Biden administration dodges marijuana decriminalization Question: Will Joe legalize it?
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The unofficial 4/20 Marijuana Holiday has sparked renewed debate among top US lawmakers and officials about the legal status of the drug.
While support for legalizing marijuana at the federal level is coming primarily from Democrats, President Joe Biden has yet to provide an “update” on progress toward fulfilling his campaign decriminalization promise.
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Cannabis Banking Reform as a Legislative Icebreaker
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the third-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, again expressed support for the passage of bipartisan cannabis-banking reform legislation during a visit to a credit union on Wednesday, Marijuana Moment reported.
During a news event at a Salal Credit Union branch, Murray — the vice chairman of the Democratic Senate — said the broad legislative instrument could be the “best opportunity” for marijuana-banking reform to drive this session forward.
The senator added that the America COMPETES Act “has a really good chance of getting passed and addresses a lot of really critical issues that Americans are facing today.”
Perlmutter urges senators to act on reform
As congressional leaders have appointed key lawmakers in recent days to discuss the final form of a large-scale bill that will deal with innovation and manufacturing, there is hope that this will be the means of protecting financial institutions involved with federally legal cannabis companies work together.
The U.S. House of Representatives officially added an amendment to Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s (D-CO) marijuana-banking reform to the COMPETES Act in February.
On Tuesday, Perlmutter sent a letter to the Senate leadership urging the chamber to take action to reform.
He pleaded with the sponsors of a sweeping marijuana legalization bill proposed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and the Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is set to act as passage of his Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act could also serve as a legislative “icebreaker” for broader reform.
Republicans want to save banks
On the other hand, the senators on the other hand seem more inclined to help the banks.
“They (Republicans) want to run the business of the banks,” said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Brown. “They want to bid, but this isn’t breaking news that Republicans want to help the banks.”
RELATED: Biden unlikely to vote down Senate-approved cannabis legalization bill despite unclear stance
Montana Senator Steve Daines noted that cannabis reform doesn’t stand a chance in the current Senate if it includes criminal justice components. The SAFE Banking Act remains politically viable, he said.
“We obviously have bipartisan support for the SAFE Banking Act, and we have enough Republican votes to get it through,” Daines noted. “So, let’s take the plunge.”
Cannabis entrepreneurs are divided on the issue
Some cannabis entrepreneurs aren’t so optimistic.
Leonard Tannenbaum, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AFC Gamma Inc.does not much hope for that SAFE Banking Act will come into effect this year.
In an interview with Brady Cobb, founder of Sunburn Cannabis, at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference on Wednesday, Tannenbaum said the much-anticipated SAFE Banking Act isn’t showing many signs of passage this year, even along with the America COMPETES Act.
On the other hand, Boris Jordan, Executive Chairman of Curaleaf Holdings, told Jim Kirsch of Alliance Global Partners in a keynote address that opened the two-day cannabis conference that the two bills are the first step in a four or five-step process to support the congress.
“The prospects have never been better,” he said. “If we can get some federal law recognizing the existence of the cannabis industry, I think that’s a home run.”
Biden is still silent on cannabis decriminalization
Anyway, after a full year in the Oval Office, Biden is still silent on the issue of decriminalization.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked again about the president’s promise to end criminalization of marijuana at a briefing with reporters Wednesday, writes Marijuana Moment.
Photo by Saul Loeb – Pool/Getty Images
While the White House didn’t provide an update on the matter — although Biden believes people shouldn’t be jailed for marijuana — Psaki instead praised the Drug Enforcement Administration’s decision to expand the number of authorized producers to grow cannabis for research purposes .
“The President continues to believe that no one should be in prison for drug use,” Psaki said. “I don’t have an update here. We continue to work with Congress, but what I can say about marijuana is that we’ve made some progress on our promises.”
RELATED: What the new SCOTUS could mean for marijuana legalization
The spokesman called the move “an important step in advancing research because it expands the quantity and quality of cannabis available for research.”
She added that Biden “continues to review his clemency powers, which he also spoke about on the campaign trail, and he certainly remains committed to taking action.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers continue to pressure Biden to legalize cannabis.
Will President give in to pressure?
In December, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took to Twitter to urge the President to take unilateral action on cannabis policy.
“Biden now has to lean on his executive powers. He’s been delaying and underusing it so far,” AOC tweeted. “There’s a tremendous amount he can do on climate, student debt, immigration, cannabis, healthcare and more. Time is running out – we have to move and go alternative ways.”
Biden must now lean on his executive powers. So far he has been procrastinating and not making enough use of it. He can do a tremendous amount on climate, student debt, immigration, cannabis, healthcare and more.
Time is running out – we have to move and go alternative ways.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 20, 2021
After the House of Representatives approved the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, HR 3617 on April 1 and sent it to the Senate, the question is – will Biden use his presidential veto to legalize the law? nullifying cannabis once it reaches his desk?
Paul Quirk, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia in Canada, recently said that Biden “would come under heavy pressure to veto” support for cannabis use because he can’t let the younger generation do it of losing voters, Newsweek reported.
“Legalization is supported by two-thirds of all Americans, an even higher percentage of Democrats, and the vast majority of younger people,” Quirk said. “The 18-39 age group is exactly where Biden has lost the most support since his inauguration.”
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
“Vetoing marijuana legalization would make Biden public enemy #1 for many of the young voters whose support he desperately needs to win back,” he added.
But Marsha Cohen, a law professor at UC Hastings College of the Law, partially agrees with Quirk, although she said the chances of the bill passing the Senate are slim.
“Young people may also be the least responsive to pollsters right now because they may not care. That [bill] could ‘talk’ to them,” Cohen told Newsweek.
Biden is poised to unveil a new strategy for dealing with drug addiction and overdoses on Thursday, Reuters reported.
The proposed plan aims to expand access to opioid overdose medicines, increase law enforcement resources and broaden sanctions against traffickers.
Americans want cannabis legalized
Still, a recent poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Americans would like to see marijuana legalized.
The new survey, conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,000 U.S. adults, was surveyed online April 1-5.
Fifty-seven percent would support the overturning of marijuana-related convictions, while 51 percent support allowing banks to provide services to marijuana businesses.
The latest data only corroborated Gallup polling results released late last year, which showed that up to 68% of U.S. citizens support legalizing cannabis.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
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