When it comes to producing an effective “October Surprise”, politicians have but two choices: Pander to the point at which you’ve diluted your message to drivel, or grab a handful of fecal matter and get to slinging it.
In the case of the 2022 midterm elections, it appears as though the Biden administration has gone with the less filthy of the options, having decided to not yet attempt to charge former President Donald Trump with a crime, despite ample posturing to the contrary. You see, such a move would do more to galvanize Trump’s base that it would to snatch votes to Biden’s tally, and so the incumbent President has chosen the less turbulent path.
So, instead of taking direct aim at Trump and his freedom, Biden has instead chosen to make an incredible shift in federal marijuana policy.
President Joe Biden on Thursday granted a pardon to all people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, in what amounts to the most extensive White House action taken to date on U.S. drug policy.
The president also urged governors to take similar action for state offenses of civil possession of marijuana. In addition, he called on the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to “expeditiously” review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I narcotic, meaning it’s deemed to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Heroin and LSD are other Schedule I drugs.
“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.”
Biden is also commanding the appropriate authorities to re-evaluate the “scheduling” system in America, in which cannabis is classified in the same regard as heroin and LSD, while also carrying a harsher reputation than fentanyl.
