Bernie Sanders met with President Biden to discuss legalizing marijuana

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has always spoken out loudly for his support for cannabis reforms in the country. A few days ago, Senator Sanders gave his opinion on the current administration and their position on legalizing federal cannabis reforms.

He went on to offer his views on President Biden and the federal war on drugs that was going on for as long as anyone can remember.

The interview with Bernie Sanders

Senator Bernie Sanders was on the air with Krystal Ball, co-host of the Krystal, Kyle & Friends podcast. The interview was conducted to evaluate the Biden administration with regard to the failed election promises.

The legalization of marijuana was one of the priorities that President Joe Biden benefited from during his election campaign. However, since joining the office in February, he has made no effort to initiate legislative processes to legalize cannabis.

In that 30-minute interview, Krystal Ball expressed Bernie Sanders’ views on the president’s inaction on legalizing marijuana, among other things.

“If President Biden chooses, he can decriminalize cannabis”

Sanders said the president could expedite the process to end the cannabis ban in the country. But the President is not on board with this idea for the time being.

Members of the administration have different opinions when it comes to cannabis reforms. Joe Biden has been reported in the past to refer to the drug as a “gateway drug,” while Kamala Harris has always been an avid advocate of cannabis reforms.

In his words, Sanders said, “Biden can’t snap his finger and make these things happen by himself.” There is little the president can do until everyone agrees to the proposed cannabis policy. Immediately after making this statement, Krystal listed a few items that the President could take action on by the executive branch. One of the points mentioned involves the “change in the federal classification of cannabis”.

The presidency has the legal right to legalize cannabis at the federal level

Senator Sanders claimed the president could do this, but unilaterally.

Before the President can take executive action to review cannabis’ classification as a List 1 drug, a motion must be made by either the Secretary of the Department of Health or an outside party. After that, the petition must be assessed and examined by the country’s attorney general.

Often times, the Attorney General assigns this type of drug-related responsibility to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

It is important to note that the executive would face unpredictable challenges from the opposition. If the president chooses to do this alone, there is a high probability that he will not get very far.

Trying to move cannabis through the executive may seem complex, but it’s relatively simpler than the legislature.

The attorney general has the power to kickstart the process of cannabis legalization

Another person empowered to initiate the proceedings is the country’s attorney general.

This starts with asking the HHS for a scientific review of the drug. Once reviewed, the Food and Drug Administration must conduct scientific research, medical and health assessments, and consider the effects of the drug on these factors.

A task is then performed before all reports are submitted to the United States Department of Justice. All of this must be done in order for the drug to be properly reclassified under federal law.

Joe Biden doesn’t share Bernie Sander’s prospect of ending the federal cannabis ban

Senator Bernie Sanders believes the war on drugs was only a disaster for the country’s colored community, especially the African American community.

He said, “I think it should end, I think marijuana should be legalized”.

He recognized the differences between his stance and the presidential stance on the war on drugs.

Just last month, in July, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden’s opposition to postponing cannabis had not changed.

To enforce a policy change, the president’s mind must be changed to reflect these reforms.

Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

Sanders tried twice to run for president. Because of the defeat in the primary elections, he never got his party’s ticket.

In his last deployment during the 2020 primaries, he also made confident promises to legalize marijuana across the country, allowing state governments to maintain or lift drug bans within the state.

When he made such promises during his campaign, some people questioned his approach. The reason for this is that there will be unique challenges if the president decides to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act without involving the other government arms.

Sanders was part of a criminal task force charged with recommending guidelines for the new president. Marijuana legalization didn’t make the list.

American point of view

About two-thirds of Americans nationwide are in favor of cannabis reforms. From the lifting of bans to the release of inmates in prisons to the deletion of records of non-violent cannabis offenders.

To these people, it is quite disappointing to see that the president’s promises during his campaign were nothing more than empty promises.

As modest as the reforms would have been, the majority would have understood that the federal government was taking steps.

All the Biden government has done about cannabis is to end the appointments of some White House staff for marijuana-related reasons. President Biden also tried at one point to prevent Washington DC from authorizing cannabis sales; He did this by choosing to expand a budget rule.

Final note

At the moment, it seems that only Congress can fulfill the mission of approving progressive cannabis reforms nationwide. It should be noted that this is shaky as well, as the move may not have enough support from other Senators as the Democrats only have a slim majority over the Republicans.

Hopefully Biden will change his stance on cannabis reform and make that process easier.

It is high time President Joe Biden accepted that cannabis can do more good than bad in the country right now!

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