The cannabis movement under a President Biden. Not looking good

[Garion_55]

We have some real reformers in the race that will finally end this stupid drug war at least when it comes to weed.

I dont believe that Biden is one of them. He appears to still be stuck in that old man, refer madness mentality.

Life for cannabis users under a president biden will likely look like it is today and its sad. Back to obamas policies of hands off, no federal action, no rescheduling of the plant, more federal raids, more federal arrests, more letting the states figure it out for themselves, more businesses having to remain cash only because of the banks not being allowed to service them, more labs unable to research the plant for medical purposes because its a schedule 1 drug and access to it is highly restrictive.

More arrests, more families lives being destroyed, more oppression, more discrimination, more incarceration, more of the same.

I hope I am wrong but fear I am right.

[delisen]

1. Even GA has medical marijuana & is moving toward

full legal.

Two of Biden's children had drug issues (family has been open about it).

Politicians often make changes in there political stances once they are personally affected. I think he has been fairly rigid in his stance though-at least so far.

[Garion_55]

4. Its going to take major donors with the industry

is my guess. once walmart or amazon wants to get into the pot game and promises major political donations to make it happen, maybe then the old dinosaurs like biden and feinstein will finally get over their refer madness and just let it go.

[Hortensis]

28. Sorry, disagree. Voter opposition in most

states is blocking legalization there, but it is happening. What, 10 states now have legal recreational? It’ll be more as the other 4/5 wish.

But I guarantee opposition would rally big time if a Democratic president called for congress to pass a national law to forcing it on the states. And Congress would refuse anyway.

If Congress did eventually pass a national law, it would be time and Biden would sign it. His opposition hasn’t exactly been virulent but rather expressing the views when asked of a federal legislator who’s never been in a position to legalize or stop legalization. Because it wasn’t time.

[Mr Tibbs]

32. It wouldn't "Force it" on the states

It's like firecrackers. Legal federally, but illegal in some states.

[Hortensis]

37. All our states have a polyglot of their own laws

that would rule where the federal government's enumerated powers did not somehow apply, as they so often do. That's certainly true. Speaking of, the state marijuana legalization laws that have been passed violate U.S. agreements under international law.

International law also has to change, and the U.N. has been considering revisiting the status of cannabis, especially for medical use, for years now. Nothing's ever simple.

[Mr Tibbs]

40. International law does not have to change

The US can do as it pleases on marijuana

[Hortensis]

47. :) President Trump agrees completely.

No law is so big or so little, and no agreement so honorably entered into, that he will tolerate its constraint on him.

[Miles Archer]

34. I live in South Carolina, and the common belief is...

Last edited Tue Apr 30, 2019, 08:53 AM - Edit history (1)

...that this will be the last state in the nation to go legal, and every "buzz" about legalizing MEDICAL marijuana is that it if it ever happens, it will have the toughest qualification criteria in the nation as well. And RECREATIONAL is...no pun intended...a pipe dream.

I lived in Colorado for a year. The contrast is unbelievable. You go to a dispensary like going to a 7-11 (even though the level of security and order makes it seem more like a trip to a military complex). You take a number, you go through the line, you make your selection, pay for it, they hand you a stapled bag and you go home. End of story. It's not a head shop, it's a highly efficient and regulated environment.

And now I live at ground zero in Jeff Sessions' "Good people don't smoke marijuana" wet dream. As I have said many times, this is BBQ and Budweiser country, with no desire to change that in the foreseeable future.

[ravencalling]

36. Due to the health care crisis in this country and the health benefits of weed

I plan to retire to a state with legalized marijuana - they will have my dollars. Colorado will be receiving my tourist dollars this summer. I vote with my pocket book and so will many others. I am in Tennessee. I think THIS will be the last state! Many of my family have been destroyed by alcohol. When I say destroyed I mean it. I can have the BBQ shipped.

[Mr Tibbs]

41. I have gone through multiple surgeries without painkillers, only using medical marijuana edibles

Works better than morphine

[ravencalling]

49. Hello Mr. Tibbs!

Wow on the multiple surgeries!! Maybe it is a miracle drug, and maybe it isn't. But I plan to be elderly AND to manage my pain and mental state where it is legal to do so and spend my little life's worth of savings in a State that respects human rights.

[Mr Tibbs]

50. Not a miracle drug but

It's awesome for pain. One left forearm/wrist surgery and one right elbow.

Now if I had to have abdominal surgery, not sure how it would work for that..

[cpamomfromtexas]

51. No, Texas will be last.

[crazytown]

2. Obama's position was Congress should pass legislation

and VP Biden said he supported that

[Garion_55]

3. A president can do a LOT!!!! more then that.

Thats passing the buck.

A president can take it off of the schedule list. can push the government to open up the DEA and NIH and FDA and whoever else to allow research and provide resources. can push for national legalization. can speak about taking drug convictions off of peoples criminal records. can introduce banking regulation laws.

waiting for congress to do anything these days is meaningless unless you are a rich person looking for a tax cut.

[Cha]

8. That was then.. We'll

see if Biden will evolve on that in his campaign for the nominee.

[Garion_55]

10. I will support anyone over trump pretty much

i will support the nominee and I will hope they do better than previous presidents did.

its what i do with every democrat president, hope for better.

cuz i know i wont get it from a republican one.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

11. Instead of takin the usual normalcy position re legalized weed, Joe should take the NORMLcy position

Last edited Thu May 2, 2019, 09:37 AM - Edit history (1)

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[JonLP24]

5. K&R

[emmaverybo]

6. Why stuck in old man belief--how bout he's old school, old fashioned

I mean plenty of old men are for legalizing. After all, many of them started the trade, in Northern Ca. anyway. Biden’s age does not have to be spoken of in pejorative terms.
And, in contrast to the stereotype you used, many young people are not for legalizing, while Bernie is.
Let the man have an opinion without it reflecting his age. I’m sure he was anti-legalizing when he was thirty.
He will most likely kick the issue to congress. In any case, hard to believe one can not find pot these days, and cheaper too, than at dispensaries.

[Garion_55]

7. i think its more....

yes there are PLENTY of old people who back legal pot. I just went to colorado and vegas and california and saw it personally.

but its mostly, mainly old people who are still against legal pot. you dont see many young kids against it, middle aged people against it.

there are just still some old dinosaurs out there who grew up on refer madness and dont know any better that still hold these old ancient beliefs.

btw i referred to his ancient 'mentality' about the issue, not his physical age. bernie is just as old and he thinks young and fresh on the issue.

[Cha]

9. Oh please.. "stuck in that old man, refer madness mentality."

That's a gratuitous insult to our former Democratic Vice President.

[Garion_55]

12. and anyone else who still holds those oppressive, outdated

beliefs and still supports refer madness.

[Cha]

15. Biden is vibrant and energized, he

won't be pigeonholed with your ageist ".. old man.." insult.

[crazytown]

16. Biden's age isn't an factor against trump

This would be a contest between decency, stability and compassion versus corrupt erratic malice.

I don’t think Trump’s going to stick with sleepy.

[Cha]

17. Well said, crazytown!

".. versus a corrupt erratic malicious Psycho.."

Is there a context for "sleepy" or did Fake just not have anything else?

[crazytown]

18. It's a follow on from 'Low Energy Jeb' last time round.

Trump would like to say ‘creepy’ as in inappropriate touching, but that’s one road he dare not travel.

[Cha]

20. Aha, Thank you!.. The thing about

trump.. any Democratic candidate who has any flaws or challenges in their past.. he's always exponentially worse.

trump can't even do his job.. he needs "executive time" just to make it through the day.. hours of watching propaganda tv so he'll know what to tweet.

[crazytown]

21. 'low energy Jeb' 'lyin' Ted' and 'crooked Hillary'

were preemptive strikes, designed to reflect attention away from his own venerabilities


- low energy’ - Trump was the guy over 70
- lyin’ - Trump was the one telling huge lies
- ‘crooked’ - Trumps business history was full of bankruptcy and corruption, leaving customers and investors alike in the lurch

[Cha]

22. Good points. Yeah.. and we've had over

2 years of Lying, Crooked, Lazy Ass trump to draw from now.

I like what Biden said about.. "..truth over Lies..". It's so vital for the fabric of our world.

[Larrybanal]

24. although accurate

american politics is the only "job" that seek out old men who should be retired to run the world

[Cha]

25. That's your opinion.. If Biden

can beat trump outta the WH.. I don't care how old he is.

[delisen]

27. It was the administration position, wasn't it?

[Cha]

29. Things change.. this is a new era..

The OP didn't give Biden a chance to state his opinion now before pulling that ageist "..old man.. " crap.

If most of the voters want the Feds to legalize it.. who knows maybe Biden will do an EO in spite of what the Senate says?

[msongs]

13. so what has he said recently that gives you that conclusion? nt

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

14. I understand your fear, based on anti-weed comments Joe has made as recently as 2014.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Wabbajack_]

19. "ife for cannabis users under a president biden will likely "

Did I miss his nomination? It's should be "would" not "will".

[dem4decades]

23. Why not give him a chance to state a position on it in 2019?

Before you attack him for being "in that old man, reefer madness" mindset?

[BlueTsunami2018]

26. Legal weed is one of my big time issues. Still voting for Joe.

Because winning and restoring normality is more important than any pet issue or purity test. Let’s get the ship righted first and foremost.

And who knows where he is on this? The only thing I can find on it is a nearly decade old quote. People change, views evolve. Everyone sees where the country is headed on this. What’s Тяцмр’s stance on the issue? The Republicans in general? Better or worse?

[Walt Purgisnacht]

30. Yes, Let's Distract Ourselves!

With issues (not just this one!) that do matter, but not nearly as much as punting Putin's agent Orange out of the White House and thereby saving our country!

[Maxheader]

31. Biden is playing the voter game...imho

Legal cannabis is here to stay..The ole man will fall in line and even
praise weed if elected..Seem to remember a retired winger
majority leader that sings marijuana praises now...

[Autumn]

33. At a forum on the opioid epidemic Biden applauded an anti-marijuana rant in early April.

That should pretty well let us know where he's at.

Joe Biden Applauds Anti-Marijuana Speech At Opioid Forum

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/joe-biden-applauds-anti-marijuana-speech-at-opioid-forum/?fbclid=IwAR03-gPiUB6QzowMWj6LPMj8lXXtatvk8h-GhRULG38t9sEPMecQ8r07E6k

As former Vice President Joe Biden mulls a 2020 presidential run, marijuana reform advocates are following closely to see if the long-running drug warrior is going to change his tune. But at a forum on the opioid epidemic on Thursday, that didn’t seem to be the case.

When the mayor of Philadelphia asked the panel at the University of Pennsylvania event about whether cannabis can be used as an alternative to opioids, psychobiology professor Bertha Madras claimed that patients who consume marijuana experience the same levels of pain and don’t decrease their opioid use, and she also characterized legislative efforts to allow patients with opioid use disorder to access medical marijuana as “disrespectful”—a rant that Biden enthusiastically applauded.

“At this point there are two conclusions. Number one, the data does not show that cannabis is a substitute, because if you actually do longitudinal studies on an individual basis, you find that people are suffering as much pain if they’re taking marijuana, and their opioid use is not decreasing in most cases,” Madras, who served as the deputy director of demand reduction for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, argued. “In fact, they’re getting more and more in trouble, in terms of developing opioid use disorder and they’re misusing opioids.”

“Every single disease that is treated in this country—like diabetes, like infections, like cancer—is evidence-based and undergoes randomized controlled clinical trials,” she continued. “And to say that this is by legislative support or by fiat from a governor’s office, that this is how you can treat opioid use disorder without the clinical trials, without longitudinal studies, to me is purely disrespectful of patients.”

As one who uses marijuana for pain relief and no longer uses opioids, I will say that Professor Bertha Madras is “disrespectful” and full of shit.

[honest.abe]

35. I think we do need to legalize it but this issue is so low priority to me. I just dont get it.

We have about a dozen other critical life and death issues that are hanging over us now. Legal weed is not one of them.

[ancianita]

38. If he doesn't "evolve" he'll lose the millennial vote.

[Jose Garcia]

39. I'm glad that he doesn't feel that he has to pander to

every intrest group in order to win the nomination.

[Garion_55]

42. Except that this is not an interest group.

This is the entire American populace we are talking about. A big huge majority of which supports National legalization. It's not pandering when you do what most of the people want you to do.

[Jose Garcia]

45. Even if a majority supports this, it still isn't a priority for most voters

[NYMinute]

43. Cannabis is the ultimate, most pressing issue of this campaign

Nothing is paramount as compared to cannabis.

[Garion_55]

44. Let's see the creation of jobs

The expansion of freedom and liberty. The end of big government ruining people's lives so that private individuals can profit such as private prisons? A country where millions of Americans are no longer afraid to engage in activities that they want to for fear of Retribution by big government? A healthier Nation? One that is not so addicted to Pharmaceuticals? Better manufacturing materials so we aren't chopping down trees? A much better relationship between law enforcement and citizens? A regulated and Tax Market using profits for the good of the community instead of putting people in cages?

Are you kind of getting the idea that it's not just a single issue item, it affects many different areas of our society, it's not just guys looking to get high?

[NYMinute]

46. ...

[rollin74]

48. I hope Biden changes on this issue

it’s going to be a big problem with younger voters that Democrats need