October 6th, 2022 -- Biden Doesn't Totally Suck

Mark the date

Just getting done with a long day of travel, and what do I see when I plug myself back in? Joe Biden has unilaterally pardoned all Americans who are in federal jail for simple possession of marijuana.

I give Biden a lot of shit, and he deserves a lot of shit. He built his political career on the very ‘tough on crime’ laws that he’s shying away from today. But on this particular move, Biden deserves a little bit of credit. The federal government has no power to regulate MJ, and according to our Constitution this should be handled by the states. This is a small step toward getting the federal government in its proper place.

So let’s take a moment to appreciate what Biden has done here.

Now that the moment is over, I have to once again complain that this is not how we properly pass legislation in America. Even when doing something that I agree with, Biden does it in the least effective way possible. There’s no actual law, there’s no new guidelines or moving MJ from Schedule I — only asking HHS to review such a move.

Going forward, this move doesn’t do anything at all to stop somebody from being arrested for possession tomorrow. In fact, it’s POSSIBLE that more people end up getting arrested for MJ possession erroneously thinking that Biden legalized MJ with this move. If Biden were actually serious about this issue, he would be doing the hard work to get a law passed to ensure this would have a lasting positive effect on the country. As it is, this smells just a little too much like vote buying for me. He certainly hasn’t learned anything — even as he declared disproportionate drug enforcement by race — because he’s pushing gun laws that are similar to his old drug laws. Maybe in five decades, democrats will realize those laws are racist, too.