A cadre of progressive Democrats is urging President Biden to change federal marijuana laws before his lame-duck presidency ends.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, as well as Representatives Ilhan Omar, Barbara Lee, and Earl Blumenauer all helped write a letter to Biden on Tuesday asking him to deschedule marijuana and restrict federal marijuana prosecutions before his term ends.
The letter, also signed by Senator Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and others, notes that the mere descheduling of marijuana “will not end federal criminalization, resolve its harms, or meaningfully address the gap between federal and state cannabis policy. Possession and use of recreational marijuana—and much state-legal medical marijuana—will continue to be a violation of federal law.”
Marijuana deregulation has been caught in limbo for some time now. While many progressive Democrats have pushed for full decriminalization of the popular recreational and medicinal drug, the letter asked Biden to reschedule the drug from Schedule 1—where heroin is at—to Schedule 3 alongside ketamine.
And while Biden’s 2022 federal marijuana conviction pardons were notable, the letter points out that at least 3,000 people are still locked up. The letter also points out that “of the almost 700,000 drug possession arrests each year, one-third are for marijuana possession, and Black Americans are almost four times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession.”
This letter comes as confusion arises regarding where exactly the Trump administration stands on marijuana. People like Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are extremely pro-weed, while people like attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and Food and Drug Administration nominee Marty Makary are much less open-minded.
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon threatened MAGA’s perceived foes with “the long arm of the law” on a recent episode of his podcast War Room.
The MAGA fixture was released from prison last month after a four-month sentence for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6. Now, in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, Bannon is naming Democratic and Republican figures who he hopes will find themselves in the new administration’s crosshairs.
“I want these judges to understand, you’re not going to hide behind your cloaks,” Bannon said in Monday’s episode. “We’re coming for you too. You are corrupt. What you allowed to happen in that D.C. courtroom and what you’re allowed to do to these J6 people and send these to prison.”
The former Trump official singled out January 6 Committee Chair Bennie Thompson and Vice Chair Liz Cheney. “Bennie Thompson, you’re corrupt; Liz Cheney, you’re corrupt,” he said. “Preserve your documents, because we’re coming after you. You people are criminals.”
Bannon also mentioned U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, special counsel Jack Smith, and MSNBC legal analyst Andrew Weissmann, saying, “You people are revolting … you can run wherever you’re going to run. The long arm of the law is going to track you down, and you’re going to be held accountable.”
Bannon’s remarks build on previous threats he has made during his daily podcast. Earlier this month, he told Weissmann and other MSNBC anchors and producers, “You better be worried. You better lawyer up. Some of you young producers, you better call Mom and Dad tonight. ‘Hey Mom and Dad, you know a good lawyer?’ Lawyer up. Lawyer up.”
His remarks are also consistent with Trump’s expressed desires to go after members of the January 6 committee. In March, Trump posted to Truth Social that Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the [committee],” and in June, he posted, “INDICT THE UNSELECT J6 COMMITTEE.”
Representative Lauren Boebert’s Cameo page disappeared just one day after it went up amid questions over whether it broke congressional rules.
The Colorado congresswoman was charging $250 for personal advice or a “pep talk” on the celebrity video service, she explained in a welcome video. But questions quickly came up about whether her Cameo gig violated House rules prohibiting honoraria, or a “payment of money or thing of value for an appearance, speech, or article.”
Now, Boebert’s Cameo page is gone, returning a 404 error, and she may have managed to avoid an investigation from the House Ethics Committee over the whole thing. Members of the House are prohibited from earning more than $31,815 in outside income, and the only way she could have legitimized her Cameo income would have been to funnel it into her campaign account. However, that would have violated Cameo’s terms of service.
Boebert managed to stay in Congress during the past election thanks to switching to a safer, more conservative district after barely surviving Democratic challenger Adam........