08/09/2023
Analyzing Biden's executive move to reschedule cannabis… (even though cannabis as Schedule 3 may lead to more trust in the medicinal quality and more usage by the general public, this examination may be able to form or foster innovative counter measures)
Erik Altieri, the previous executive director of the ma*****na reform organization NORML, criticized Biden for his “abysmal record when it comes to ma*****na law reform, ending our failed war on drugs, and addressing mass incarceration.” “Biden’s views are far out of step with the American public and he holds the worst record on cannabis related policy of any individual currently running for the Democratic or Republican nomination." Michael Collins, the director of national affairs at Drug Policy Action, agrees with this perception of Biden, and has referred to him as “the architect, in all ways, of the war on drugs.”
Biden was born the same year our government grew and advocated for h**p in an emergency effort for victory in the war, after immorally and unconstitutionally outlawing the plant. In 1944, the New York Academy of Medicine issued an extensively researched report declaring that, contrary to earlier research and popular belief, use of ma*****na did not induce violence, insanity or s*x crimes, or lead to addiction or other drug use. Nevertheless, Biden still publicly believed ma*****na was a gateway to instead of an exit drug from opiates in 2010.
Also, after getting five draft deferments for asthma during Vietnam, (and being a lifeguard and even college football player,) Biden said as a senator in relation to the drug war "... what we need is another D-Day, not another Vietnam, not a limited war, fought on the cheap. With the president, and the department of Health and Human Services' unprecedented change, pushing to reschedule cannabis in the controlled substances act, it brings to question what his affiliates' views on the adult-use of cannabis may be, as well as how advocates may have to respond for grow rights if this scheduling becomes the norm.
Biden ran for Congress the same year cannabis advocates formed the first official national organization to reform ma*****na laws and began lobbying for such. Also in 1970, the Unitarian Universalist Association passed a general resolution calling for the legalization of ma*****na. The resolution stated that the drug laws are making criminals of and causing undue and unjust punishment to many persons who have no criminal intent in the use of ma*****na. Biden even undoubtedly had multiple exposures to the presidential commission that researched and determined ma*****na should not even be scheduled, and should be decriminalized by Congress and state legislatures. But like Nixon, Biden didn't favor or support their findings, and in 1974 he made it known he didn't think ma*****na should be legal.
In 1980, Biden criticized Carter for not fighting the war on drugs forcefully enough. In 1982, he campaigned for the creation of a central cabinet position — a “drug czar” — to oversee and coordinate various federal agencies’ efforts to fight drug trafficking, which led to the establishment of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 1989. For the past few decades, the drug czar’s office advocated for increased enforcement of anti-drug laws, leading to more arrests; it also pushed a number of anti-drug (and, specifically, anti-ma*****na) ad campaigns, which have contributed to “decades of misinformation about ma*****na and misguided policies that have derailed countless people’s lives,” says Mason Tvert of Ma*****na Policy Project. Such ad campaigns (which, among other things, claimed that smoking ma*****na could lead to gun violence or teen pregnancy) have also been found to be not only ineffective, but also counterproductive: in fact, one eight-year ad campaign that cost more than $1.4 billion was found to increase the likelihood of young people smoking ma*****na.
Biden then ran for president the same year DEA judges Francis Young found "Ma*****na in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." And, Biden's championed drug czar helped lead to The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 which: Created the policy goal of a drug-free America; Established the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Restored the use of the death penalty by the federal government.
He has criticized conservative politicians for not being tough enough on drugs. In 1989, Biden harshly criticized then-President George H.W. Bush’s anti-drug plan, claiming it was not “tough enough, bold enough, or imaginative enough to meet the crisis at hand” and advocating for increased incarceration and more law enforcement resources. More importantly, he shepherded the 1994 crime bill that disproportionately hit communities of color and set mandatory minimum sentences for ma*****na possession.
Biden has also voiced his opposition to ma*****na as a form of pain management. In 2007, he said that while he supported ending raids on medical ma*****na users, he believed that “there’s got to be a better answer than ma*****na. There’s got to be a better answer than that. There’s got to be a better way for a humane society to figure out how to deal with that problem.”
In 2010, he still publicly believed ma*****na was a gateway drug. As Vice President in 2012, Biden had “serious doubts that decriminalization would have a major impact on the earnings of violent criminal organizations,” and that “on examination you realize there are more problems with legalization than with non-legalization.” Furthermore, Biden’s staff rejected ma*****na legalization as part of the Democratic Party policy platform. It was a step backwards from 2016, when the party made history by endorsing a “pathway” to legalization. “They did not support descheduling and legalization,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus who worked with the Biden campaign on the Democratic party platform.
President Biden repeatedly said during his previous campaign, no one should be in jail for using or possessing ma*****na. But, does this include self-producers, after rescheduling? And, what vision does he share in more regard to the adult-use of cannabis? Is it more accustomed to, and even more discouraged than, to***co? And, if we've already seen governors using the military as we have in California, to go against unlicensed cannabis production, will we see Biden's legacy become extremely worse than the impeached president who is more commonly known for the war on drugs?
A majority of the nation support full legalization, including at least 83 percent of Democrats. In September 2017, even in Biden’s birth state, the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee approved a platform position stating that "cannabis is safe enough, and ubiquitous enough in society, that it does not need to be restricted or prohibited by the Controlled Substances Act". In 2019, Biden said he supported decriminalization, yet rescheduling ma*****na as a pharmacist-only drug, is not a well publicly deliberated or supported approach.
Paul Armentano, Deputy director of NORML, sent this recent letter of action and donation, yet how willing are we to innovate efforts and impact greater than the traditional routes? We have means to, even with the bus being down.
"While some entities, particularly those involved in the commercial cannabis industry, have lauded the proposed change as a “giant” step forward, others – like myself – have been far more restrained. Rescheduling Is Not Enough
Here’s why.
First, reclassifying cannabis to a lower schedule within the CSA continues to misrepresent the plant’s safety relative to other controlled substances such as anabolic steroids and ketamine (Schedule III), benzodiazepines (Schedule IV), or even alcohol, which is unscheduled.
Second, moving cannabis to Schedule III is out of step with public and cultural consensus. Americans don’t want cannabis treated like he**in, like it is now. Still, they also don’t want it treated like a Schedule III substance like ketamine, which is only legal to possess with a physician’s prescription.
Third, and most importantly, this proposed change does little to address the widening divide between state-legal ma*****na laws and federal law. Every state law that is currently in conflict with federal law today will remain in conflict with federal law going forward when or if the Administration reclassifies cannabis as a Schedule III substance.
Our Common Sense Message Is Resonating
Over the past few days, I’ve consistently promoted NORML’s call for descheduling cannabis to dozens of mainstream media outlets, including The Associated Press, The Washington Post, UPI, and PBS, reaching millions of people. On Thursday, I appeared live on CNN, saying: “Tobacco and alcohol are not in the Controlled Substances Act. Those substances are well recognized to pose far greater hazards to health than cannabis. We should treat ma*****na [under the federal scheduling system] equally.”
NORML Stands With Consumers
As a grassroots organization that promotes freedom and civil liberties and represents the interests of the responsible cannabis consumer, we will continue to make the case for sensible ma*****na policies like descheduling. Your support provides us with the resources we need to be your voice in Washington, DC, and to make sure your voice is heard loud and clear in the mainstream media.
Federal lawmakers are now returning from their August recess, and there is little doubt there will be more conversations than ever in the halls of Congress surrounding this issue."
Even though a majority supports legalization, other approaches exist that wouldn't violate any international treaties and work from the decriminalization recommendation the 72' presidential commission made as well as the social club model popular in Spain and Uruguay. Vice president Kamala Harris also cosponsored the MORE act which, in part, deschedules cannabis from the CSA, and has 114 cosponsors currently. H.R.3105 - Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses, and Medical Professionals Act also sits in Congress, with 9 cosponsors, deschedules and legalizes cannabis.
What resistance would we face if we campaigned for social clubs that didn't violate any treaties?
You Deserve It!
