Hours after the House of Representatives passed a bill to decriminalize marijuana, the White House‘s top spokeswoman said it’s time for the country to rethink its approach to the drug.
The House on Friday passed legislation aimed at abolishing criminal penalties for those who distribute or possess marijuana in a 220-204 vote, with every Democrat save for two voting in favor. White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not say specifically that President Joe Biden would sign it into law if it reached his desk but spoke positively about the bill when asked.
HOUSE PASSES BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA
“As the president said during the campaign, our current marijuana laws are not working,” she said. “He agrees that we need to rethink our approach, including to address racial disparities and systemic inequities in our criminal justice system, broaden research on the effects of marijuana, and support the safe use of marijuana for medical purposes.”
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act previously passed the lower chamber last year but did not see movement in the Senate. The legislation includes language to impose a federal tax on marijuana sales, expunge marijuana-related convictions from individuals’ records, and remove it from the federal list of controlled substances.
Critics argue marijuana has proven to be a gateway drug and feel its use negatively affects society.
“We have rising violent crime in Democrat-run cities across the country. More drug use won’t help that. We have 100,000 Americans die of overdoses last year, the leading cause of death in Americans ages 18 to 45,” said Rep. Bob Good, a Virginia Republican. “More drug use won’t help that.”
Thirty-seven states and Washington, D.C., have enacted policies that have decriminalized marijuana.
The Senate would need to pass the bill for Biden to sign it into law, and Psaki added that she looks forward to “having discussions” about the issue.
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“We look forward to working with Congress to achieve our shared goals,” Psaki said, “and will continue having discussions with them about this objective.”
