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U.S. President Joe Biden stated in February 2021 that his administration will pursue cannabis decriminalization as well as seek expungements for people with prior cannabis convictions. [1] It can still be found on his campaign website under sentencing reform. [2] As of October 2022, Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. [3] However, according to the Marshall Project, nobody was released from prison as a result of the October 2022 pardons, as no federal inmates were incarcerated for simple marijuana use at the time. [4]
The use, sale, and possession of cannabis over 0.3% delta-9-THC in the United States, despite state laws, is illegal under federal law. As a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970, cannabis over 0.3% delta-9-THC (legal term marijuana) is considered to have "no accepted medical use" and have a high potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependence. Cannabis use is illegal for any reason, with the exception of FDA-approved research programs; however, individual states have enacted legislation permitting exemptions for various uses, mainly for medical and industrial use but often also recreational use.[ citation needed ]
Trump indicated during his 2016 presidential campaign that he favored leaving the issue of legalization of marijuana to the states, but his administration never acted on the federal prohibition of cannabis, and Trump's 2021 fiscal budget proposal included less protections for state medical marijuana laws. In 2018, Trump's administration also rescinded the 2013 Cole Memorandum, an Obama-era Justice Department policy that generally directed federal prosecutors not to pursue cannabis prosecutions in states where the drug is legal as a matter of state law. [5]
Cannabis legalization was approved via November 2020 ballot measures in the three states of Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey. Additionally, medical cannabis was legalized via ballot measures during the same election in Mississippi and South Dakota; South Dakota became the first state to legalize medical and recreational cannabis simultaneously, though its referendum for recreational cannabis was nullified by a court. [6] Observers noted that cannabis legalization was approved in states with both conservative and liberal electorates, making it one of the few issues to gain broad bipartisan support in an otherwise highly divisive election. [7]
The trend continued in 2021, as legalization was approved at the state level in Biden-carried states of New Mexico, New York, Virginia, New Jersey, and Connecticut. [8] During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden said "individual states should decide whether to legalize it for recreational use." [9]
Statewide ballot measures on cannabis legalization were held during the 2022 and 2023 elections. The states of Maryland, Missouri, and Ohio voted to legalize recreational cannabis, [10] while the states of Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma voted against measures that would do the same.
As of March 2023, although Biden had stood for decriminalization and descheduling during his campaign, the administration had not formulated an explicit policy on cannabis. Some political and cannabis industry observers like the editor of Leafly thought the administration would be likely to assist in carrying out his campaign promises on cannabis through the MORE Act, sponsored by then-Senator Kamala Harris, or through executive order. [11] Failing full legalization, he could improve banking access by supporting the SAFE Act. [12] [13]
In March, 2021, the Daily Beast reported that "dozens" of White House staffers had been "suspended, asked to resign or placed in a remote work program" because they had admitted to prior cannabis use. This action affected even those whose use had occurred in legal states. [14] When asked for comment, White House press Secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged that five staffers had been fired over the issue. [15] In addition, Biden himself, when asked to comment on US track and field athlete Sha'carri Richardson's 30-day suspension from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to a failed drug test, initially offered, "the rules are the rules." [16] After it was announced that Richardson would be denied the chance to compete after the 30-day suspension was lifted, Psaki later suggested that the rules surrounding Richardson's suspension be re-examined. [17]
In May 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration approved licensed facilities to grow cannabis for the purpose of medical research for the first time since 1968. [18] Prior to this, the University of Mississippi was the only institution in the United States legally permitted to grow the plant for that use. Previously, in 2016, an application process was put in place for research growers, but no applications were later approved under the Trump administration. [19]
In October 2022, President Biden announced a mass pardon for past federal cannabis possession convictions, encouraged governors to do the same for state cannabis possession convictions, and instructed Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to review the classification schedule of marijuana, which could result in removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. [20]
On December 2, 2022, Biden signed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act. [21]
The Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner prisoner exchange occurred on December 8, 2022 which involved an American WNBA athlete being convicted of cannabis possession on Russian soil.
In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is legalized in 24 states and decriminalized in 7 states, as of November 2023. Decriminalization refers to a policy of reduced penalties for cannabis offenses, typically involving a civil penalty for possessing small amounts, instead of criminal prosecution or the threat of arrest. In jurisdictions without penalty the policy is referred to as legalization, although the term decriminalization is sometimes used for this purpose as well.
In the United States, increased restrictions and labeling of cannabis as a poison began in many states from 1906 onward, and outright prohibitions began in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s cannabis was regulated as a drug in every state, including 35 states that adopted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The first national regulation was the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
The use, sale, and possession of cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight in the United States, despite laws in many states permitting it under various circumstances, is illegal under federal law. As a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970, cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight is considered to have "no accepted medical use" and a high potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependence. Cannabis use is illegal for any reason, with the exception of FDA-approved research programs. However, individual states have enacted legislation permitting exemptions for various uses, including medical, industrial, and recreational use.
Cannabis in Oregon is legal for both medical and recreational use. In recent decades, the U.S. state of Oregon has had a number of legislative, legal, and cultural events surrounding use of cannabis. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis, and among the first to authorize its use for medical purposes. An attempt to recriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis was turned down by Oregon voters in 1997.
In the United States, cannabis is legal in 38 of 50 states for medical use and 24 states for recreational use. At the federal level, cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, determined to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use, prohibiting its use for any purpose. Despite this prohibition, federal law is generally not enforced against the possession, cultivation, or intrastate distribution of cannabis in states where such activity has been legalized.
The legal history of cannabis in the United States began with state-level prohibition in the early 20th century, with the first major federal limitations occurring in 1937. Starting with Oregon in 1973, individual states began to liberalize cannabis laws through decriminalization. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis, sparking a trend that spread to a majority of states by 2016. In 2012, Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
Cannabis in Massachusetts is legal for medical and recreational use. It also relates to the legal and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis. A century after becoming the first U.S. state to criminalize recreational cannabis, Massachusetts voters elected to legalize it in 2016.
Cannabis in Georgia is illegal for recreational use, but decriminalized in the cities of Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, Athens, and others. Limited medical use is allowed in the form of cannabis oil containing less than 5% THC.
Cannabis in Pennsylvania is illegal for recreational use, but possession of small amounts is decriminalized in several of the state's largest cities. Medical use was legalized in 2016 through a bill passed by the state legislature.
Cannabis in New Mexico is legal for recreational use as of June 29, 2021. A bill to legalize recreational use – House Bill 2, the Cannabis Regulation Act – was signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 12, 2021. The first licensed sales of recreational cannabis began on April 1, 2022.
Cannabis in Maryland is legal for medical use and recreational use. Possession of up to 1.5 ounces and cultivation of up to 2 plants is legal for adults 21 years of age and older. In 2013, a state law was enacted to establish a state-regulated medical cannabis program. The program, known as the Natalie M. LaPrade Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC) became operational on December 1, 2017.
Cannabis in Ohio is legal for recreational use. Issue 2, a ballot measure to legalize recreational use, passed by a 57–43 margin on November 7, 2023. Possession and personal cultivation of cannabis became legal on December 7, 2023, with the first licensed sales yet to occur under the law. Prior to legalization, Ohio decriminalized possession of up 100 grams in 1975, with several of the state's major cities later enacting further reforms.
Cannabis in Mexico is legal for both recreational and medicinal purposes. It became legal for recreational purposes in June 2021, upon application and issuance of a permit from the health secretariat, COFEPRIS. On 29 June 2021, the Supreme Court of Mexico decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed a bill that allows adults 18 and over to possess up to 28 grams of cannabis and grow up to six marijuana plants on their property.
The Cannabis Act (C-45) of June, 2018 paved the way for the legalization of cannabis in Canada on 17 October 2018. Police and prosecution services in all Canadian jurisdictions are currently capable of pursuing criminal charges for cannabis marketing without a licence issued by Health Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada has held that the federal Parliament has the power to criminalize the possession of cannabis and that doing so does not infringe upon the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Ontario Court of Appeal and the Superior Court of Ontario have, however, held that the absence of a statutory provision for medical marijuana is unconstitutional, and to that extent the federal law is of no force and/or effect if a prescription is obtained. The recreational use of cannabis has been legalized by the federal government, and took effect on 17 October 2018.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, also known as the MORE Act, is a proposed piece of U.S. federal legislation that would deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and enact various criminal and social justice reforms related to cannabis, including the expungement of prior convictions.
We know Biden's public stance on [marijuana policy]. He's spoken about decriminalization, about medical legalization, about moving marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (using executive action to bring it down to Schedule II) and about expunging past convictions for marijuana charges. But he's never come out in favor of full descheduling and full legalization.
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