How many times have you heard Democrats pledge to legalize marijuana only to forget about it when they actually have the power to do so? The displays of this hypocrisy are far too numerous to count.
On April 20, both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris declared their ongoing opposition to locking people in cages because they willingly consumed a plant. Yet, there are plenty of reasons to doubt their sincerity, as well as their fellow Democrats in Congress.
At 4:20 p.m., the president and vice president wrote posts on X with a quote from Biden: “No one should be jailed just for using or possessing marijuana.”
Sending people to prison just for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 20, 2024
It’s time that we right these wrongs. pic.twitter.com/0avI1FmWf9
Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 20, 2024
We must continue to change our nation’s approach to marijuana while reforming the justice system so it finally lives up to its name. pic.twitter.com/AJFmexf8a3
Later in the day, Biden made another post in which he urged “all governors to pardon prior state offenses of simple possession of marijuana.”
On Friday, the White House chimed in on the marijuana issue.
A day before, on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden has been “very, very clear” about his support for decriminalizing marijuana. She added that the administration is waiting for the Justice Department to complete its review into cannabis scheduling and doesn’t have any additional updates on advancing reform or further expanding pardons.
Kamala Harris, AKA Black Hillary, was pilloried on X for her post. People brought up her past history as California’s top prosecutor when she locked up countless numbers of people for marijuana offenses. Even Community Notes came after her.
Of course, President Biden isn’t innocent either. The 1994 crime bill he authored also resulted in the arrests of people for smoking weed.
I’m going to put this simply. You would have to smoke a football field's worth of Mary Jane to believe that Biden, Harris, and Democratic members of Congress actually want to stop locking people up over marijuana.
For starters, Democrats had control of the White House and both chambers of Congress between 2021 and 2023. Here is a full list of everything they did to legalize marijuana:
- Not
- A
- Damn
- Thing
Despite constant promises from the likes of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrats have done little more than discuss why it would be a good idea to stop incarcerating people for consuming weed.
To be fair, President Biden did issue pardons for people convicted at the federal level for simple possession of marijuana. But this move did not free a single prisoner. However, it did help those who had offenses on their record after having served time, so there’s that.
The truth is that if Democrats wanted to protect people from being imprisoned for consuming a plant, they could have done so many times over. At this point, it is impossible to believe they are truly serious about the issue and are only using it for pandering purposes. By publicly proclaiming their supposed opposition to keeping marijuana illegal, they hope to win over voters who might believe their empty promises. However, I highly doubt there are still enough people who buy what Biden and company are selling at this point.
