🚨 Biden is taking executive action on marijuana reform

[Nevilledog]

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philip lewis
@Phil_Lewis_
·
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NEWS: Today Biden is taking executive action on marijuana reform

1) Announcing a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana

2) Urging all governors to do the same for state offenses

3) Asking HHS & AG to review how it is scheduled under federal law
12:01 PM · Oct 6, 2022

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President Biden
·
Oct 6, 2022
@POTUS
·
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United States government official
As I’ve said before, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.

Today, I’m taking steps to end our failed approach. Allow me to lay them out.

First: I’m pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. There are thousands of people who were previously convicted of simple possession who may be denied employment, housing, or educational opportunities as a result. My pardon will remove this burden.

Second: I’m calling on governors to pardon simple state marijuana possession offenses. Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely for possessing marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either.

Third: We classify marijuana at the same level as heroin – and more serious than fentanyl. It makes no sense. I’m asking @SecBecerra and the Attorney General to initiate the process of reviewing how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.

I’d also like to note that as federal and state regulations change, we still need important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and underage sales of marijuana.

Sending people to jail for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives – for conduct that is legal in many states. That’s before you address the clear racial disparities around prosecution and conviction. Today, we begin to right these wrongs.
12:00 PM · Oct 6, 2022

[Elessar Zappa]

1. Excellent.

Marijuana should definitely be reclassified.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. This is great

And this will be very popular.

It's been talked about here, but I think bail reform is the next big civil rights topic that comes to the table. Setting bails that poor people can't pay doesn't offer equal justice under the law. Especially with a slower court system. For some people, getting caught for petty theft means embarrassment, getting booked, getting bailed out immediately and going home to live your life. To others it means losing your job, spending days, weeks, or months in jail awaiting trial. It can mean losing custody of children, or losing a car.

[we can do it]

3. Wow!

[FalloutShelter]

4. WOW!

Isn't this a kind of back-door retroactive legalization?

[Nevilledog]

5. That's how I read it

[FalloutShelter]

7. Double WOW!

[Torchlight]

6. This is kinda outta the blue, no?

Granted, I admit I know little of Biden's position, but has he been building towards this (short-term or long-term), or is this as much a surprise to everyone else, too?

I smoke, but not in a state that let's us, so I thought I had my ear to the ground about this on the state level and not so much the federal, and it's never looked to me that reducing the severity for pot was a major issue for him.

[dsp3000]

8. Great news. I think they are trying to time this before the midterms for max political effect.

And hopefully stymie the impending rising gas prices

[AZSkiffyGeek]

9. Our version of an October surprise

[KS Toronado]

34. You got it, will help the midterms.

[Nevilledog]

10. This was a campaign promise

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/biden-promise-tracker/promise/1529/decriminalize-marijuana/


That page will need to be updated.

[Torchlight]

13. Good. He's ticking them off one by one.

No drama. No rage-tweeting. No self-aggrandizement. Just a steady application of his promised policies going into effect.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

27. Yeah. With student loan forgiveness...

... there was a lot of news leading up to it about what President Biden might do.

While I'm sure people have been working on this, did anyone outside the administration know this was coming?

[GoodRaisin]

60. Not out of the blue. It's been discussed a lot.

We just didn’t know when. It’s what he said he would do during his campaign.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. A good start. ETA: There are less than 7,000 people with this particular charge.

Still, as I say, a start. No drug should be criminalized.

[Arazi]

12. Now legalize it

[Tracer]

18. It's been legal in MA for several years.

There are pot shops almost everywhere. However, they are quite expensive. So my daughter and friends grow their own (which is also legal, if you have 10 plants or fewer.)

[SergeStorms]

45. Without federal legalization...

it means nothing to pain patients who've signed opioid contracts with their Doctors.

Every time I go to see my pain and symptom management Doctor I have to provide a urine sample that's tested for every drug under the sun: prescription and "street" drugs, which includes marijuana. If even a trace of THC is found it invalidates my opioid contract and the Doctor will no longer prescribe opiates for pain.

The CDC's recommendations for maximum percentage of opiates in the bloodstream (regardless of body mass) were cut by 2/3 a few years ago during the opiate scare. Yes, people were dying from opiate overdosing, but those people weren't pain management patients. They were people buying them on the street. Didn't matter. Pain management patients were forced to cut their dosage by 2/3. You can imagine what that did for the quality of their lives. Pain management patients were committing suicide because a lack of opiates.

So yeah, until marijuana is legalized by the federal government it means a great deal to pain patients.

[Emile]

62. +1

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. Biden to pardon marijuana offenses, call for review of federal law

These are major steps

Link to tweet

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/06/biden-to-pardon-marijuana-offenses-call-for-review-of-federal-law-00060796

President Joe Biden is planning to issue an executive order pardoning all people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, senior administration officials said on Thursday, in what amounts to the most extensive White House action taken to date in U.S. drug policy.

The president will also be urging governors to do the same for cases regarding state offenses of civil possession of marijuana. In addition, he is asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to “expeditiously” review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.

Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I narcotic, meaning it’s deemed to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Heroin and LSD are other Schedule I drugs.

“The President has been clear that marijuana laws are not working,” said a senior administration official. “The president has been considering his options and he is now taking executive action.”

[fishwax]

15. this is good news

[dalton99a]

16. Kick

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. President Biden announces he's taking 3 BIG steps re marijuana today

Link to tweet

[gratuitous]

19. Compassionate and humane governance

Fiscally responsible, too. You can bet this is really going to stir up some people who will just hate, Hate, HATE it. Let's go, Biden!

[gay texan]

20. Cue the conservative "reefer madness" talking head types

This is fucking awesome news!!!!

[Nevilledog]

21. Nobody fucks with a Biden!

[hibbing]

32. My inherited billionaire governor- "Marijuana will kill your children" n/t

[paleotn]

41. As we use to say down south....

That dog just won't hunt. Even most Republicans are pro marijuana liberalization.

[Wednesdays]

47. There are a heckuva lot of libertarian Republicans

Who would cheer on this news. So, this is a savvy political move, too!

[paleotn]

51. Exactly!

I love it when doing the right thing is also a savvy political move.

[mucifer]

59. My inherited billionaire Gov is better than yours

I got JB Pritzker

He worked to legalize recreational years ago.

We are lucky to have him in Illinois.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

22. Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana

Link to tweet

[SheltieLover]

23. Excellent! 👏👏👏👏

[Hamlette]

24. Only an old white guy could do this. I love Biden.

[Cha]

25. Excellelnt! Will the maggats or

anyone Dare to Whine about this?!

[Nevilledog]

29. REEFER MADNESS, BABY!

Link to tweet

[paleotn]

40. Foolish. That won't play well, even with most Republicans.

Marijuana liberalization is hugely popular across the political spectrum.

[Cha]

53. LOL.. They're So GD STUPID it

BURNS!! They don't think maggats Smoke Weed!

I bet Independents Do Too! REEFER MADNESS!

[LittleGirl]

26. Thank you President Biden!

Finally!

[BlueIdaho]

28. About damn time!

America’s patchwork quilt of pot laws is crazy - I hope federal action will lead to more rational thinking and the end to the stigma that surrounds marijuana.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

30. Promise made. Promise kept.

Link to tweet

[BidenRocks]

52. I was just thinking it.

You posted it.
Like minds and all that.
Happy in California!

[llmart]

31. +1

I know a few conservatives I've met who could stand to smoke a doobie every once in awhile, since they always seem to be so uptight about everything under the sun.

[James48]

35. Only a start!

The rescheduling MUST formally take place, and soon.

I really am not sure exactly where it belongs- as it is non-addictive and does have some medical benefit, so I’m thinking Schedule 4 might be appropriate. Definitely NOT Schedule 1. Year

[ZonkerHarris]

36. it's about damn time

[Behind the Aegis]

37. This is a VERY smart move.

If he is able to pull this off, and especially if he can get the schedule 1 designation dropped, it will be a real winner at the polls!

[Nevilledog]

42. I 💕 this 👇

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Tweet text:

Sheryl Gay Stolberg
@SherylNYT
·
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At precisely 4:20 p.m., @SecBecerra replied to Biden's directive for him to look at how marijuana is "scheduled under federal law" -- meaning how it is classified under the Controlled Substances Act.

I am told the timing was no accident.

Secretary Xavier Becerra
@SecBecerra
Looking forward to working with Attorney General Garland to answer @POTUS’ call to action to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.
1:47 PM · Oct 6, 2022

[jmowreader]

38. Here's the scheduling problem

The federal drug schedules do not recognize how bad or good a drug may be. They look at two things: recognized medical use, and potential for abuse.

Unfortunately, weed doesn't do very well on either count.

Thanks to the 100-year-long federal prohibition on cannabis no legitimate studies have been made on weed in a medical setting. I think you can understand why: no one will invest in a study of a drug that is illegal to use. Hence, no "recognized medical use."

The government considers using a drug for its psychoactive effects to be abuse, and...well, that's why you smoke weed in the first place.

Unfortunately, because it falls into the description of a Schedule I drug - even though the only way the shit is going to kill you is if someone drops a 500-pound bale of it on your head - if it's going to be scheduled at all it's got to be in Schedule I.

Fentanyl, on the other hand, has recognized medical uses. Because it has them and also a high potential for abuse, it's in Schedule II. Cocaine and methamphetamine are also Schedule II drugs, and they're way worse than cannabis.

The obvious solution is to simply treat it as alcohol and deschedule it entirely. Alcohol has very few recognized medical uses, like analgesia if there aren't any other painkillers available (after the Israelis tried to sink the USS Liberty during the Six Days War the Liberty's sick bay ran out of painkillers so they resorted to passing out bottles of rum from the officers' mess) and treating antifreeze poisoning, and it has a high potential for abuse. No other recreational drug has the safety profile of cannabis. Alcohol is capable of killing you in one drinking session, and tobacco not only causes serious illness but it is so addictive you'll smoke yourself to death without even thinking about it. The mouse oral LD50 of cannabis is 481.9 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, which somewhat suggests the mice exploded after eating that many hash brownies. If the mouse LD50 holds true for humans, a 75-kilogram human would have to eat a full ounce of pure THC to risk death - and who the hell is going to do that?

[paleotn]

39. To borrow a phrase from he who will not be named.....

This is Huuuuge!

Liberalization of marijuana laws is hugely popular nationwide, across the political spectrum.

[Lucinda]

43. ❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

[soldierant]

44. According to Andy Borowitz ...

"Biden Releases Marijuana Offenders from Prison to Make Room for Trump Administration."
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/biden-releases-marijuana-offenders-from-prison-to-make-room-for-trump-administration

Even if that wasn't an actual motivator, it's a nice side benefit.

[JoeOtterbein]

46. K n R ! Thanks for posting!

Smart politics!

[Maraya1969]

48. I love that guy. eom

[SleeplessinSoCal]

49. Guess which governors won't pardon pot possessions...

Same ol same, ol White Supremacists.

[wendyb-NC]

50. That's good news

It's time.

[Danascot]

54. Biden Releases Marijuana Offenders from Prison to Make Room for Trump Administration

By Andy Borowitz

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/biden-releases-marijuana-offenders-from-prison-to-make-room-for-trump-administration

[gulliver]

55. Yet another amazingly great move, imo

Just really great

[crickets]

56. I love this! It's the right thing to do. nt

[IbogaProject]

57. A good step

But this sidesteps, ignores or accepts the much more numerous federal and state convictions for "providing" or sales.

[Murphyb849]

58. Timing is everything 👏👏👏👏

[niyad]

61. KNR

[YoshidaYui]

63. this Cannibis (#16 Stoner) user approves this message: