Episode 88 (Special) - Could Cannabis Legalization be the Unspoken Issue that Turns the Tide of this Election?
Former governor and vice presidential candidate, William Weld, says that when he and Gary Johnson ran for president on a platform to "delist cannabis on Day One," they won 4.5 million votes. Would Biden-Harris like those 4.5 million votes in this election?
There’s no question about who I’m voting for in November given the gravity of climate change, the pandemic, income inequality and the damage Republicans have heaped on the country. But I remain confused about the Biden/Harris fuzzy stance on cannabis legalization. As of this writing Biden is for decriminalization not legalization, which sounds like he’s interested in dating but not really getting serious about the marriage. Harris has been (unfairly IMO) slammed by progressives for her “tough” prosecutions of cannabis crimes while Attorney General in California, but she is also the co-sponsor of the MORE Act, The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act, a vital piece of bipartisan legislation that removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, federally decriminalize cannabis, and enable states to set their own policies. NORML deemed it “arguably the most revolutionary and socially conscious federal marijuana reform bill introduced to date.”
That ain’t nothin’.
Could cannabis legalization be the issue that turns the tide of this election? It may sound far-fetched, but it is the one issue that both Blues and Reds seem to agree on and no one is addressing it very loudly.
To get some clarity on the Dem’s position, I invited William Weld, the popular former governor of Massachusetts and former Libertarian vice presidential candidate in the 2016 election alongside Gary Johnson, to appear on this podcast. I’ve known Bill for several years -- I interviewed him at a cannabis conference in 2018 and even though we are on opposite sides of the aisle, I respect his intelligence, cool headed analysis and bone dry sense of humor. This was part of his response: “….As you know, when Gary Johnson ran for President in 2016—not so long ago—on a platform whose Number One plank was to “delist cannabis on Day One,” he received 4.5 million votes. It seems fair to ask the Biden-Harris ticket if they would like to have those 4.5 million votes.”
I invite you to listen to our conversation.