According to multiple reports citing sources close to President Biden, he is considering stepping down following weeks of rejecting calls from within his own party to do so.
Despite not supporting legalization, President Biden has been the most consequential president in modern history for federal marijuana reform. His actions include pardoning thousands of federal marijuana offenders, initiating the review that led to the DEA’s decision to reschedule marijuana, and signing the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act into law in December—the first standalone marijuana bill signed by a president.
That said, if he steps aside, the Democrats would have a nominee that’s considerably more supportive of marijuana reform in current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Although Harris opposed California’s 2014 marijuana legalization initiative while she was California’s Attorney General, and she often took a hard-on-drugs approach, she came around on the issue by 2019.
“It’s time to end mass incarceration,” Harris said in a September 2019 Tweet. “This includes legalizing marijuana, sentencing reforms, and abolishing private prisons.”
During her time in the US Senate, Harris co-sponsored the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which aimed to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge certain cannabis offenses, and create pathways for ownership in the emerging marijuana industry.
Harris has been a staunch supporter of rescheduling marijuana. Following the DEA’s announcement, she stated, “Currently, marijuana is classified on the same level as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl. We are finally changing that. I want to thank all of the advocates for making this possible.”
Earlier this year, Harris voiced support for marijuana legalization, becoming the first vice president in US history to do so. After an event promoting the Biden Administration’s marijuana pardons, she said, “We need to legalize marijuana.”
This aligns with her stance on the issue while campaigning for president in 2020, with legalizing marijuana being part of her platform.
It is possible that Democrats may choose a different candidate than Harris if Biden steps down, but politically and logistically, this seems highly unlikely.
