Politics
Democratic Congressional Lawmakers Push Biden To Issue Marijuana Executive Order Before Trump Takes Office
Democratic congressional lawmakers are promoting a drug policy reform group’s call for President Joe Biden or future administrations to issue an executive order to ensure equity in federal marijuana laws and more broadly shift the country away from the drug war.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—as well as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR)—weighed in on the draft executive order that was released by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) on Monday.
Among other mandates, the proposed order would mandate that the attorney general reinstate cannabis enforcement guidance that was rescinded under the Trump administration.
Overall, DPA recommended multiple reforms that could be implemented with executive authority from the White House, rather than waiting for Congress to legislatively enact them. The intent is to significantly build upon the marijuana pardons and rescheduling review directed under Biden.
“For far too long, our federal cannabis policies have been rooted in discrimination and have inflicted harm on communities of color,” Lee said in a press release on Monday. “Today, the Biden administration has the unique ability to lead on criminal justice reform and provide immediate relief to thousands of people across our country.”
“As Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, I believe that this executive order is a model on how to advance federal marijuana reform that prioritizes equity and public health,” she said.
Warren—who recently criticized President-elect Donald Trump for doing “nothing” on cannabis reform during his first term in office—said that so long as marijuana remains in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), “federal marijuana law will continue to have devastating consequences—particularly for communities most harmed by the War on Drugs.”
“President Biden took the important step to reschedule marijuana, but that doesn’t have to be the end of the administration’s work to reform our system and right these wrongs,” she said.
Wyden, for his part, said that “for too long, marijuana criminalization has harmed our communities and limited economic opportunities.“
“Ultimately, Congress needs to act to end marijuana criminalization and regulate it at the federal level,” the senator said. “After moving to reschedule marijuana earlier this year, President Biden has a critical opportunity to take additional actions in the final stretch of his presidency that would mitigate the harms of the failed War on Drugs and set future administrations up for a productive approach to marijuana reform.”
The Biden administration’s proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the CSA is ongoing. An initial hearing on the proposed rule is set for December 2, but an agency judge has signaled that the proceedings may not be completed before Trump takes office early next year.
In the interim, DPA and the lawmakers are urging Biden to leverage his executive authority to expand his mass cannabis pardons and direct a variety of federal agencies—including DOJ, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and more—to take steps to enact administrative reform.
“This proposal is not only a roadmap for President Biden to take action in the final days of his presidency but also a framework for future administrations to leverage executive authority to advance federal marijuana policies that are fair,” Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation at DPA, said. “The opportunity to lead on marijuana reform is not bound by political cycles—it is a responsibility for every administration committed to liberty, justice and public health.”
“This executive order is a model for how administrations can use their authority to transform federal marijuana policies to improve the lives of everyday people—rather than just improving profits for marijuana corporations,” she said.
Meanwhile, a coalition of 67 Democratic members of Congress has separately called on Biden to expand on his executive clemency work in the final months of his term, citing his past marijuana pardons as an example of his ability to provide “life-changing” relief to Americans.
Biden also recently discussed his administration’s cannabis actions and reiterated his belief that criminalization over minor marijuana offenses is an outdated policy during a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) 2024 Phoenix Awards Dinner.
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