4 ms·

Oddly, Biden is a bigger holdout against full legalization than Congress. >Biden’s blunt opposition to marijuana legalization https://www.vox.com/22387746/bid

Oddly, Biden is a bigger holdout against full legalization than Congress. >Biden’s blunt opposition to marijuana legalization https://www.vox.com/22387746/biden-marijuana-weed-legalization-schumer-polls https://www.vox.com/22387746/biden-marijuana-weed-legalizati...

paxys 6y ago
Funny enough in this case how Kamala Harris feels might be more important, since she'll likely cast the deciding vote in the Senate. I can't see Biden vetoing the legalization bill if it passes both chambers, regardless of his personal views.
- GeekyBear 6y ago
  Typically, the Vice President will follow the President's agenda, regardless of how they personally feel. I'm sure she'll offer her views privately and then follow the President's lead publicly, just as Biden did when he opposed Obama's Afghanistan surge and remaining there forever. However, on this issue, a group of Republicans and Democrats have been renewing a ban on using Federal dollars to prosecute individuals for pot in states where it is legal since the Obama years, regardless of which party controls the Senate.
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    > However, on this issue, a group of Republicans and Democrats have been renewing a ban on using Federal dollars to prosecute individuals for pot in states where it is legal since the Obama years, regardless of which party controls the Senate. Only where the use is consistent with state law limited to medical use; the House tried to expand that to include state law covering non-medical use in 2019 and 2020, but in both cases this change was not included in matching Senate bills and not restored in reconciliation of the bills.
- chmod600 6y ago
  Why do you think the Senate will tie?
  - GeekyBear 6y ago
    Congress has been using their power of the purse to forbid using Federal dollars to prosecute people and businesses in states where pot is legal every year since 2014. https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-medical-pot-20141216-story.html https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-medical-pot-20141216-st... Although the courts eventually had to shut down the Obama DOJ for continuing to prosecute in those states anyway. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-medical-pot-20160816-snap-story.html https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-medical-pot-201... The votes are there when you aren't openly calling what you are doing "full legalization".
    - dragonwriter 6y ago
      > Congress has been using their power of the purse to forbid using Federal dollars to prosecute those in states where pot is legal every year since 2014. No, they prohibit prosecuting use consistent with state medical use laws; in both 2019 and 2020 the House voted to extend that to state-legal use generally, but the Senate didn’t go along. (The House, but not the Senate, also passed a decriminalization bill in 2020.)
      - GeekyBear 6y ago
        I seem to remember the Trump DOJ threatening to renew prosecutions and members of Congress making it clear that they would expand the prosecution ban if they had to. They are perfectly willing to make pot legal, however, they prefer to avoid looking like they are doing so as long as possible. Biden's open opposition is the bigger issue here. Lets not forget who was behind a lot of the drug war legislation. >Biden was a major Democratic leader in spearheading America’s war on drugs during the 1980s and ’90s. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/25/18282870/joe-biden-criminal-justice-war-on-drugs-mass-incarceration https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/25/18282870/j...

paxys 6y ago

Funny enough in this case how Kamala Harris feels might be more important, since she'll likely cast the deciding vote in the Senate. I can't see Biden vetoing the legalization bill if it passes both chambers, regardless of his personal views.

GeekyBear 6y ago
Typically, the Vice President will follow the President's agenda, regardless of how they personally feel. I'm sure she'll offer her views privately and then follow the President's lead publicly, just as Biden did when he opposed Obama's Afghanistan surge and remaining there forever. However, on this issue, a group of Republicans and Democrats have been renewing a ban on using Federal dollars to prosecute individuals for pot in states where it is legal since the Obama years, regardless of which party controls the Senate.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > However, on this issue, a group of Republicans and Democrats have been renewing a ban on using Federal dollars to prosecute individuals for pot in states where it is legal since the Obama years, regardless of which party controls the Senate. Only where the use is consistent with state law limited to medical use; the House tried to expand that to include state law covering non-medical use in 2019 and 2020, but in both cases this change was not included in matching Senate bills and not restored in reconciliation of the bills.
chmod600 6y ago
Why do you think the Senate will tie?
- GeekyBear 6y ago
  Congress has been using their power of the purse to forbid using Federal dollars to prosecute people and businesses in states where pot is legal every year since 2014. https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-medical-pot-20141216-story.html https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-medical-pot-20141216-st... Although the courts eventually had to shut down the Obama DOJ for continuing to prosecute in those states anyway. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-medical-pot-20160816-snap-story.html https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-medical-pot-201... The votes are there when you aren't openly calling what you are doing "full legalization".
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    > Congress has been using their power of the purse to forbid using Federal dollars to prosecute those in states where pot is legal every year since 2014. No, they prohibit prosecuting use consistent with state medical use laws; in both 2019 and 2020 the House voted to extend that to state-legal use generally, but the Senate didn’t go along. (The House, but not the Senate, also passed a decriminalization bill in 2020.)
    - GeekyBear 6y ago
      I seem to remember the Trump DOJ threatening to renew prosecutions and members of Congress making it clear that they would expand the prosecution ban if they had to. They are perfectly willing to make pot legal, however, they prefer to avoid looking like they are doing so as long as possible. Biden's open opposition is the bigger issue here. Lets not forget who was behind a lot of the drug war legislation. >Biden was a major Democratic leader in spearheading America’s war on drugs during the 1980s and ’90s. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/25/18282870/joe-biden-criminal-justice-war-on-drugs-mass-incarceration https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/25/18282870/j...