.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the administration has repeatedly promoted Biden\u2019s marijuana scheduling directive and pardons, especially in recent months as the presidential election approaches, it\u2019s notable that the press secretary used the word \u201cdecriminalization\u201d to discuss his position on the issue. Biden campaigned on decriminalization, but that specific language hasn\u2019t been employed of late.<\/p>\n
That might have to do with the reality that even moving marijuana to Schedule III as HHS has recommended would not, in fact, decriminalize it\u2014nor do the president\u2019s clemency actions to date constitute a formal decriminalization policy.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why a group of 20 justice and drug reform advocacy organizations called on Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to publicly support the removal of marijuana from the CSA, rather than merely a move to Schedule III, in a letter to the White House on Tuesday, as a reporter referenced in his questions to Jean-Pierre on Friday.<\/p>\n
While DEA has not given a specific sense of timing for when it will complete and submit its cannabis review, there are heightened expectations that it will come before the November election\u2014both because of past precedent in scheduling matters and because the Biden administration has become increasingly vocal about its role in facilitating the review.<\/p>\n
Biden has continued to tout the marijuana scheduling directive and cannabis pardons he\u2019s issued, including in a\u00a0presidential proclamation declaring April \u201cSecond Chance Month.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
The president also discussed the marijuana actions in a\u00a0historic context last month, during his State of the Union address<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Harris, meanwhile, separately urged DEA to finish its review and reschedule marijuana \u201cas quickly as possible\u201d<\/a>\u00a0while meeting pardon recipients for a roundtable event at the White House last month. Behind closed doors,\u00a0she also said \u201cwe need to legalize marijuana.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under HHS told congressional lawmakers last week that\u00a0there\u2019s \u201cno reason\u201d for DEA to \u201cdelay\u201d making a marijuana scheduling decision<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A DEA official recently said\u00a0it sometimes takes up to six months for\u00a0DEA to complete its analysis of health officials\u2019 scheduling recommendations<\/a>\u2014which is just about how long it has now been since the agency began its current cannabis assessment.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, last month, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra defended his agency\u2019s rescheduling recommendation during a Senate committee hearing and also told cannabis lobbyist Don Murphy that he should\u00a0pay DEA a visit and \u201cknock on their door\u201d for answers about the timing<\/a>\u00a0of their decision.<\/p>\n
Certain DEA officials are\u00a0reportedly resisting the Biden administration\u2019s rescheduling push<\/a>, disputing the HHS findings on marijuana\u2019s safety profile and medical potential, according to unnamed sources who spoke with The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a Democratic congressman said on Friday that this Saturday will be the \u201clast 4\/20 celebration that cannabis will be on Schedule I,\u201d<\/a> adding that he\u2019s \u201cquite confident\u201d the GOP House will take up a bipartisan cannabis banking bill if lawmakers \u201cbreak this loose in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMarijuana Rescheduling Could \u2018Ease Researcher Access\u2019 For Studies, Federal Agency Says In Overdue Report To Congress<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
The post Joe Biden And Kamala Harris Tweet About Marijuana At Exactly 4:20 On 4\/20<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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