As Biden rambles on about weed reform, Dems are urging him to do just about anything

It’s not just Republicans venting their frustration with President Biden this week.

Today, July 6, a group of five Democratic (and one independent) senators sent a letter to Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra demanding that they act — finally and as soon as possible—on cannabis reform.

In the letter, Senators – Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D -NY) – emphasize the need to remove cannabis from the federal controlled substances list and mass pardons for nonviolent offenders.

“The government’s failure to coordinate a timely review of its cannabis policy harms thousands of Americans, slows research, and deprives Americans of their ability to use marijuana for medicinal or other purposes,” they write.

Biden has not kept his campaign promises

Biden’s general inaction on drug reform breaks sharply with promises he made during the 2020 presidential campaign: specifically, federal decriminalization of cannabis and automatic overturning of previous convictions.

“No one should be in jail for marijuana. As President, I will decriminalize cannabis use and automatically quash criminal records,” he said during the campaign.

Nearly a year and a half into his presidency, however, Biden has little to show for that promise, with one exception: In April of this year, he commuted the sentences of 78 people, including nine men and women, charged with marijuana-related offenses.

That’s it. Nine marijuana prisoners.

In comparison, President Trump granted clemency to 12 people with marijuana offenses (and two dozen other nonviolent drug offenders) on his last day in office. President Obama has pardoned more than 1,300 nonviolent drug offenders (it’s unclear how many were specifically marijuana-related) during his presidency.

The letter to Biden notes that about 40,000 people remain in prison for cannabis offenses. They also note that police are four to 10 times more likely to arrest black Americans for cannabis possession than other Americans, depending on the state.

Senators are tired of begging Biden to do his job

The six disaffected senators also note that this is far from the first time they have contacted the government about their cannabis inaction.

They point out that a separate letter dated November 2021 – which focused on mass pardons – went unanswered.

In a separate letter dated October 2021, they asked the DOJ to begin the process of rescheduling cannabis.

The response, which came six months later, is described by the senators as “extremely disappointing”. In it, they report, the DOJ stated that “cannabis has not been proven in scientific studies to be a safe and effective treatment for any disease or condition.” This, write the pro-reform senators, is their “only reason for it [their] lack of action.”

As it happened, the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition sent a letter of their own to President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Justice Department leadership the day before, on July 5, raising related concerns.

While their letter similarly addresses racial differences in cannabis-related arrests and prosecutions, it additionally encourages the Biden administration to clarify that U.S. attorneys “should not interfere with federally legal cannabis activities where states have strong and effective regulatory and… put in place enforcement systems”.

“We believe it is time for the federal government to develop its own core competency on cannabis regulation. The first step is to protect the most marginalized people from further harm and allow states to begin repairing the damage of the drug war without fear of further prosecution,” the coalition writes.

Will Reform Help Democrats Slack in the Polls?

In their letter, the six senators note that two-thirds of Americans support legalizing cannabis. That stat raises a question of its own: If Biden takes action to reform, would it help Democrats, who are lagging in the polls in races across the country, ahead of the November midterm elections?

Justin Strekal, the former political director of NORML who now heads BOWL PAC, believes a win here could bolster Democrats in November, but that a lack of action wouldn’t necessarily hurt their chances.

“By acting [President Biden] will demonstrate in a tangible way to the core voters of his own political party that he is capable of making things happen. It could cut through the noise and be understood by disheartened and demoralized voters across the country as a credible advance in public policy,” Strekal told Leafly.

And while the senators’ letter itself acknowledges the Biden administration’s willingness to brush them off, Strekal nonetheless struck optimistic about its potential impact. “If we talk, we win,” he said.

“The mere fact that this will remain on the radar of the White House and administration officials because of the political weight these six senators bring to the table is impossible to ignore,” Strekal added.

Max Savage Levenson

Max Savage Levenson probably has the lowest cannabis tolerance of any author on the cannabis beat. He also writes about music for Pitchfork, Bandcamp and other bespectacled people. He is the co-host of the Hash podcast. His dream interview is Tyler the Creator.

Check out Max Savage Levenson’s articles

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