8 ms·
Not to be the bearer of bad news but it actually suggests an election season and not a mentality shift. We're gonna need to vote the average age of congress dow
by Test0129 4y ago
Not to be the bearer of bad news but it actually suggests an election season and not a mentality shift. We're gonna need to vote the average age of congress down about 20 years to see any realistic change on this IMO.
- uup 4y agoI saw this on Reddit and it resonated. Yes, it’s the election season and we’re seeing democracy in action: that’s when elected officials do things you like and then you vote for them again. Not sure why you’re making it sound like a bad thing.
- ssalka 4y agoBecause they stop doing the things you like once the election is over
- urspx 4y agoSure, but then there is another election. After the election is before the election.
- sokoloff 4y agoIf I elect someone to lead the country for 4 years, I’d prefer they lead the country for at least 3.75 of those years, not for two 4-6 month stints in 4 years. (Neither party has a monopoly on this BS.)
- Sohcahtoa82 4y agoIt's bad because there are people that have been sitting in prison that could have been released over a year and a half ago, but Biden would rather let them rot for a while longer just so he could score political points at a more convenient time.
- MarkMarine 4y agoSomeone higher up in the tree said there wasn’t a single person sitting in federal pen for this. I’m not sure, but I can’t imagine it’s frequently charged federally
- whoooooo123 4y agoFrom a legal point of view, when is marijuana possession a federal offence and when is it a state offence? Presumably if you're caught with weed in DC then it's federal. But under what circumstances could you be found in possession with marijuana anywhere else and have it be a matter for the federal government, not the state one?
- Sohcahtoa82 4y agoFederal park land?
- forgetfreeman 4y agoShit's illegal and people are mad. Dude tries to cut some folks a break and people are mad. Conclusion: some people are born mad and gonna stay that way regardless.
- encryptluks2 4y agoHm.. can you imagine homosexuality being banned and people being mad just cause they pardon only a certain type before elections?
- forgetfreeman 4y agoIntentionally or otherwise you're equating lifestyle choices with sexual orientation and that is not a good look for all the same reasons that the rationale behind conversion therapy is garbage.
- innocentoldguy 4y ago
- cronix 4y agoNo federal law is changing. This is a one time get out of jail free card. People arrested for the same crimes after he pardons current people in prison don't get the benefit.
- kaibee 4y agoThe scheduling of marijuana is changing.
- realce 4y agoIt's being looked at, but that's not at this point guaranteed
- petesergeant 4y agoNo, and that’s because he doesn’t have the power to unilaterally do that, but he is trying to get it rescheduled
- bandyaboot 4y agoHe doesn’t technically have the unilateral power to prevent future people from being charged federally with simple possession, but in reality, he kind of does (while he’s president).
- MarkMarine 4y agoSends a pretty clear message to any federal prosecutor that is deciding if they want to charge this. Obviously, the prosecutor can spend the time and effort on this if they want, but it’s time that will probably be better served doing something else if they don’t want to see their work wiped away by the stroke of a pen in the future.
- pessimizer 4y ago> he is trying to get it rescheduled Do you have a link about this? Because he's shown hostility towards marijuana legalization, promised to veto it if it was sent to him, and in the past supported draconian drug laws.
- Test0129 4y agoThe difference is that if they were winning they wouldn't do this. This is textbook vote buying. They are absolutely terrified of the election season after the market collapse, inflation, housing situation, war in ukraine, etc. Easy to lock in quite a few votes throwing a bone. Republicans did the same thing last election season and capitulated (temporarily) on a lot of their positions in order to pull in the independents. I wish you were correct. But there's a difference between doing something because you know it's right (implore congress to pass legislation on marijuana immediately) and because you need the votes. Only one of them is virtuous even though both ostensibly benefit the people.
- innocentoldguy 4y agoI use cannabis daily and am all for it being legalized and those in jail released. However, I cannot join you in a victory lap here because Biden's pardon affects nobody. As far as I know, there isn't anybody in federal prison on simple possession charges. That being the case, this smacks of politicking, optics, and opportunism rather than anything meaningful. If Biden wanted to do something substantial, he'd sign legislation legalizing cannabis (including growing your own).
- x86_64Ubuntu 4y agoHe can only sign legislation presented to him to sign by Congress.
- dgfitz 4y agoThis is absolutely about the election. Why didn’t he do this in his first 100 days? Because it wasn’t election season.
- andrew_ 4y agoHey there was a lot of money to print and send out of the country. Takes a lot of time and effort keeping the printers going. He did the best he could.
- jankyxenon 4y agoMentality change on marijuana? Well down that path already.
- markoman 4y agoThis was a campaign promise from Biden, and why shouldn't he reap credit from following through by doing this is an election season. At least he's not on the ballot, and I can think of many worse things politicians regularly do. Consider also that these federal marijuana convicts were charged due to such simple infractions as carrying weed onto federal property such as national parks (given their greater popularity in recent times). This shouldn't be too controversial.
- andrew_ 4y agoLegitimate ask for citation as I don't recall this and couldn't find a reference to it now that Google is spammed by today's announcement.
- Bud 4y agoGoogle for "biden marijuana campaign promise" brings it right up. https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/16/politics/joe-biden-marijuana-decriminalization https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/16/politics/joe-biden-marijuana-...
- mushbino 4y agoGreat point, but even 20 years down still isn't all that young.
- pyuser583 4y agoPardoning people during election season is very, very much a mentality shift. In the past Presidents and Governors pardoned people on their last days in office - when they’re least accountable to electors. Now they (one anyway) is doing it right before and election. That’s really big.
- bigmattystyles 4y agoAgreed - FoxNews has already started attacking this - https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-pardoning-all-prior-federal-offenses-simple-marijuana-possession https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-pardoning-all-prior-f... Just go further to the right cesspool to see what you're saying. He'll be attacked for this. I'll grant that he'll be qually praised for it and that it may rally his voters, though I doubt it's a net positive for him in the rhetoric chambers.
- elcritch 4y agoWhat’s ironic is that IMHO it should be at least more of a state level decision, which should be supported by the right. Of course logical consistency isn’t a hallmark of politics. If Pres. Biden supports something then obviously it should be opposed (this works for the left as well).
- rayiner 4y agoThe “right” has multiple factions just like the “left.” A significant chunk of the right is social conservatives that don’t really care about the legal nuances, just like a dominant chunk of the left is social liberals that feel the same way.
- bigmattystyles 4y agoTotally agree that there’s a leftist cesspool as well. Never said there wasn’t.
- 4y ago
- autoexec 4y agoI thought he campaigned on this. If I'm remembering that right, then this isn't so much the case of someone doing something just to try to get reelected (is he even planning on running again?), but rather someone fulfilling the promise they made to the people who elected him the first time.
- encryptluks2 4y agoCampaigning on something and not taking action until midterms is completely different. It is clear if he wasn't scared he wouldn't have taken action at all and both him and his VP has a history of being vehemently opposed to marijuana legalization.
- autoexec 4y agoThe timing might be strategic, but he did say he'd do it and now he has, so it seems weird to say it was clear he wasn't going to. Biden has a horrible history but he's also been a supporter of things he spoke out against in the past. The degree to which his recent actions or his past actions better reflect his actual beliefs is debatable, but even if it's just for political points, he's doing the things he said he would.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- bergenty 4y agoGood? Power to the people?
- smsm42 4y agoIt's an election gimmick for sure. However, there's always a choice of possible election gimmicks - and in the past, this one had never been chosen. Now, it has been. There must be a reason for it - and one may reasonably assume the reason is that there is enough support for relaxing the federal prohibition on marijuana.