On February 9 President Kamala Harris posted a campaign video stating that the Biden/Harris Administration has “changed federal marijuana policy”. Despite this not being true (at least not yet), Vice President Harris has chosen to keep the video live on the social media platform X.
In the video appealing to “young voters”, VP Harris said “We changed federal marijuana policy, because nobody should have to go to jail just for smoking weed.” The video at the time of publication has over 434,000 views.
As we noted on February 10, 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 to Schedule III, which would legalize the plant nationwide for prescription use. Congressional researchers call the change “likely“.
The request from HHS came after an over year-long review prompted by an executive order signed by President Biden in late 2022.
Despite no change in federal marijuana law yet taking place under the Biden/Harris Administration, and despite multiple news outlet pointing out this discrepancy, VP Harris has chosen to leave the video up, with it still live 12 days later on February 21. You can view the video by clicking here.
Polling 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.
