Biden says adult-use marijuana should be decriminalized but not legalized, despite widespread

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

support among Dems

Don’t count on Joe Biden to get the ball rolling on marijuana legalization.

The president believes weed should be decriminalized — not legalized — on a federal level, a White House official said Tuesday, putting him out of step with many prominent Democrats in Congress.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki made the sticky distinction after being asked during her daily briefing if Biden backs an effort floated by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to scrap the federal prohibition on the sale and usage of marijuana.

“He believes in decriminalizing the use of marijuana, but his position has not changed,” Psaki told reporters. “That’s been his position. Nothing has changed.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-says-adult-use-marijuana-should-be-decriminalized-but-not-legalized-despite-widespread-support-among-dems/ar-BB1f8Aex?li=BBnbfcQ&ocid=hplocalnews

[Volaris]

1. Honestly, what's the difference?

This weed you have here is illegal. But, since it's not a criminal offence for you to have it, I guess I wont be taking u to jail today.

[msfiddlestix]

5. For all intents and purposes, I agree there's not much of a difference, except for one issue:

So long as it still Federally considered illegal, and you live in Hud or Section 8 housing, you can be evicted for smoking on the property in your own unit.

If a landlord doesn't care, it's no problem. But if you have management that will use that technicality as an excuse to legally evict you. then you're effed.

[questionseverything]

10. De criminalize means tickets, treatment

In other words endless expense plus no govt benefits like housing or employment

Just permanent 2nd class citizens if you partake of weed but gallons of alcohol are fine

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Cross purposes.

They get people shouldn't be busted, but still, they can bust the commercial supply chain.....why?

[marie999]

9. Taxes?

[OAITW r.2.0]

12. Should be taxable.

Pot should be treated like tobacco or alcohol. Show an ID.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Ridiculous.

[JoeOtterbein]

4. Does he understand that it is being sold today to relieve pain and lot's of ailments?

This would be a great way for Joe to show his compassion while actually gaining support from indies and even some repubs.

Weed is a win, win all around!

[Blue_true]

6. I agree with President Biden mostly.

Decriminalize it nationwide. Allow Federally Chartered Banks to open accounts for legal dispensaries.

Leave total legalization up to each state.

[Voltaire2]

16. But generally that would leave manufacturing

distribution and sales illegal and just reduce the penalties for possession to an ‘offense’.

Banks would still be barred from providing services to the pot industry. The DEA would likely continue its hands off policy for state-legal operations, but could start enforcement at any time.

Full decriminalization of the entire pot economy, where banks could freely conduct business with the growers manufacturers and retailers would be identical to legalization.

[Blue_true]

22. If a state legalize it, then growers and distributors can go

operate in that state, otherwise stay in states that make it legal medicinally or legalize it totally.

In Florida, Medical Marijuana is legal, but recreational marijuana is a misdemeanor. Companies run medical dispensaries and growers and distributors provide product to the dispensaries.

Federal decriminalization would end the situation of uneven enforcement of Pot laws by law enforcement. I would guess that is President Biden’s major concern, a police officer arresting a person of color, but not all Whites for simple possession. When decriminalized, the cop can only simply take the weed away from the kid.

My feeling here is that Florida is headed toward total legalization, Medical Marijuana has become big business in the state, politicians see the tax money and will want more of it. Plus, legal Medical Marijuana has not caused the apocalypse that opponents had claimed would come.

I believe that there is a large amount of sleight of hand involved. Medical Marijuana is almost certainly being used recreationally, so the distinction is only important for cases where very specialized marijuana is grown, weed that effectively treats conditions that most weed and medicine can’t.

[Voltaire2]

29. You earlier said "Allow Federally Chartered Banks to open accounts for legal dispensaries."

That won't happen as long as commerce in pot is operating under a 'memo of understanding' rather than legitimately.

Re-scheduling pot doesn't solve the problem. It leaves commerce as a felony.

[Blue_true]

36. Part of the federal act to decriminalize would also cover federally chartered Banks.

The fact is all southern states, except maybe Virginia are very hostile to the concept of legal Pot, to go whistling past that graveyard and ignoring that simply fact gets us nowhere. If there is a federal action to totally legalize, it will likely be made possible by Democrats, with zero help from republicans. Red states will likely sue and tie things up in Court, with a chance that the conservative Supreme Court will agree with them.

Decriminalization is a surer route to legalization. New York State just legalized recreational Pot THIS WEEK, a cornerstone blue state took this long. But the state decriminalized Pot a while back and the natural path to legalization followed. I am sure that if you step back and look at it, every state that has legal Pot now either decriminalized it first, or approved Medical Marijuana first.

Unfortunately, getting legal Pot nationwide is not as easy as you and some other people here are making it out to be. The sanest route is to decriminalize nationwide, a path that is harder to fight in Court, and open banking to growers, distributors, and dispensaries, with the states that have legalized Pot or approved Medical Marijuana opening federal chartered, and in some cases, state chartered banking to the legal Pot industry. Let the historical gravity of legalization being an end result of decriminalization bring the recalcitrant states around.

[USALiberal]

26. Lol, ok! Nt

[WA-03 Democrat]

7. I thought Joe's position

Was to reschedule it to a class 2 federal drug and allow it to be studied and decriminalize it.

As a consumer, I would like some safety and science behind the product.

[Voltaire2]

18. Schedule 2 includes cocaine and meth.

That just continues the present situation. State retail operations for both medical and recreational pot would continue to operate at variance with federal law.

[WA-03 Democrat]

21. Right but that allows for medical benefits and studies are legal

[Voltaire2]

28. It allows for people to continue to go to prison.

It keeps the stupid war on drugs intact.

[Haggard Celine]

8. Not good enough.

I haven't criticized him about anything since he's been in office because I think he's been doing a great job, but he needs to get out of the way on this issue. If Congress passes a bill legalizing weed, he needs to sign it. It will cost him votes if he doesn't. Not mine, of course, but a lot of others. It would be a shame to mess up his stellar record by clinging to that ill-conceived law.

[Volaris]

11. I suspect that if congress does do that, he wont veto it.

[Haggard Celine]

13. There's bipartisan support for it.

That's reason enough for him to allow it.

[Volaris]

14. Then we should stick it in either the infrastructure or expanded ACA bills,

With a provision that there wont be any additional federal tax on its sale in the Several States for 12 years, and see if republicans bitch about passing it (I know, I know, some will anyway; the more tasty cookies there are, the less people will complain about where the sugar came from).

[Haggard Celine]

15. Good idea

There will have to be some fat contracts in that bill for some of their big contributors, but that's the price of doing business in America. We need that bill badly! Not only will it get people back to work at good jobs, we desperately need to have massive work done on our infrastructure. It's A mess.

[Volaris]

17. Agreed. I would add, if you're gonna do it, dont half-ass it.

The fastest way to get a trillion dollar infrastructure bill passed, it to make it a 2 trillion dollar bill and guarantee the last half is for a federally-owned, high speed rail system, with the backbone line between DC and Cali. Ticket sales for 2 decades would pay for the thing twice over, if done correctly.

(On Edit)...you wanna talk about the necessity of Fat Contracts, there it is.

[Haggard Celine]

19. Agree with that, too.

I hope we see that. People will bitch about the spending, but this work's got to be done. Besides, when all those people go back to work, they'll be paying taxes, so the government will make that money back, or at least a lot of it.

[Lunabell]

20. Well, President Biden.

You are 100 percent wring on this.

[sciencescience]

23. legalize and let the medical community study it

The large amount of anecdotal evidence is that marijuana does not harm people much. Just legalize it without restriction already and let the medical community study it so we have some official federally approved evidence. I don't know why so many democrats want to shoot themselves on this issue.

[aocommunalpunch]

24. Unforced error. nt

[Tree Lady]

25. This is a non partisan issue both parties like it

They should come together and override a veto.

I don't know if democrats would do that to Joe but sometimes you have to do what's right.

[maxsolomon]

27. Like Obama on Gay Marriage: lead from behind.

take a moderate position that disappoints activists, but doesn't infuriate the mushy middle of voters. don't stand in the way. acquiesce when it becomes inevitable.

then celebrate the victory. which is coming.

[Voltaire2]

30. Obama lead from the front.

He ran in 2012 on full support for gay rights.

[maxsolomon]

34. rights, not marriage.

IIRC, it was the SCOTUS that said it was OK.

drugs are still a very touchy subject for many voters. especially elderly voters who vote in high numbers and have little familiarity with the demon weed.

[Voltaire2]

35. Obama announces he supports same-sex marriage

Updated 9:57 PM EDT, Wed May 9, 2012
https://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/politics/obama-same-sex-marriage/index.html

How soon we forget.
This was perhaps Obama's most courageous and astute political move.

Also support for MJ legalization is in the 60's.

[Boomerproud]

37. Weren't the elderly voters part of the drug-addled me monkey

generation of the 60s,?

[Celerity]

31. Not at all surprised, other than at some who thought he would change his mind.

Elect a multi-decades long 'war on drugs' stalwart and this (decrim) is about as much as you can hope for. Biden is who he is, and on balance he is very good. Legalisation is just going to have to wait. Far bigger fish to fry atm.

[Lucinda]

32. He'll sign it if it passes

[Wounded Bear]

33. We need to drop the federal criminalization so MJ selling businesses can bank normally...

while it's still illegal federally, FDIC banks won't do business with them.

[BannonsLiver]

38. I'd settle for passage of the Safe Banking Act

This would have allowed marijuana related businesses to have access to banking.

[Nexus2]

39. I have mixed feelings on the topic as well, so I can't judge another for having the same.

Initially, due to bad experiences, I was pretty against the idea of legalization. But as I've grown I've come see it more like liquor, some can use it responsibly, others can't but that's not a reason to punish those that can, neither are personal feelings that it (and smoking in general) are gross annoying habit but marijuana stinks worse.

[Calculating]

40. Oh come on

I'm so sick of the hypocrisy between alcohol and cannabis, this shit needs to end already. It's like an 90 year old bad joke that never ends. At the very least it needs to be entirely descheduled at the federal level. It being a schedule one drug causes all kinds of issues with the legal Industry at the state level. Joe needs to stop being a drug warrior.