It doesn’t require federal legislation actually. Biden could simply order the AG to deschedule marijuana which would effectively legalize it nationally.
The United States Code, under Section 811 of Title 21,[24] sets out a process by which cannabis could be administratively transferred to a less-restrictive category or removed from Controlled Substances Act regulation altogether. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) evaluates petitions to reschedule cannabis. However, the Controlled Substances Act gives the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as successor agency of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, great power over rescheduling decisions.
After the DEA accepts the filing of a petition, the agency must request from the HHS Secretary “a scientific and medical evaluation, and his recommendations, as to whether such drug or other substance should be so controlled or removed as a controlled substance.” The Secretary’s findings on scientific and medical issues are binding on the DEA.[25] The HHS Secretary can even unilaterally legalize cannabis: “[I]f the Secretary recommends that a drug or other substance not be controlled, the Attorney General shall not control the drug or other substance.” 21 U.S.C. § 811(b).
Biden could theoretically pressure the HHS secretary to do that, but that would directly be a Trumpian act of a guy who ran on “look how not-Trump I am” and just is not going to happen.
Biden will use the system, as designed, and hope the chips land his way. If they don’t, and public backlash is strong, Dems can safely run on it.
We can not like how the political sausage is made, or even like that said sausage is made, and still live in the reality in which one does have to make sausage in politics.
Maybe if the world didn’t catch fire right before his election, this could be a thing, but with the past four to six years I just don’t see it taking anything but an act of Congress
So you admit he can do it without congress. However, you think it would make him look like Trump and so he shouldn’t do it…
That’s very strange reasoning. What exactly do you think would be the actual consequences? Over two thirds of Americans support legalization. If Biden got marijuana descheduled it would likely be an incredibly popular move.
You’re having a conversation about things you want and I’m having a conversation about how reality works.
Even without de- or re-scheduling, I think the very fact that most stoners and your average casual user of marijuana is not a hardcore criminal gives people in government a bit more to think about.
If they were to allow the DEA and police to apply discretion on an individual basis, rather than simply seek to create punishment for the sake of tax dollars, you’d see our better angels shine through.
Even if you worked for the DEA, day in day out with a MDF board with pins and string lines of whose who, bank statements, phone tracking, GPS car trackers like in NCIS, and had to hunt some evil ass people/drug traffickers, terrorists and spies everyday, your average stoner guy isn’t big fish to fry.
Hell if anything, for the average guy on the street or even just a news reporter, it’s probably a joke of a case to be thrown out along with the lead investigators.
If you really wanted to find criminals just go to East Europe or the middle east and pretend to be a photographer or reporter, you’ll probably not manage to arrest a single person, and maybe even die, but you’ll sure as hell learn more about how the CIA and others in power keep accidentally creating war zones, and why both USA and China has so far done a good job to avoid getting involved in the Israel Gaza conflict.
