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

By Nicolas Jose Rodriguez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) MPs urged the president on Monday to take unilateral cannabis policy action to complement the chorus of lawmakers urging President Joe Biden to legalize cannabis.

“Biden now has to rely on his executive powers. So far he has delayed it and used too little, ”tweeted AOC. “He can do a tremendous amount on the climate, student debt, immigration, cannabis, health care and more. Time is running out – we need to move forward and find alternative avenues. ”The Congresswoman was one of the first to suggest that Biden use executive power to advance marijuana reform.

Biden now has to rely on his executive powers. So far he has delayed it and made too little use. He can do a tremendous amount in the areas of climate, student debt, immigration, cannabis, health care, and more.

Time is running out – we have to move and use alternative routes.

– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 20, 2021

Before Ocasio-Cortez’s plea, not her first, Republican lawmakers Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Don Young (R-AK), both co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, sent a letter to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris recently asked the administration to move cannabis under federal law.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

“As both legislatures continue to discuss the merits of various sensible proposals on cannabis reform and a complete end to the federal ban, there is growing bipartisan support, the absence of your government in these debates and the lack of action which is inconsistent.” that you have raised on the subject is seriously worrying, ”wrote the legislature. In addition, they found that the Appendix I classification of cannabis “puts the US way behind many of our international partners and scientific competitors.”

RELATED: GOP Legislators Urge Biden and Harris to End Silence on Cannabis Legalization

On the same day, Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) spoke about the inconsistency of marijuana driving guidelines in states during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmatory hearing for Biden’s nominee for Director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) US asking for federal marijuana standards to measure driving disorder, Marijuana Moment reported.

“We first legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado, which I initially refused,” said Hickenlooper. “I thought that teenage driving, teenage consumption, and usage of all kinds would increase. We didn’t see any of this (but we know we don’t have a good way of measuring the noise level), ”he added.

RELATED: Can Biden Administration Postpone Cannabis?

Noting that the NHTSA hadn’t released an updated report on cannabis and motoring since 2017, Hickenlooper asked Biden’s nominee Steven Cliff if he would commit to “developing a federal standard for marijuana-impaired driving so we could have something as a national standard be able”.

Regardless of his own pressure and requests from the other party, President Biden remains either mute or negative in the face of his inaction on cannabis legalization, which is supported by nearly three-quarters of the US adult population.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.