SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
marijuana
Did Donald Trump Really Do More for Criminal Justice Reform Than Joe Biden?
Biden’s record has so far not measured up to even the low bar that Trump set while in office. The good news for Biden is that he still has five months to make good on some of his promises.
Sep 12, 2024
With the nation’s attention now riveted on U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris vs. former President Donald Trump, it might surprise some people to learn that Joe Biden is still the president of the United States until January 20, 2025. And, while he has arguably accomplished a lot already, he still has a lot of power and time to accomplish a lot more before his one term in the Oval Office comes to an end. We need him to focus on criminal justice reform and the promises he made when he was a candidate running for president in 2019.
When we look back on the past eight years, it is hard not to be struck by the glaring fact that, in his one term as president, Donald Trump’s passage of the First Step Act so far is outshining anything President Biden has done in his four years in office for criminal justice reform at the federal level.
This isn’t to say Trump’s record on reform is stellar. In fact, it leaves much to be desired. But Biden’s record has so far not measured up to even the low bar that Trump set while in office. The good news for Biden is that he still has five months to make good on some of his promises.
We want you to finish strong! If you want your legacy on criminal justice reform to surpass and be far better than your predecessor, you have some work to do before January 20, 2025.
When Trump passed the First Step Act, our organization, JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), was one of the few justice organizations that opposed the legislation for a variety of reasons, but primarily because we knew that the risk assessment tool would have adverse effects, particularly on many Black and brown people—which is exactly what we have seen happen over the past six years, and was magnified during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the fact remains that more than 33,500 people have been released from prison so far due to the implementation of the First Step Act. This, combined with Trump’s 237 pardons and commutations, currently overshadows Biden’s meager 25 pardons and 132 commutations. Even when you consider Biden’s over 6,500 federal marijuana pardons, his record still pales in comparison with the tens of thousands who have been set free by Trump’s First Step.
Freedom and liberty is one thing. Life and the pursuit of happiness are another. Because without a life to go home to, where a person’s basic human needs are met, freedom isn’t worth much—and it sometimes doesn’t last for very long.
Despite the creation of freedom for some through the First Step Act, overall, Trump’s economic and domestic policies have been a disaster for formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted individuals and harmful to our communities. They may have their freedom, but many did not have housing to go back to, let alone jobs, healthcare, and the resources needed to provide for their bare necessities.
In less than four years, however, President Biden’s legislative accomplishments have been significant. From the American Rescue Plan to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the CHIPs and Science Act, the PACT Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and most recently the signing into law of the Federal Prison Oversight Act—Biden’s policies have unquestionably been far better for the everyday life and well-being of returning citizens and directly impacted people in this country.
While the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act has stalled in Congress, President Biden did sign an executive order “to promote safe and accountable policing, ban chokeholds, restrict no-knock entries by police, create a national police accountability database, and prohibit the transfer of military equipment to local police departments.”
But as a candidate, Biden promised to lower the national incarceration rate by “more than half.” Instead, the prison population has actually gone up—after years of decline, including under Trump.
With five months left to serve, President Biden now has an unprecedented opportunity to make good on some of his promises and add to his legacy as one of the most important and consequential presidents in U.S. history. The 70+ million Americans who have direct experience of the criminal legal system in this country will be watching and waiting, hoping for Biden to come through on a laundry list of demands, many of which he can do with the stroke of a pen.
Here’s what we’re calling on President Biden to do: Deschedule and decriminalize marijuana, instead of just rescheduling it. Abolish the federal death penalty. Eliminate all federal student loans. Direct federal agencies to use person-first language. Sign all of the 20,000+ clemency petitions sitting on his desk right now.
Finally, and these steps would certainly be more difficult but still worth doing: Fight for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Fight for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect democracy and the right to vote for all Americans. And do everything left in his power, with the time he has left in the Oval Office, to repeal and reverse the impact of the 1994 Crime Bill in order to heal the harms that have been caused by this legislation that he championed as a senator. It’s not too late to try and undo some of what has been done by his previous actions.
Mr. President, we are grateful for your 52 years of public service and for the leadership you have demonstrated in leading this nation over the past four years. We want you to finish strong! If you want your legacy on criminal justice reform to surpass and be far better than your predecessor, you have some work to do before January 20, 2025. This is what we, as citizens, need you to accomplish before you pass the torch to the next administration. May God grant you the courage and strength to do what needs to be done!
Keep ReadingShow Less
Tim Walz Will Help Kamala Harris Win the Presidency
His Midwest folksiness, his cheerful capacity to skewer Trump and Vance (“weird”), and his disarmingly upbeat can-do attitude will be terrific foils for the negative, hate-filled Trump and Vance.
Aug 06, 2024
“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked Tim Walz to be my running mate,” U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said this morning. “One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle-class families run deep. It’s personal.”
She went on to say:
He grew up in a small town in Nebraska, spending summers working on his family’s farm. His father died of cancer when he was 19, and his family relied on Social Security survivor benefit checks to make ends meet. At 17, he enlisted in the National Guard, serving for 24 years. He used his GI Bill benefits to go to college, and become a teacher. He served as both the football coach and the advisor of the Gay-Straight Alliance.
I share this background both because it’s impressive in its own right, and because you see in no uncertain terms how it informs his record. He worked with Republicans to pass infrastructure investments. He cut taxes for working families. He passed a law to provide paid family and medical leave to Minnesotan families.
He made Minnesota the first state in the country to pass a law providing constitutional abortion protections after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and as an avid hunter, he passed a bill requiring universal background checks for gun purchases.
But what impressed me most about Tim is his deep commitment to his family: Gwen, Gus, and Hope. Doug and I look forward to working with him and Gwen to build an administration that reflects our shared values.
Whether you are a supporter, a volunteer, a donor, a member of our staff, or your name is on the ticket: You are part of the people-powered campaign that is going to defeat Donald Trump.
We are going to build a great partnership. We are going to build a great team. We are going to win this election.
If this doesn’t convince you of the wisdom of Harris’ choice, the Trump campaign’s immediate attack on Walz as a “dangerously liberal extremist” should.
What are the Trumpers so upset about? Just this: Walz has signed bills protecting abortion access, expanding background checks for gun purchases, and legalizing recreational marijuana. He is one of the nation’s most forceful advocates for tackling climate change—signing a law requiring Minnesota to generate all of its electricity from wind, solar, and other carbon-free sources by 2040, and eliminating the climate-warming pollution generated by coal and gas-fired power plants. He also has one of the nation’s best records on childcare—signing into law paid leave, lowering childcare costs, and making childcare options more available.
One other thing about Walz—perhaps the most important at this juncture—is that he will help Kamala win the presidency.
His Midwest folksiness, his cheerful capacity to skewer Trump and Vance (“weird”), and his disarmingly upbeat can-do attitude will be terrific foils for the negative, hate-filled Trump and Vance.
Walz is a progressive populist minus the anger. In a Democratic Party dominated by lawyers, financiers, and urban coastal regions, Walz is from a small Midwestern town and was a football coach and high school social studies teacher before entering politics. He’s as close to Jimmy Stewart as the Democrats have come in many years. He’ll eat Vance for lunch without Vance even knowing.
It’s a terrific choice.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Tens of Thousands Call for Federal Marijuana Decriminalization
"When it comes to the DOJ's proposal to reschedule marijuana, public opinion could not be clearer," said a campaigner with Drug Policy Alliance, which analyzed public comments on the pending change.
Jul 23, 2024
Shortly after the public comment period for the Biden administration's proposed rule to reschedule marijuana closed, a reform group on Tuesday released an analysis showing that the majority of submissions advocate for federal decriminalization.
When President Joe Biden pardoned U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents convicted of simple federal marijuana possession in October 2022, he also ordered the departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services to review how cannabis is treated under the Controlled Substances Act.
Marijuana is currently Schedule I, the federal law's most restrictive category, despite dozens of states allowing adult recreational or medicinal use. In May, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is part of the DOJ, proposed a shift to Schedule III and initiated the public comment period that ended Monday.
"Participation in public comment processes gives the American public a chance to speak from personal experience and provide feedback on proposed legal changes—and it gives the federal government an opportunity to adjust their proposals to reflect public opinion," said Cat Packer of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), which reviewed submissions.
"When it comes to the DOJ's proposal to reschedule marijuana, public opinion could not be clearer," added Packer, DPA's director of drug markets and legal regulation. "Rescheduling is simply not enough."
As DPA detailed in a statement, after analyzing the 42,910 public comments, the group found:
- 69.3% or 29,750 of comments support descheduling, decriminalizing, or legalizing marijuana at the federal level;
- 42.4% or 18,207 commentsmention the need for federal marijuana reform to advance racial justice or social equity; and
- 24% or 10,327 comments were submitted through a public comment tool hosted by United for Marijuana Decriminalization (UMD), a coalition that DPA convenes. These comments were the result of months of grassroots outreach to communities that have been impacted by marijuana criminalization.
"The people are demanding the Biden administration do more to deliver on the marijuana reforms that communities deserve," Packer said, pointing to previous promises from Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee to face former Republican President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in the November election.
Packer highlighted that nearly half of the comments "recognize that ending federal criminalization is key to achieving racial justice and social equity," and "this is something that the Biden administration has repeatedly identified as a priority in their marijuana reform efforts."
"However, under Schedule III, communities of color would still face disproportionate harms and lifelong consequences from federal marijuana criminalization," she explained. "Under Schedule III, people could still be jailed or deported for marijuana violations, even in states where it is legal. Under Schedule III, people could lose their jobs, their housing, their... food stamp benefits, or even lose custody of their children for marijuana violations."
Earlier this month, DPA and Human Rights Watch released a 91-page report detailing how the U.S. War on Drugs has impacted the lives of immigrants, "punishing people with deep connections to the United States, where they have formed families, attained education, and built their lives."
Packer argued Tuesday that "if the Biden administration wants to be responsive to public opinion and live up to their own stated values of racial justice and repair, marijuana must be federally decriminalized and additional actions must be taken to end the lifelong collateral consequences that result from marijuana criminalization."
"This is a galvanizing moment for our movement for drug policies grounded in health, equity, and reinvestment," she stressed. "Even if marijuana is ultimately rescheduled through this process, there are additional actions that President Biden and Congress can take. In the coming weeks and months, we will continue working with our allies to urge President Biden to take a whole government approach to advance equity in federal marijuana policy and mitigate the harms of criminalization."
"That means expanding pardons and commutations, protecting state marijuana programs, and directing federal agencies to cease punishing people for marijuana use," she said. "We know that the people and the evidence are on our side. It is time that our federal government listened."
Despite support from top figures including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), there is little hope that the current divided Congress would decriminalize marijuana. As Marijuana Momentreported shortly before House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was voted into his role last year, he "has consistently voted against cannabis-related legislation."
The cannabis industry analytics firm Headset on Tuesday also reviewed public submissions for the new proposal and noted that "this comment period has shattered previous DEA records, surpassing even the highly contentious 2020 telemedicine rules that garnered approximately 38,000 comments."
"To put this into perspective, that's roughly equivalent to the entire population of Juneau, the capital city of Alaska," the firm highlighted. "It's as if every resident of a small state capital took the time to voice their opinion on this crucial issue."
Headset found that 92.45% of comments were in favor of changing cannabis' schedule, with 61.7% of them advocating for descheduling and 38.3% supporting a shift to a less restrictive category. Just 7.55% wanted to retain Schedule I.
"Those supporting rescheduling emphasized potential medical benefits, increased research opportunities, and alignment with state laws," Headset said. "Proponents of descheduling, the largest group, advocated for complete legalization, citing social justice concerns, economic opportunities, and personal liberty."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular