Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday called on the federal government to move “as quickly as possible” to change the way it officially classifies marijuana, saying that “nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.”

“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible,” Harris said. “We need to have a resolution based on their findings and their assessment. This issue is stark when one considers the fact that on the schedule currently, marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin ― as dangerous as heroin ― and more dangerous than fentanyl, which is absurd, not to mention patently unfair.”

Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. That classification designates it one of the most dangerous drugs possible, with no medicinal uses. Other substances in the same category include heroin, ecstasy and LSD. Marijuana advocates have been pushing for years for the federal government to either reschedule marijuana to a different category or deschedule it entirely.

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[–] 52 points 2 years ago (5 children)

“Somebody ought to do something about this ASAP,” says one of the only people on the planet actually capable of doing something about it for the last 4 years. OK.

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  • [–] 32 points 2 years ago (18 children)

    Lemmy sees something good happen:

    "Not good enough!"

    We all know it should have happened before, but dismissing that the vice president just publicly called for this is silly

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

    Biden campaigned on rescheduling it so this is just nakedly trying to boost their pre-election popularity. They could've done this day one. They didn't. They won't.

    Web archive of Biden's campaign site, September 2019: http://web.archive.org/web/20190723224533/https://joebiden.com/justice/

    Decriminalize the use of cannabis and automatically expunge all prior cannabis use convictions. Biden believes no one should be in jail because of cannabis use. As president, he will decriminalize cannabis use and automatically expunge prior convictions. And, he will support the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, leave decisions regarding legalization for recreational use up to the states, and reschedule cannabis as a schedule II drug so researchers can study its positive and negative impacts.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (7 children)
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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    They've been "calling for it" since Biden campaign. And reschedule? It should be descheduled.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    And the DEA is actively working on it, which just so happens to be the final step in rescheduling a drug.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I hate it here for that reason. With this being the last option, I've reverted to Google News, NYTimes and SF Chronicle apps. Lemmy's inability to feel joy has helped me ditch social media most of the time.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Reddit very seriously had the same problem.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    Oh sure, every 4 years Lucy comes out with the football and taunts you to take a run at it and I’m the one not being realistic. It’s total horseshit to disappear on an issue every 4 years except when you think it might help you in an election to wave it around.

    It’s not “Lemmy sees something good happen”; nothing good has happened. The same platitudes have been trotted out for the 78th time. But maybe this time…!

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  • [–] 22 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Biden could order cannabis descheduled ( what his campaign program was) and if agencies don't listen, fucking fire the agency heads and hire someone that will. It literally one of the handful of things he could do himself.

    But somehow it's 3.5 years into his first term. And Biden has apparently compromised even more with himself and we won't get his original compromise of descheduling.

    When a president acts like this right before their next election, lots of voters rationally stop believing any of their current campaign promises.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (11 children)

    What do you mean? This is standard political fare… most of the population has the memory of a goldfish, so popular shit like this always waits until the election cycle.

    Additionally, an executive order, or changing the chief of the DEA, are probably the least effective ways to handle it. All it would take is a republican administration to undo it all. The way that sticks best is legislation.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Your boat is leaking.

    Do you either bail out the water, or try to get into port so you can fix it.

    Or maybe, you do both. Biden can reschedule…. Today. He could have done it 3.5 years ago.

    He hasn’t. He probably won’t.

    You’re right that legislation is a more permanent fix. No question there. Doesn’t mean you don’t work the other, faster, solution to get something good enough for the time being done.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    I’m not convinced they’d even try passing the legislation once some executive order was issued. It would be touted as a victory for the Biden Administration, and then forgotten about until 2028…

    God damnit, when did I become so cynical?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    Biden cannot just wave a wand. Learn the fucking truth before you spout nonsense like this.

    He’s been following the framework of the CSA since October 2022 with this: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/06/statement-from-president-biden-on-marijuana-reform/

    And it’s currently in the final stage, sitting with the DEA. It’s getting done.

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  • [+] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    He waited 2 years till he lost the house, made a half assed attempt he knew would fail, then said:

    See? Trying is just a waste of time, we should never try

    And voters remember that when it's two years later and he tries to tell them elections are important and if Trump wins suddenly the president is all powerful.

    Neoliberals do the same shit as republicans. They need their voters to believe that when the other team is president, the president is all powerful. But when their own team is in power, the president can't do shit, so it's not their fault campaign promises aren't kept.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    The student loan forgiveness was swatted down because he technically didn't really have the authority to do so, Congress typically holds the power of the purse. Rescheduling isn't at risk of violating the separation of power as the DEA is under the purview of the executive.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Source for where Biden called for it to be descheduled?

    I can’t find it.

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  • [–] 18 points 2 years ago

    It’s honestly just insulting at this point. Deschedule the fucking plant already, you doddering old fools.

    When you’re done, we can have a frank conversation about the number of people directly killed by alcohol each year. (It’s literally infinitely more compared to marijuana.)

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