2020 candidate Andrew Yang promises to legalize marijuana and pardon all non-violent drug offenders

[Eugene]

Source: Insider

2020 candidate Andrew Yang promises to legalize marijuana and pardon all non-violent drug offenders on 4/20 if he's elected

John Haltiwanger 2h

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang pledged to legalize marijuana at the federal level if elected president and pardon all those who've been incarcerated for non-violent, drug-related offenses.

"I would legalize marijuana and then I would pardon everyone who's in jail for a nonviolent drug-related offense," Yang said at the National Action Network conference in New York City on Wednesday. "I would pardon them on April 20, 2021 and I would high-five them on the way out of jail."

April 20, or 4/20, is considered a holiday by marijuana enthusiasts.

Link to tweet

Technically, the president cannot legalize marijuana at the federal level without the support of Congress.

However, the president can direct the attorney general to reclassify marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, reserved for drugs with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." Other drugs classified as Schedule 1 include cocaine and heroin.

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Read more: https://www.thisisinsider.com/andrew-yang-legalize-marijuana-pardon-non-violent-offenders-420-2019-4


Andrew Yang. AP Photo/Phil Long

[welivetotreadonkings]

1. He's also come out in support for the decriminalization of opioids.

Glad these issues are being brought up, the drug was has been a massive failure on every level.

[dawg day]

2. I am not ready to choose a candidate, but I love that Yang and Inslee are both striking in a new way

We need to also focus on these things-- that pernicious 'war on drugs' and climate change.

[loyalsister]

3. I like the way these primaries are shaping up

I especially like having these fresh perspectives and the willingness to go beyond the ways we have always done things.