In a campaign video posted on the social media platform X, Vice President Kamala Harris incorrectly stated that the Biden/Harris Administration has “changed federal marijuana policy”.
A screenshot from the video VP Harris posted on X.com.
In the video, VP Harris said “We changed federal marijuana policy, because nobody should have to go to jail just for smoking weed.”
Harris’ video may have been posted prematurely, given that at the time of publication the Biden Administration has not made any changes to federal marijuana policy. However, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is currently considering a request from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reschedule marijuana, with some rumors indicating an announcement could come in a matter of days.
The request from HHS came after an over year-long review prompted by an executive order signed by President Biden in late 2022. The executive order also resulted in thousands of federal marijuana pardons.
The video released by VP Harris also included a map supposedly showing where marijuana has been legalized for medical and/or recreational use, with the map including a bevy of incorrect information. For example, the map shows that the entire west coast is legal for medical only, when in reality all three west coast states have legalized recreational marijuana. The map also shows that states like Florida, Utah and Oklahoma have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use, when in fact marijuana is only legal medically in those states.
Poling released last month found that if marijuana is rescheduled prior to the November election, President Biden will experience an 11% boost in his favorability rating.
For a look at the three federal marijuana bills most likely to pass the US House and Senate this year, click here. For a look at the five states on track to legalize marijuana in 2024, click here.
