With the 2024 election looming, presidential candidates are eager to capitalize on the popularity of marijuana reform. While former President Donald Trump used his newfound pro-marijuana stance to boost his popularity among Democrats and independents, the Biden-Harris administration is taking a different approach.
The White House on Friday rolled out an updated webpage highlighting the administration's accomplishments, and among the new sections is “Beginning to Consider Marijuana Regulatory Changes,” which highlights President Joe Biden's massive cannabis pardons, Marijuana Moment's Kyle Yeager reports.
The provision's new language and shortened title are more in line with skepticism among industry stakeholders and advocates than any major action on resetting cannabis regulations before the election.
In August, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced it was postponing changes to marijuana regulations, holding an administrative hearing on December 2 and postponing a decision on the issue until after the November election. The previous title of this section was “Ending Our Failed Approach to Marijuana.”
Related article: Cannabis regulations to be relaxed before the election? Cannabiz Supply CEO: “Don't get your hopes up”
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“To remedy our nation's failed approach to marijuana, including racial discrimination, the Administration has also begun the process of reclassifying marijuana under federal law,” the section reads. “Marijuana is now a Schedule I drug, a higher classification than fentanyl and methamphetamine, the drugs driving our nation's overdose epidemic.”
Biden's Mass Marijuana Amnesty
The White House highlighted Biden's marijuana pardons, as it did in its previous 2022 record page.
But as Biden himself acknowledges, his marijuana pardon did not erase records, despite previous claims. At a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia earlier this year, Biden reiterated his commitment to ensuring that no one is sent to prison for the sole purpose of using or possessing marijuana.
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate Harris has been a vocal supporter of legalization, becoming the first major party presidential candidate to explicitly advocate for marijuana reform.
Pablo Zuanic, a cannabis industry equity analyst, said if Harris is elected, she could not only continue the Biden administration's rescheduling efforts but take them a step further.
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