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Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday called on the federal government to move “as quickly as possible” to change the way it officially classifies marijuana, saying that “nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.”

“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible,” Harris said. “We need to have a resolution based on their findings and their assessment. This issue is stark when one considers the fact that on the schedule currently, marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin ― as dangerous as heroin ― and more dangerous than fentanyl, which is absurd, not to mention patently unfair.”

Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. That classification designates it one of the most dangerous drugs possible, with no medicinal uses. Other substances in the same category include heroin, ecstasy and LSD. Marijuana advocates have been pushing for years for the federal government to either reschedule marijuana to a different category or deschedule it entirely.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (2 children)

“Somebody ought to do something about this ASAP,” says one of the only people on the planet actually capable of doing something about it for the last 4 years. OK.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (5 children)

Lemmy sees something good happen:

"Not good enough!"

We all know it should have happened before, but dismissing that the vice president just publicly called for this is silly

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I hate it here for that reason. With this being the last option, I've reverted to Google News, NYTimes and SF Chronicle apps. Lemmy's inability to feel joy has helped me ditch social media most of the time.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Reddit very seriously had the same problem.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The under current of negativity seems a bit stronger here though imo.

I guess when you have a huge portion of posters that self-selected to leave a platform in protest you get population predisposed to protesting and complaining about things.

It gets a bit tiring to hear people see incremental change but shit on it because it's not perfect or "it should have happened sooner". I wonder if these people would ever be happy with anything?

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today. If they get this rescheduled that would be a huge win.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

They won't. They've been fucking around on this for at least 12 years.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I hope they do just to shut up a bunch of people up but that part definitely won't happen.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

You'd know about those I suppose.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

They've been "calling for it" since Biden campaign. And reschedule? It should be descheduled.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

And the DEA is actively working on it, which just so happens to be the final step in rescheduling a drug.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I work in the space industry and this just reeks of the "hurry up and wait" that I live in. If the right pressure was there, it'd be rescheduled already. I'm 50/50 on if they are actually working on it or if feet are being dragged due to institutional friction.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago

They're doing as little as possible to say they're working on it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The words of a politician are not accomplishments.

If it ever gets descheduled, it'll be an accomplishment. I'm not going to treat announcements as accomplishments.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Public discourse from a sitting executive politician represents progress. It is not enough yet, but it is progress. In years past such statements would have been massively disruptive, and via speech like this the topic is being normalized.

It's not enough yet. We arenf done

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Stop expecting me to believe that politicians' lies are progress just because you believe them.

It's not an accomplishment until it's accomplished.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Just because you don't understand the power of normalized discourse doesn't mean I have some obligation to you.

I'm just telling you how reality works.

Edit im proud to hear more discussion of climate, LGBT, drug decrim and other issues, at increasingly public and increasingly executive levels.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I know the difference between hot air and accomplishments. You're not going to gaslight me into accepting the former as the latter. All you're doing is convincing me that you prefer words to accomplishments.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

50 years ago a woman, non-white politician wouldn't have been a common thing. Part of how we got to where we are today is via public, popularized discourse.

The same occurs in this article and the speech that lead to it.

It doesn't mean the world is changing in an active sense, but it does mean the conversation is happening. This is part of the power of executive office.

I'm sorry you had to learn about this from me.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

We lost roe because we only talked about codifying it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

We GOT roe because we discussed it.

Edit auto

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

We got roe because we had a court willing to do it.

We don't anymore. Accepting talk instead of accomplishments has lost us ground. And since all Democrats do is talk, that loss is permanent.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

You're missing the point.

The point, for your roe v Wade example is that at one point speaking of abortion in public, let alone politically was unthinkable. Due to some brave people, and eventually people in political office, SPEAKING ABOUT the issue made it viable.

Of course there are many other factors, and many other brave and impactful people.

But speech is political action, no question.

But it's not enough, on it's own.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

And if we accept talk as accomplished fact, we don't move beyond talk.

Meanwhile, Republicans act while we content ourselves with talk. And we lose Roe.

And we'll keep only talking about ending the racist drug war and never actually ending it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

You're behaving like a silly goose, and assuming I am ONLY looking for talk. Not everything after.

We done

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago

Expecting me to treat talk as an accomplishment is exactly that.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago

Oh sure, every 4 years Lucy comes out with the football and taunts you to take a run at it and I’m the one not being realistic. It’s total horseshit to disappear on an issue every 4 years except when you think it might help you in an election to wave it around.

It’s not “Lemmy sees something good happen”; nothing good has happened. The same platitudes have been trotted out for the 78th time. But maybe this time…!

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

Biden campaigned on rescheduling it so this is just nakedly trying to boost their pre-election popularity. They could've done this day one. They didn't. They won't.

Web archive of Biden's campaign site, September 2019: http://web.archive.org/web/20190723224533/https://joebiden.com/justice/

Decriminalize the use of cannabis and automatically expunge all prior cannabis use convictions. Biden believes no one should be in jail because of cannabis use. As president, he will decriminalize cannabis use and automatically expunge prior convictions. And, he will support the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes, leave decisions regarding legalization for recreational use up to the states, and reschedule cannabis as a schedule II drug so researchers can study its positive and negative impacts.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Biden: Holds the trump card that is almost guaranteed to get him reelected

Yall: WhY dIdN't He UsE iT sOoNeR

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

He started the work in 2022. You think he just started it? Did you not read the links I provided?

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I didn't say he just started. Thanks for putting words in my mouth. I said he knows that if he made weed legal too early the stoners would forget about it and potentially not vote.

Playing the trump card right before elections? Everyone is in a super high (lol) and is super in the mood to vote.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Cannabis prohibition is still harming the communities it was designed to disrupt.

But none of the people in those communities matter. Let them needlessly suffer for our stupid timing games.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I also never said it was the best course of action for the betterment of people. Just politically. Which I don't agree with but understand

But please, keep painting me as terrible

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago

I also never said it was the best course of action for the betterment of people.

The problem here is that this isn't even a consideration.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago

Obama campaigned on this so it's been 12 years they've fucked around on it. People need to stop defending the Democratic party for being corrupt pieces of shit.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Biden could order cannabis descheduled ( what his campaign program was) and if agencies don't listen, fucking fire the agency heads and hire someone that will. It literally one of the handful of things he could do himself.

But somehow it's 3.5 years into his first term. And Biden has apparently compromised even more with himself and we won't get his original compromise of descheduling.

When a president acts like this right before their next election, lots of voters rationally stop believing any of their current campaign promises.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

What do you mean? This is standard political fare… most of the population has the memory of a goldfish, so popular shit like this always waits until the election cycle.

Additionally, an executive order, or changing the chief of the DEA, are probably the least effective ways to handle it. All it would take is a republican administration to undo it all. The way that sticks best is legislation.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Your boat is leaking.

Do you either bail out the water, or try to get into port so you can fix it.

Or maybe, you do both. Biden can reschedule…. Today. He could have done it 3.5 years ago.

He hasn’t. He probably won’t.

You’re right that legislation is a more permanent fix. No question there. Doesn’t mean you don’t work the other, faster, solution to get something good enough for the time being done.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Biden cannot just wave a wand. Learn the fucking truth before you spout nonsense like this.

He’s been following the framework of the CSA since October 2022 with this: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/06/statement-from-president-biden-on-marijuana-reform/

And it’s currently in the final stage, sitting with the DEA. It’s getting done.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

You consider a press release from the guy slow walking this to be a reliable source.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Following tue legal framework to get this done is slow footing it? Are you aware it’s in the final stage before getting rescheduled?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Claiming that slow walking it is following some fictional legal framework is just an excuse for slow walking it.

I'm not buying any bullshit about it being the final anything.

If you want me to treat it as anything more than a filthy lie, democrats should have been taking their campaign promises more seriously.

Let me guess. We're in the final stage of passing the public option, the minimum wage increase, codifying roe, and closing gitmo as well. I'm sure we're in the final stage of passing BBB and reforming our out of control police too.

After decades of lies, you expect me to buy that Democrats are telling the truth about wanting to do the right thing?

What unmitigated hogwash.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Fictional legal framework? Lmao

Go read up on the CSA hon.

The decision is resting with the DEA now, who are the decision makers.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

So quote it. Quote the law that is preventing Biden from descheduling cannabis.

Not a press release, not an op-ed, the actual law.

Chuck Schumer was saying Biden should deschedule back in January. He knows more about the process than you do.

EDIT: and just like that, the condescension and the excuses for prolonging the racist drug war stop.