Anyone surprised that Joe Biden would scrutinize the weed-smoking habits of his White House staff hasn’t paid attention to one of the more consistent policy threads of his decades-long career.
He’s just not ready to embrace cannabis.
Despite a shift in public opinion toward legalizing marijuana over the past 30 years, the president’s more conservative approach to weed policy is well-known on Capitol Hill. When the Daily Beast reported late Thursday that “dozens” of young White House staffers had been suspended, asked to resign or placed in a remote work program after admitting to prior marijuana use, pro-cannabis lawmakers were dismayed Friday but hardly shocked.
“It is another vivid example of the clash between past policies, and where America is, and where America is going,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Capitol Hill’s unofficial weed czar, said in an interview. “It’s not, probably, surprising.”
Will Biden Legalize Marijuana?
Blumenauer is already putting together a letter with other lawmakers “seeking clarification” from the Biden administration on the dismissals.
Many Republican and Democratic lawmakers, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have shifted their positions on cannabis legalization in recent years. But Biden — who, as a senator, shepherded the 1994 crime bill that disproportionately…Read Full Article Here