<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1659467672926,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000168-ed7d-d9d9-a9ec-ff7daffb0002","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1659467672926,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000168-ed7d-d9d9-a9ec-ff7daffb0002","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_59467663", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1066348"} }); ","_id":"00000182-5ffb-da08-ab97-ffff22f50000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedSecretary of Labor Marty Walsh long opposed legalizing marijuana as the mayor of Boston, but as Democrats introduce legislation to do so nationally, his position is unclear.
Walsh, President Joe Biden’s union-friendly labor chief, was Boston’s mayor from 2014 until last year and was in office when Massachusetts legalized marijuana use in 2016. He was an outspoken and stalwart opponent of legalization at the time, and, as recently as 2019, he has reaffirmed those views, even though they stand in contrast to other liberals in his party.
“My opinion on cannabis has not changed,” Walsh told ONE37pm in 2019. “I will say, though, that the legalization has reaffirmed my commitment to making sure that we’re taking proactive steps to create a strong regulatory process that also brings much-needed equity to this new industry.”
Now, as Democrats work to pass legislation decriminalizing marijuana across the country, Walsh is mum on the subject.
DEMOCRATS DEFEND AGAINST CHARGE THAT MANCHIN-SCHUMER BILL WILL HIT MANUFACTURERS
Last week, the Washington Examiner contacted several individuals on the Labor Department’s public affairs team asking for Walsh’s position on the matter, with no responses. The Washington Examiner also reached out to Walsh via email on Monday but did not receive a response.
Walsh, a recovering alcoholic, was a full-throated opponent of the Massachusetts ballot initiative that voters passed to legalize the drug. In the lead-up to the election, he, along with Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey, wrote an op-ed in the Boston Globe urging voters to reject legalization.
Marty Walsh“What the evidence shows us, though, is that marijuana is not safe. Regular use that starts in adolescence has been shown to impair brain development, shrink school and career outcomes, and even lower IQ,” they wrote.
He went on to argue that legalization posed public safety risks for his constituents. Walsh said that in the year after the drug was legalized in Colorado, marijuana-related emergency room visits grew by nearly 30-fold, in addition to traffic deaths involving marijuana.
The three also argued that local interests were not pushing for legalization; rather, they wrote that the financial backers of legalization were big businesses and investors “who are spending millions on campaigns across the country because they will profit from the legalization of marijuana.”
“Decades of research have now debunked the myth that marijuana is harmless. The science also shows that regular marijuana users — especially those who start at a young age — are more likely to try more dangerous drugs,” the op-ed read.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), recently introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which would end the federal marijuana prohibition by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and leave marijuana laws to states to legislate.
Many of the goals surrounding the legislation relate to criminal justice — for instance, the bill would expunge federal cannabis records. But the legislation also has broader implications for business and labor. For instance, the bill would end federal employment drug testing for marijuana, except in certain cases.
The legislation also contains a labor-friendly provision that says employers who have federal cannabis permits and violate federal labor laws can have those crucial permits rescinded.
While the legislation has generated headlines and excitement among proponents of marijuana decriminalization, it has long odds of passing. Sixty votes are needed to approve the measure, and some Democrats, such as Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), have said they don’t support federal decriminalization. All Democrats would need to vote in favor, plus 10 Republicans, for it to pass.
Marijuana legalization has become an increasingly popular policy position among the electorate.
In 1989, amid the war on drugs launched by the Reagan administration, just 16% of people said they supported legalizing marijuana, according to the Pew Research Center. Now, 60% of people think it should be legal both medically and recreationally, while 31% say it should be legal medically — a net total of 91% of people supporting some form of legalization.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
While Walsh’s views stand in apparent contrast to current polling, he said at the outset of Massachusetts’s legalization efforts that he would respect whatever voters chose.
“Since it passed, we have been working to research and implement best practices for this emerging industry, and how to promote equity, social justice and quality of life for residents,” the labor secretary said in 2019.
