# Biden: I will not legalize marijuana (This just cost him the election) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 18, 2019, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631 "2019-11-18T23:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Barack\_Obama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/21 "2019-11-19T01:20:21Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > Marijuana isn’t even in the top thirty pressing issues surrounding criminal justice, healthcare, or immigration. This just doesn’t even register from my perspective. Yes, some people care about it — but unless you’re suggesting that all four million Gary Johnson voters would go for a marijuana-legalizing Joe Biden, I think this is a minor oops at best. > > It wouldn’t surprise me if the media gives this the utterly minimal attention it deserves, yes. Marijuana possession crimes have disproportionately effected certain people in our criminal system. Drug cartels for decades relied on exporting weed to America, since we’ve legalized in some states we’ve had a huge impact on these exports and put a dent in the cartels profits. And medical marijuana is a huge benefit over other medicines for many different issues, we could take cancer patients for example who are on chemo, or we could take people with chronic pain, having medical marijuana as a safer less harmful alternative to opioids is huge. Marijuana ties into the most important issues voters care about. So even if we’re addressing this situation from “what will get more votes”, you have to concede the weed topic ties into all these other topics, which arguably are more important to Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/22 "2019-11-19T01:23:11Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > From reading the replies, all the potheads are misrepresenting some video clip and mad he called pot a gateway drug 20 years ago. If by “20 years ago” you mean [“last Saturday”.](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/470861-biden-says-he-wont-legalize-marijuana-because-it-may-be-a-gateway-drug?amp&__twitter_impression=true) > [@](#): > > Speaking at a town hall in Las Vegas on Saturday, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said whether the U.S. should legalize cannabis on a federal level is still up for debate as far as he is concerned. > > “The truth of the matter is, there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug,” Biden said, according to Business Insider. “It’s a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it.” ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/23 "2019-11-19T01:24:06Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > From reading the replies, all the potheads are misrepresenting some video clip and mad he called pot a gateway drug 20 years ago. [More recently](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/470861-biden-says-he-wont-legalize-marijuana-because-it-may-be-a-gateway-drug). > [@Biden](#): > > “The truth of the matter is, there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug,” Biden said, according to Business Insider. “It’s a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it.” A ridiculous thing for him to believe, but remedied easily enough through education. ---
**Author:** ![Barack\_Obama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/24 "2019-11-19T01:26:45Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > If that’s his position then this thread is bonkers. For those who don’t want to bother, the tweet has a bullet point list: > -No one should be in jail for marijuana > -Decriminalize and expunge records > -Legalize medical > > - Allow states to legalize > -Remove from schedule 1 to allow research > > From reading the replies, all the potheads are misrepresenting some video clip and mad he called pot a gateway drug 20 years ago. “Speaking at a town hall in Las Vegas on Saturday, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said whether the U.S. should legalize cannabis on a federal level is still up for debate as far as he is concerned.” [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/470861-biden-says-he-wont-legalize-marijuana-because-it-may-be-a-gateway-drug](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/470861-biden-says-he-wont-legalize-marijuana-because-it-may-be-a-gateway-drug) This was recent, he doubled down on his position from 20 years ago. He made this claim after Bernie started tweeting about how he will use executive order in his first week to legalize marijuana. He back tracked later in that tweet you see, and the bottom line here is he doesn’t want to federally legalize weed. If this is a states right issue that means weed businesses still can’t get tax benefits. You also wont be able to get some loans to start a weed business due to the complications of having it federally illegal. Next time you want to claim “potheads” are misrepresenting what he said, do your research. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/25 "2019-11-19T01:27:50Z")
> [@Barack\_Obama](#): > > Marijuana ties into the most important issues voters care about. So even if we’re addressing this situation from “what will get more votes”, you have to concede the weed topic ties into all these other topics, which arguably are more important to Americans. Weed legalization is not even remotely as important as you think to any of those topics. It’s not like it cures cancer. Do you have a link/cite for Biden’s position on legalization that upset you? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/26 "2019-11-19T01:27:53Z")
I don’t see how this hurts him in any way. Pot has been illegal for decades; he’s just keeping it illegal. He didn’t say that he was going to step up DEA raids of state-regulated dispensaries. Relax! Inhale! ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/27 "2019-11-19T01:29:08Z")
> [@Barack\_Obama](#): > > Next time you want to claim “potheads” are misrepresenting what he said, do your research. There’s a difference between _potheads_ and _weed businesses_? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/28 "2019-11-19T01:32:42Z")
> [@Barack\_Obama](#): > > “Speaking at a town hall in Las Vegas on Saturday, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said whether the U.S. should legalize cannabis on a federal level is still up for debate as far as he is concerned.” > [Biden says he won’t legalize marijuana because it may be a ‘gateway drug’ | The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/470861-biden-says-he-wont-legalize-marijuana-because-it-may-be-a-gateway-drug) > . Nothing in that article contradicts the bullet points in Biden’s tweet. ---
**Author:** ![Barack\_Obama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/29 "2019-11-19T01:33:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I think Biden is under the impression that he’s appealing to flyover country rednecks. This is what deeply upsets me. I’ve met biden in real life several times, he came off very intelligent. Seemed like a genuine down to earth realist who didn’t beat around the bush and got directly to the point. Those “flyover country rednecks” (had to google that one) are likely supporters of Marijuana. In the pew study I posted earlier, 49% of boomer republicans support FULL legalization. The younger the age the higher support even on Republican party. The only generation that is still heavily conflicted on this is Bernie’s generation ironically enough, which among the republican party sat somewhere in the 30% range, which is still high especially for that generation. ---
**Author:** ![Barack\_Obama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/30 "2019-11-19T01:36:45Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Nothing in that article contradicts the bullet points in Biden’s tweet. Never said it was contradicting any of those points. I was refuting your claim that potheads are misrepresenting something he said 20 years ago, it happen a few days ago. And he still doesn’t want to legalize it federally, he’d rather it be states right issue which as i pointed out has it’s own host of problems. Supporting decriminalizing is fine, and moving from schedule 1 should have been long before he ever thought of running for president. Thats great, but it doesn’t go far enough and it comes off as evasion of the real issue here. Federal legalization, which he does not support. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/31 "2019-11-19T01:39:25Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Nothing in that article contradicts the bullet points in Biden’s tweet. Yep. [ul] [li]he supports medical marijuana[/li][/ul] [ul] [li]insisted possession of the substance “should not be a crime.”[/li][/ul] Backs up his comments on the \*\*16th May \*\* > [@](#): > > Biden backs decriminalizing marijuana > Former Vice President Joe Biden supports decriminalizing marijuana use and possession, but believes that the question of whether to legalize the drug rests with the states, a spokesperson for his presidential campaign said Thursday. > > Biden first signaled his support for decriminalizing marijuana Tuesday during a house party in New Hampshire. > > "As he said [Tuesday], Vice President Biden does not believe anyone should be in jail simply for smoking or possessing marijuana,” Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign, said in a statement. > > “He supports decriminalizing marijuana and automatically expunging prior criminal records for marijuana possession, so those affected don’t have to figure out how to petition for it or pay for a lawyer. “ > > Bates said Biden would ultimately leave legalization of the substance up to the states, but added that, if elected, the former vice president would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug, which would make it easier to research. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/32 "2019-11-19T01:41:40Z")
Ok, I agree that calling it a gateway drug (well, questioning if it may be) is kinda dumb. But the position he has taken is still a massive move forward and would make state legalization much more meaningful. I stand by my initial impression: A pot supporter should not be crying about it. ---
**Author:** ![Barack\_Obama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/33 "2019-11-19T01:45:18Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I don’t see how this hurts him in any way. Pot has been illegal for decades; he’s just keeping it illegal. He didn’t say that he was going to step up DEA raids of state-regulated dispensaries. > > Relax! Inhale! Majority of american support legalization, including republicans and various different age and groups on the right. For example, boomer republicans have 49% support of legalization. This hurts him because most leftists support legalization, most americans support it, and an increasing number of republicans support it. He’s literally losing votes by saying this crap. Also marijuana ties into more things than just it’s self. It ties into criminal justice, immigration, and healthcare. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/34 "2019-11-19T01:47:50Z")
> [@Barack\_Obama](#): > > Thats great, but it doesn’t go far enough and it comes off as evasion of the real issue here. This is obviously very important to you. It is not very important to me( and I support legalization generally, even though I haven’t touched the stuff in decades ). I was never all that inclined to support Biden as a candidate in the first place, but this hardly shifts the needle for me. It’s a mildly negative raindrop in a vast sea of indifference. And like others I think you are vastly overstating its importance to the general public. I can imagine more than a very few are going to prefer Trump based on this being the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I know it won’t even make me hesitate a split-second to vote for Biden if it comes down to it. Other things could I guess, but this? Pfft. But I guess we’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Barack\_Obama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/35 "2019-11-19T01:48:22Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Ok, I agree that calling it a gateway drug (well, questioning if it may be) is kinda dumb. But the position he has taken is still a massive move forward and would make state legalization much more meaningful. I stand by my initial impression: A pot supporter should not be crying about it. Yes, his position is more forward than it was most his life. But it doesn’t go far enough, and this attempt at a middle ground doesn’t work because even boomer republicans are at a divided 49% support of marijuana. It needs to be federally legalized, and any myths about it being a gateway drug which have been refuted time and time again should never be repeated. A pot supporter should be bitching about it. Just like when arkansa iirc wanted to monopolize weed, we bitched about it. When booker wanted to monopolize weed we bitched about it. We don’t have to settle for less. ---
**Author:** ![Barack\_Obama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/36 "2019-11-19T01:51:20Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > This is obviously very important to you. It is not very important to me( and I support legalization generally, even though I haven’t touched the stuff in decades ). I was never all that inclined to support Biden as a candidate in the first place, but this hardly shifts the needle for me. It’s a negative raindrop in a vast sea of indifference. And like others I think you are vastly overstating its importance to the general public. I can imagine more than a very few are going to prefer Trump based on this being the straw that breaks the camel’s back. > > But I guess we’ll see. The bigger issue for me is that he was dumb enough to go out and say this. If he’s this uncalculated in his remarks, I can only imagine what Trump will do to him in the general election. Trump is the type of guy to turn around and support federal legalization just to take those votes from Biden, and then turn around and unify the other 50% of boomers and 70% of silent gen republicans on this topic. This is an incredible misstep for Biden and is much more than just about the pot topic alone. And if you think theres no chance in hell trump would kneecap Biden over marijuana, then I guess we just disagree because I’m not going to put it past him. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/37 "2019-11-19T01:54:48Z")
I am a pot supporter, though happily in Canada. Biden’s position is a perfectly reasonable major step forward in how the US deals with marijuana and seems to sweep away the problems of prohibition. If I was voting in the primaries this wouldn’t cost him my support in any way. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/38 "2019-11-19T01:56:10Z")
> [@Barack\_Obama](#): > > Also marijuana ties into more things than just it’s self. It ties into criminal justice, immigration, and healthcare. You make that claim, but when I think of those things, weed isn’t in the top 20 things that come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/39 "2019-11-19T02:13:54Z")
It hurts Biden a bit in the primaries. I know quite a few people that would be likely Biden voters but have to enforce Reagan era drug free workplace laws even for the guy crunching numbers on a spreadsheet. Has ‘gateway drug’ even been used since Nancy Reagan left the White House? I don’t see Trump coming out in favor though. He knows his base has a lot of evangelicals. ---
**Author:** ![Barack\_Obama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Barack\_Obama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barack_Obama)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631/40 "2019-11-19T02:14:54Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > You make that claim, but when I think of those things, weed isn’t in the top 20 things that come to mind. The problem with immigration is real, there is a real humanitarian crisis going on. However a wall is a band-aid, we need to address the core issue and thats why people are fleeing their home countries. The reason why there is a reason for them to leave initially is because of the shit the US has done for decades south of the border meddling in virtually every country down there propping up dictators overthrowing regimes, etc… such as when Obama legitimized the hondoras coup in 2009. That caused part of the problem with these drug cartels who capitalized on instability in these states. These cartels power stems from the instability of these states, and their wealth. The cartels are funded primarily by the US market, they sell their drugs at high price low quality in the States so they make a killing. Marijuana being one of the former top drug imports. IIRC the statistic was 70% of drug smuggling inbetween ports of entry were marijuana related but then in 2013 continuously dropped as legalization rose. Legalizing drugs puts a dent in the profits of the cartels and blackmarket. In regards to healthcare Marijuana can work in several ways, anti depressant alternative, sleep med alternative, pain killer alternative, it can be used for a wide variety of issues. And with legalization we can have better study and research done, we also are then able to regulate safety, quality and potency of the substance. Many people self-medicate using marijuana, which is preferable to alcohol, or some prescription meds. Anecdotally I threw about 60 oxys in the trash because they made me constipated when i broke my clavicle as a teen. Marijuana just as effective in pain control, and had less negative side effects (can get too high/paranoid, but didn’t have constipation or sick to my stomach). There are people with more severe medical issues who’ve used weed as a replacement medicine that has been more effective than the medicine they were initially prescribed. And as for criminal justice, i think everyone here at least understands too many people have been arrested for drug charges especially simple possession of marijuana, and it disproportionately has affected blacks. Sure biden backtracked saying he would not jail people for weed, but if it remains federally illegal you’re still going to have people getting in trouble for it, and unable to file taxes on their weed businesses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-i-will-not-legalize-marijuana-this-just-cost-him-the-election/843631.md?page=3)