Biden starts the process to address pot
The long awaited action on words said during the campaign are coming true. You all heard the President say it, if not, here is the re-cap. I am also here to talk about this, but with an emphasis on Wisconsin and the three agenda items.
Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. Hear from @POTUS on the three steps he is taking to right these wrongs. pic.twitter.com/IqOxHxjgue
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 6, 2022
President Biden’s pardons look to impact some 6500 federal marijuana prohibition victims. That is the number I have been seeing widely reported. Multiply that by all the other ways that this impacts their family members, and then multiply that number by 4. That is more likely the impact on real life people in some way shape or form. You get the point, this is a big deal. Thank you President Biden!
Biden called on state Governors to do the same. Governor Evers is fulling this promise already. While Governor Walker pardoned no one (did he even have a pardon board?), Evers has found compassion to pardon cannabis convictions. I cannot say for sure how many, but I know he did not pardon them all. If Wisconsin does not change the state law/statue making simple possession a fine, not a crime, then my fear is Wisconsin will create cannabis convictions faster than Evers can pardon them.
We really need our legislators to take action, but if they cannot, perhaps we can target Attorney General Kaul and work with his office to make simple marijuana possession a lowest enforcement priority through an AG Memo. (Note Republican AG Candidate Eric Toney is running an anti-marijuana campaign and Incumbent AG Kaul is supportive reforming the laws) Thank you Governor Evers and AG Kaul!
The third pillar of the Presidents pot talk was the scheduling / rescheduling issue. First off, this is being addressed in the federal legislation and has been addressed in past bills. Those bills have not passed. Maybe those bills will now pass and I hope whoever he puts in charge of “reviewing the path to scheduling” puts pressure on the legislative bodies to take action this next session.
That is all I have to say about that right here right now. If you want to chat more, find me online in our Facebook Group “The Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Network” or leave a comment below! and Thank You!
