Biden Acknowledges That Marijuana Rescheduling Isn’t A Done Deal Yet As He Touts Administration’s Reform Efforts

President Joe Biden is again promoting the mass marijuana pardons he’s issued and the administration’s move to federally reschedule cannabis, which the White House is describing as examples of achievements that deliver for Black Americans. Notably, the president explicitly recognized that the rescheduling process he initiated is not a done deal just yet.

As Vice President Kamala Harris faces scrutiny over her silence on marijuana reform since becoming the party’s 2024 nominee, Biden on Saturday reprised a familiar talking point about his administration’s cannabis actions and belief that criminalization over minor marijuana offenses is an outdated policy.

During a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) 2024 Phoenix Awards Dinner, the president touted a series of accomplishments that he framed as uniquely relevant to Black Americans who have been disproportionately impacted under prohibition.

“We started the process of reclassifying marijuana and pardoned thousands of convictions from mere possession,” Biden said, “because no one should be jailed for simply using marijuana or have a barrier to jobs, housing, loans or other opportunities because of that.”

[embedded content]

As far as rescheduling is concerned, the Justice Department formally proposed moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act in March, in accordance with an earlier recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services. The draft rule then went through a public comment period, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has since scheduled an administrative hearing in December—after the election—to gain additional input before potentially finalizing the rule.

While Biden has repeatedly taken credit for the marijuana pardon actions he’s taken, it’s relatively rare to hear him speak about the rescheduling push. He addressed it when the proposed rule was released, and also in a proclamation this year designating April as “Second Chance Month,” but he’s generally focused on the separate clemency work over recent years.

This time, the president also made clear that the rescheduling process isn’t over. And with the DEA hearing on the proposed rule set for December, that almost certainly means he will not see the policy implemented while he’s in the White House, assuming DEA ultimately approves it at all. In the lead-up to the Justice Department’s Schedule III announcement in March, many speculated that a rule would be finalized before the November election to give the Biden-Harris campaign a win on a popular issue.

Biden’s latest comments reflect a reality about the current status of the rescheduling process that was missed in a post by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in July. DNC played up the Biden-Harris administration’s marijuana reform platform, but it got some pushback after suggesting that cannabis had already been rescheduled and that the country’s “failed approach” to marijuana had ended.

Harris also faced criticism from advocates in February after she similarly claimed that the administration had “changed federal marijuana policy” in a video meant to appeal to young voters.

Meanwhile, the pardons Biden issued for people who’ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses represent formal forgiveness, but as he eventually acknowledged in May, the clemency did not expunge records, so it’s possible the collateral consequences he described during Saturday’s speech could still impact pardon recipients.

The day before his speech at the Phoenix Awards Dinner, the White House separately put out a fact sheet about Biden-Harris administration accomplishments as they concern Black Americans. One bullet point under a criminal justice reform section talked about pardoning “thousands of Americans under federal and D.C. law for simple possession of marijuana.” It does not make mention of the rescheduling push.

For the most part, the brief remarks the president made at the CBCF event over the weekend are mostly consistent with what he’s said over the last two years. But they stand out this time for another reason: Biden—who has continued to oppose federal legalization over the course of his first and only term—is promoting marijuana reform while Harris stays silent on the issue as the party’s 2024 nominee on the campaign trail.

Harris privately called for federal legalization as recently as March, and she sponsored a bill to end prohibition during her time in the Senate. While she hasn’t always backed reform and actively opposed a California legalization ballot initiative as the state’s attorney general, it still stands to reason that she’d be the most likely candidate to forcefully push for a federal policy change. Yet, so far since her nomination, voters haven’t heard any specific details about her marijuana platform.

In that vacuum, the GOP nominee former President Donald Trump has, perhaps paradoxically, has emerged as a champion of reform, making headlines recently for coming out in favor of rescheduling, industry banking access and a Florida marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the state’s November ballot.

Not everyone is convinced that Trump sincerely supports the cannabis reform policies he’s started promoting, with bipartisan lawmakers such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Andy Harris (R-MD) chalking the former president’s recent cannabis pivot a campaign ploy to attract voters, for example.

Harris’s campaign has similarly accused Trump of lying about his support for marijuana reform, stating that his “blatant pandering” runs counter to his administration’s record on cannabis.

While the campaign has been willing to call out Trump on his marijuana platform, however, it has so far declined to detail the Democratic nominee’s own position. Advocates have also taken notice that a new, long-awaited issues page launched by the Harris campaign omits any mention of marijuana policy reform despite her record promoting comprehensive legalization.

The prior Biden-Harris campaign had also made several prior attempts to contrast the administration’s marijuana reform actions with those of the Trump administration, emphasizing the role that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions played in rescinding the cannabis enforcement guidance.

Following Trump’s announcement of support for the Florida cannabis legalization ballot measure, the campaign for Harris has worked to remind voters that while in office, the former president “took marijuana reform backwards.”

In a memo from a senior campaign spokesperson, the Harris campaign accused Trump of “brazen flip flops” on cannabis. The Democratic campaign says it’s one of the Republican former president’s “several bewildering ‘policy proposals’ that deserve real scrutiny.”

“On issue after issue, Trump is saying one thing after having done another,” the memo says. “For example: As a candidate in 2024, he suggests he is for decriminalizing marijuana – but as President, his own Justice Department cracked down on marijuana offenses.”

Trump’s latest marijuana post follows up on one he made last month in which he indicated—but did not explicitly say—he supported Amendment 3 in Florida. The earlier comments predicted that Florida voters would approve the cannabis measure and generally discussed the benefits of legalization, but left some observers wanting more clarity on the former president’s position on the specific state initiative.

Trump also recently discussed the medical benefits of cannabis and said legalization would be “very good” for Florida in an interview with Lex Fridman.

Last month at a press conference, Trump told a reporter that he’s starting to “agree a lot more” that people should not be criminalized over marijuana given that it’s “being legalized all over the country”—adding that he would “fairly soon” reveal his position on the Florida ballot measure.

But some observers see a key opportunity with both major party nominees aligned on the need for cannabis reform for the first time.

In an interview with Marijuana Moment last week, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) said Trump’s recent remarks “shows that now everybody agrees—even Donald Trump.”

The Congressional Cannabis Caucus co-chair said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Monday that the former president’s shift on the issue—as well as recently unearthed comments from former President Richard Nixon conceding that marijuana is “not particularly dangerous”—should be followed up with floor votes on cannabis reform legislation.

Meanwhile, longtime ally and GOP political operative Roger Stone, who is also a Florida resident and supports the legalization proposal, separately told Marijuana Moment that if Trump did ultimately endorse the measure it would “guarantee victory.”

Meanwhile, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) separately told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview that if Trump is serious about his recently stated support for the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, he needs to “bring us some Republican senators” to advance it through the chamber.

Hickenlooper, as well as Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), weighed in on the cannabis banking issue in interviews last week, though none were aware at the time that Trump had endorsed the policy change days earlier.

Brown said that “we don’t have enough Republicans, we don’t think,” to secure the passage of the SAFER Banking Act. That point has previously been contested, however, with the bill’s lead Republican sponsor Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) insisting that the votes are there to move the measure along.

Hickenlooper, meanwhile, said that while he hadn’t been appraised on the latest Trump remarks on cannabis banking, he’s skeptical about how serious the former president is in the position, commenting that “it might change by tomorrow” given his proclivity for rapidly taking on opposite sides of various issues.

He added that the SAFER Banking Act is “going through this process,” but he also said the Biden administration’s push to federally reschedule cannabis represents “a major step forward” that could help grease the wheels on marijuana banking reform.

“I think rescheduling is going to get SAFE Banking through the Senate,” the senator said. “Donald Trump can say whatever he wants, but unless you bring us some Republican senators, we’re not going to get SAFE Banking.”

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report last month explaining that federal marijuana rescheduling is “unlikely” to improve banking access for state-legal cannabis businesses, But Blumenauer similarly argued that the reclassification move, when it is enacted, could have a political effect that spurs action on the separate marijuana banking legislation.

New Polls Show Strong Majority Support For Marijuana Legalization, Banking Access And Rescheduling In Battleground States Of Arizona And Nevada