Biden / White House Cannabis Announcement Sends Press Into Predictable Paroxysms Of Pleasure

First up we’re glad to see these statements have been made (we presume for political gain ahead of mid-terms) and it illustrates the level of stupidity at Tory central in the UK this past week with these pronouncements

Make cannabis Class A drug, say Conservative police commissioners at Tory party annual shindig

Back to Biden

A) Let’s see how quickly Federal pardons happen and what does this mean in terms of non violent offenders beaing able to bring any actions against the Federal government in the future?

B) Will governers heed Biden’s requests for states to act in the same way? Cannabis has been a fairly non-partisan issue it’ll be interesting to see how Trump supporting governers and senior politicians will approach this…squirming hopefully!

C) The big question.. how quickly will the wheels of government turn on de-scheduling cannabis as Biden says he has requested and does this mean the might of the US government will now put pressure on the various intransigent UN bodies to pull their fingers out and get some work done on this rather than kicking the can pointlessly down the road so as to keep their well paid jobs and junkets.

That’s our say.

Here’s various media links

The White House Statement

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/06/statement-from-president-biden-on-marijuana-reform/

Politico

Biden pardons marijuana offenses, calls for review of federal law

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/06/biden-to-pardon-marijuana-offenses-call-for-review-of-federal-law-00060796

CNBC

Biden pardons thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession, orders review of federal pot laws

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/06/biden-to-pardon-all-prior-federal-offenses-of-simple-marijuana-possession-.html

CBS News

Biden pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/biden-marijuana-possession-pardons-prior-federal-offenses/

BBC

Biden issues federal pardons for ‘simple possession’ of marijuana

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63166964

Reuters

Biden overhauls U.S. policy on marijuana, pardons prior federal offenses

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-overhauls-us-policy-marijuana-pardons-prior-federal-offenses-2022-10-06/

Law & Crime

Biden Announces Presidential Pardons for More Than 6,500 People Convicted of Federal Marijuana Possession

 

The NY Times

 

ABC (Australia)

VIDEO: Biden announces pardons for cannabis possession

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-07/biden-announces-pardons-for-cannabis-possession/14077398

 

US Hemp Roundtable

Historic Day for Cannabis: What Does it Mean for Hemp?

Today, in an unexpected move, President Joe Biden issued an executive order pardoning all people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, while urging governors to do the same for the much larger number of cases regarding similar state offenses. 

“Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” Biden said in a statement. “Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.”

Moreover, Biden requested that the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General “expeditiously” review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.  “The President has been clear that marijuana laws are not working,” said a senior White House official.

Rescheduling cannabis could impact federal and state treatment of hemp. The U.S. Hemp Roundtable will be monitoring this closely to ensure that such reform does not resemble current proposals that could virtually eliminate the hemp extract market.

Biden’s pardons also signal continued movement towards reform of the criminal justice system in the cannabis space, and lend support to the U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s advocacy for legislation to repeal the current ban on convicted drug felons from obtaining a license to grow or manufacture hemp.

“We applaud President Biden’s bold move to wipe the slate clean for our fellow Americans who had been convicted on non-violent marijuana possession charges,” stated Jonathan Miller, General Counsel of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable. “We urge Congress to follow that example and pass legislation within the 2023 Farm Bill to repeal the current drug felon ban on hemp farming. We believe that if you have paid your time, you should be able to grow a perfectly legal crop.”

H.R. 6645, The Hemp Advancement Act, sponsored by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME), would repeal the controversial drug felon ban and allow ALL farmers access to hemp’s economic opportunity. Please use our Federal Action Center TODAY to contact your U.S. Representative and ask him or her to become a cosponsor of H.R. 6645. It’s as easy as typing in your name, email and zip code, and personalizing our draft message to share your story.

 

Ganjapreneur

President Biden Pardons Federal Cannabis Offenses

 

Cannabis Health

President Biden’s move towards cannabis reform is step closer to justice for consumers

 

Weed Week

WHAT BIDEN’S ORDER MEANS — AND WHAT IT DOESN’T

President Joe Biden announced that he would pardon thousands of low level federal marijuana offenders, and ask the federal government to re-evaluate weed’s federally illegal status. The measure doesn’t free any prisoners or provide clarity for the industry. But to a degree not previously seen, the president’s order suggests a willingness to invest political capital in cannabis reform.

For the cannabiz, the news is the most important out of D.C. since August 2013 when theCole Memo, named for deputy U.S. attorney general James Cole, signaled the feds would tolerate the state REC markets legalized by voters in Colorado and Washington state.

Biden’s order also appears designed to deepen the federal bureaucracy’s engagement with the many facets of legalization. President’s Obama and Trump resisted this step, despite the widening chasm between federal prohibition and the now dozens of states that have created or are creating regulated MED or REC markets.

In recent years, bills to legalize federally, and more limited banking legislation, have repeatedly sailed through the House of Representatives with bipartisan support before stalling in the Senate. With the industry struggling on numerous fronts, many executives had previously hoped banking reform could squeeze through Congress during the lame duck post-election session.

That’s now changed. Biden’s action activates the executive branch, specifically the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to review marijuana’s legal status under federal law.

  • Leaflydescribes this aslaunching an administrative processtowards legalization.
  • Personally, I think legalization through executive action is unlikely. Even if the administration did unilaterally change the plant’s legal status, it would take years and Congress would almost certainly still have to pass legislation governing the industry.

Weedremains a marginal issueinside the Beltway. Aside from the historic nature of a president pardoning thousands of marijuana offenders, Biden has brought the issue to the center of Washington weeks before a midterm, giving cannabis a centrality in the D.C. mix that it hasn’t had before.

A limited pardon

TheWhite Houseannouncement pardons the approximately 6,500 Americans convicted of federal marijuana possession.

According to the administration,noneof these individuals is currently in prison. However, by expunging their records many will regain their ability to vote, to obtain housing, student loans, work and other opportunities denied them because of their criminal records.

  • Biden asked the Justice Department to create an administrative process to distribute the pardons.
  • As of 2020, there wereabout 3,000 Americans serving federal sentencesfor pot crimes, all for selling, trafficking and other more serious offenses. The order does nothing for them.

Biden also called for state governors to follow his example.

  1. There are several times as many pot offenders locked up in state prisons than federal. Again, however, the overwhelming majority are locked up on more serious charges.
  2. State pardons similar to Biden’s could benefit far more people. According to NORML, since 1965 nearly 29M Americans have been arrested for pot-related violations.

Mixed signals for the cannabiz

Long suffering pots stockshad their best day in yearson the news. “Legalization has become a question of when, not if,” wrote Eric Spitz, CEO of data companyRootz.aiand a cannabispolicyanalyst.

Still the short-term implications for the industry remain murky. For businesses, the key phrase in Biden’s announcement is for federal agencies to “review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.”

As many of you already know, under 1970’s Controlled Substances Act (CSA), marijuana is a schedule I drug, meaning it has no medical value and a high risk of abuse. Heroin and LSD are also schedule I drugs.

Almost everyone in the existing industry wants to see cannabis *de-*scheduled. This would sever it from the CSA and enable it to be regulated like tobacco and alcohol.

  • As with those substances, a new or existing federal agency would likely handle federal oversight.

However, Biden’s statement leaves open the possibility that the drug would bere-scheduled to another rung of the CSA. That would rank somewhere along the spectrum between schedule II, which includes risky drugs with a recognized health benefit, such as cocaine and some powerful amphetamines and opioids.

  • Schedule V includes codeine cough syrup.

Neither end of this spectrum models the kind of markets the industry has sought to pioneer. Some within the industry suspect re-scheduling would create a path for Big Pharma to hijack the cannabiz.

On the other hand there’s a temptation to look at the state markets and scoff at the idea that the feds would uproot them. It’s important to remember that this process has no precedent. AsCannabis Distribution Associationboard member Lauren Fraser Cotérecently wroteinWeedWeek, that the existing state markets can use to sway the feds — whether agencies or Congress — to lean in their preferred direction.

A long road ahead

Biden’s announcement sends the legalization in a new and unknown direction. But three financial executives — from fintech, lending and payments — each expressed doubt that Biden’s announcement would do much to relieve operators’ financial woes:

Tyler Beuerlein,Safe Harbor Financial:

“It will have no effect on the current banking or lending landscape. The statement that the Federal legal status will be reviewed is certainly positive but no timeframe on that process has been given. It is also important that cannabis stakeholders realize this is and will remain a highly regulated industry, even upon Federal legality. Most financial institutions will remain on the sidelines for that reason.

Geroge Mancheril, CEO,Bespoke Financial:

“We expect the broader financial industry will need to see definitive legislative changes enacted before other lenders become increasingly active in the cannabis industry. Optimistically, similar incremental steps could ultimately advance the prospects of limited legislation such as SAFE Banking, but we expect the political gridlock of the next 2 years will be a significant hurdle.”

Dustin Eide, CEO,CanPay:

“Biden’s announcement is unlikely to change the cannabis-related banking or payments landscape, at least not in the near future. Real change could come following federal agencies’ review of cannabis scheduling, which would involve the Department of Justice, Department of Health and the FDA. That review is likely to take a significant amount of time. The range of potential outcomes is broad – from keeping cannabis a Schedule 1 drug to complete de-scheduling, and anything in between. Until we get that kind of clarity, things will remain pretty much as they are for banking and payments in the cannabis industry.”

Source: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?hl=en#inbox/FMfcgzGqQvpfpNLvwrbXqfZQTLHCMsnC

 

The Economist

Why did Joe Biden pardon people convicted of federal marijuana offences?

The White House wants to reclassify the drug’s legal status

https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/10/07/why-did-joe-biden-pardon-people-convicted-of-federal-marijuana-offences

Mr Biden’s decision is more a symbol of the administration’s commitment to decriminalising cannabis use than a sweeping policy change. Relatively few people are convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. One senior administration official said the pardons will affect some 6,500 people convicted between 1992 and 2021, and perhaps thousands more in Washington, DC. The vast majority of cannabis-related arrests and convictions are made in local jurisdictions.

 

Forbes

President Biden Says It’s Time To Change America’s Cannabis Laws

https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2022/10/07/president-biden-pardon-marijuana-possession-time-to-change-americas-cannabis-laws/?sh=3748f0182143

 

CNN Here’s who is not eligible for Biden’s marijuana pardon

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/08/politics/biden-marijuana-possession-pardons/index.html

 

BBC

Will the Biden administration overhaul US cannabis policy?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63175193

 

ABC13

Experts weigh in on why Texas won’t see impact in accordance with Biden’s pardon announcement

https://abc13.com/marijuana-pardon-americans-pardoned-president-joe-biden-convictions/12303658/

Primary Sponsor

 


Karma Koala Podcast

Top Marijuana Blog