Democrats Make Last Plea to Biden to Change Marijuana Law Before Trump
Democrats Make Last Plea to Biden to Change Marijuana Law Before Trump
Progressive lawmakers are urging President Biden to rewrite marijuana law—and save Americans from prison—while he still has the chance.
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He was never going to do it and never will.
Do what? Pardon people from state crimes, which he cannot do. Or write legislation making marijuana legal, which he can't do?
The reason charges for drugs are different in every state is because they are state laws, tried by those states.
Do what?
Reschedule cannabis.
Stop making excuses.
Please explain how he can override the HHS who's rules are set by Congress. He is not a king like people seem to parrot around that he can just DO things. Even if he just blindly said it was rescheduled, the courts would immediately block it because it didn't follow the rules set by Congress as would be a proper ruling. Unless you are asking him to just start firing anyone who holds up the process in the HHS, which will still get overruled by a judge, and set precedent that it will be fine for Kennedy to run over the HHS to try to get vaccine blocks in place by firing people. Which then judges may allow it
Y'all still haven't learned that the US president isn't god king, hu? He can't just do shit by fiat.
On another note, I want to call out this link where we can evidently watch the proceedings Dec 2, 0900-1700 (assuming that's EST): www.DEA.gov/live
Edit: I just read the letter (.pdf warning) and it basically contains 2 asks:
- Expand clemency for those with weed convictions.
- Issue an updated memo which would de-prioritize seizing weed and prosecuting individuals and businesses for state-legal weed activity.
I don't disagree. This just isn't the silver bullet many here seem to think it is.
Y’all still haven’t learned that the US president isn’t god king, hu? He can’t just do shit by fiat.
Unless it's arming a genocide. Then his hands are magically and instantly untied.
Much like the extreme right, much of the more lefty people here seem fond of oversimplification of complex issues. Whatever helps support your position.
I think the point is more "As if by magic, all of the institutional barriers we hear about any time something good is on the docket suddenly are non-issues as soon as we're doing something unthinkably evil". If you want to make good counter arguments you need to work off of a "steelman" position of your opposition, otherwise it comes off as bad faith.
He is the leader of the army. He can send the army to do as he wishes (for a set amount of time and then Congress can force him to withdraw and not provide funding as well. Which would likely result in an impeachment and removal if Congress didn't support what he did) He is not the leader of legislation, so he cannot make legislation when he wishes.
I'm sure this will get downvoted but whatever it seems fun to ramble. The president is basically a glorified cop. He can tell all of his soldiers to do his bidding, but a cop cannot act outside of the law without getting enough people to cover for him. If he breaks the law the legislature (review board in that example) would vote to have him removed from his position.
A cop cannot make up laws. He can lie to someone and say something potentially unlawful is legal but all lawfulness would be reviewed and depicted by the judicial branch from laws that were already written and the situation "rectified" in some manner (whether a slap on the wrist or extreme). Usually in the presidents case, they throw out what he said, or they request Congress to discuss it, which could start the impeachment process.
He commands what may currently be the most powerful army in the world, be he can only play with his toys when mom and dad say it is okay, and he has to be in bed by 9:30 as it's a school night.
That's why it is so much of a danger when one party owns both parts of the Legislative branch, easily the most powerful branch (so long as the constitution holds). If dad says you can go to bed at 10, and mom says no, bedtime stays at 9:30. If the party owns both congress and the senate, them mom and dad can agree bed time is at 11, and you can eat cake all you want. If the courts say cake is illegal after 6:30, mom and dad agree to write a new rule that cake time goes to 11. As we want our spoiled child to be able to run rampant.
The Leahy law is meaningless and always has been.
Except it is still federally illegal so the FBI DEA can arrest and charge you. So far presidents have basicslly ignored it. But doesn't mean a future administration well.
Yeah, that's why Biden started the process of having them re-evaluate what it was scheduled as. But to make it legal, the legislative branch has to write the legislation.
All the executive branch is supposed to do is execute legislation.
Those orders being what is written by the peoples representatives (Congressmen and senators).
Right now either:
A: the majority of Americans don't want marijuana legal and that's why it's illegal.
B. The representatives are not representing what the people want.
If the second one is true, it is our civic responsibility to vote those representatives out of office.
In 2020 and 2022 the decriminalization of it was voted on. If this is an issue you believe is misrepresented, every member of congress that voted against what you want you should want removed.
Then we need to look at the Senate and vote against every member who voted against it as well.
That's how the peoples voices are supposed to be heard. Is it the best system, no. But it's what we have and we don't have enough people wanting to change it.
Reschedule. Plain and simple
How?
The HHS is a deciding factor with set rules created by Congress. To change it would be invalid and blocked by any judge before going into effect. Destroying the credibility of what was occuring and killing it in its tracks when it could otherwise finish. Trump doesn't want to stop that, neither does Kennedy (Pretty sure he's for it)