US President (POTUS), Joe Biden has hailed the US justice department for their formal plan for the reclassification of cannabis as a less dangerous substance, describing it as “an important move toward reversing longstanding inequities”.
This is the country’s biggest drug reform in over 50 years. It could also help Biden in garnering support from younger voters in the next election.
Thirty-eight states in the US have legalised marijuana for medicinal purposes, while twenty-states and the District of Columbia legalised marijuana for recreational use.
“Far too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana.
“I’m committed to righting those historic wrongs. You have my word.” The POTUS said.
This new development implies that the federal government would no longer view the drug alongside other dangerous and habit-forming substances like ecstasy, cocaine, heroin and LSD.
Joe Biden, as a senator, championed the 1994 crime bill that is often blamed for mass incarceration, disproportionately of black people, over drug offences.
During Biden’s 2020 election campaign, he promised to decriminalise the use of cannabis, saying he did not believe anybody should be jailed on charges of simple possession or small-scale use.
“No-one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.
“Right now, marijuana has a higher-level classification than fentanyl and methamphetamine – the two drugs driving America’s overdose epidemic. That just doesn’t add up.” he added.
This formal rule proposal to the federal government register kicks off a lengthy approval process, beginning with a 60-day public comment period, before the change can be effective.
