Most Americans don’t believe Biden will deliver on his promise to decriminalize cannabis

“It’s important to remember that political campaigns are designed by the same people who sell toothpaste and cars,” the late great Noam Chomsky once said.

In a nutshell, many would agree, considering more than half of the U.S. adult population agrees that President Joe Biden has made little to no progress on his key campaign promise of cannabis in his first, according to a newly conducted poll Year in office to decriminalize by YouGov and the Economist.

The poll found that a majority of US citizens also do not have high hopes that the president will make progress on this important reform in 2022, Marijuana Moment reported.

According to the poll, 54% believe Biden has made little to no progress toward decriminalizing marijuana; 23% said they didn’t know and a further 23% believe he had made some or a lot of progress on the matter.

On other issues such as clean energy, infrastructure, responding to COVID-19, student loan forgiveness, and raising the federal minimum wage, respondents said Biden has made slightly more progress. The only issue that has lagged behind cannabis decriminalization in terms of poor progress has been ensuring bipartisan cooperation in Congress on economic relief.

About 42% of Democratic and 73% of Republican respondents said Biden has made little to no progress on cannabis reform. More than half (58%) of respondents overall do not expect Biden to make any progress towards cannabis decriminalization in 2022, with 26% unsure what to expect and just 16% optimistic that he will make some or will make great strides on this issue.

It’s important to note that 58% of respondents confirmed that they support marijuana decriminalization, and 25% do not.

“Betrayal of the People”

During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden repeatedly said he wanted marijuana decriminalization and an automatic overturn of previous cannabis convictions.

RELATED: President Biden is under pressure from all sides for his stance on cannabis legalization

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After a full year in the Oval Office, Americans haven’t seen either.

Despite pressure from all sides, the president has not relented in the face of numerous letters from marijuana advocates, lawmakers, celebrities, and those who have been negatively affected by the war on drugs and still are, including those behind bars related to marijuana.

RELATED: The Biden administration’s impact on the cannabis industry to date

“The failure of the Biden administration to live up to campaign statements, and even to backslide on cannabis in the case of including a driver who prevents DC from regulating cannabis in its budget proposal, is extremely disappointing,” Morgan Fox said , Political Director of NORML, to Marijuana Moment. “This inaction on modest cannabis policy reforms over the past year is inexcusable and a betrayal of the people who put the President in office.

“The President has an opportunity with cannabis to show initiative and leadership on an issue that enjoys broad bipartisan support,” Morgan said. “Continued inaction on this issue will have negative consequences for his party this year and in 2024.”

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.