What Should the Cannabis Industry Expect if Joe Biden Wins?

Although he has become somewhat more permissive over the years as a senator, Joe Biden was very tough on drug offenses. Even in 2010, as Vice President under Barack Obama, he was against the legalization of cannabis. But what would really happen to the cannabis industry if Biden were elected President of the United States?

As reported by The Atlantic, people had some ideas about why Joe Biden, the 77-year-old Democratic presidential candidate, would not legalize cannabis. Some argue it is because he was part of the generation scared by the movie 'Reefer Madness' - also known as 'Tell Your Children,' was a 1936 American production put together for display in schools against marijuana use, linking the drug to madness and violence - while others thought his personal and political past might prevent him from taking the next step.

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According to sources, the answer is simple: none of the above options influences Biden; he is only concerned with public health. He simply would like to see more studies and research on the subject before making a decision. 'The truth is there has not been enough evidence to know whether it is or isn't a gateway drug. It's a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it,' the candidate said during his campaign.

However, as a senator, Biden introduced a series of bills in the 1980s aimed at imposing tough penalties on drug traffickers. A decade later, he signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which resulted in the massive incarceration of those who committed drug offenses.

Since cannabis is very popular among Democrats, it was expected that Biden would take a more lenient approach to the drug during the presidential campaign. Which he eventually did. Although he never guaranteed changes to federal cannabis policy, he said he does not believe anyone should be arrested for smoking cannabis.

His vice-presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, made headlines after discussing decriminalization live on television. Biden's spokesperson, Andrew Bates, told CNN, 'Vice President Biden does not believe anyone should be incarcerated solely for smoking or possessing cannabis. He supports decriminalization and the automatic expungement of prior criminal records for cannabis possession, so those affected do not have to learn how to file a petition or pay a lawyer.'

This could be the key: Biden would also remove federal oversight in states that have legalized the drug. While the presidential candidate may not be the biggest advocate for cannabis, this policy would go beyond what Barack Obama or Donald Trump were during their times in the highest office, especially if Biden removes cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act's Schedule I to a lower status. This would mean that cannabis would not be treated as equivalent to heroin, which is also categorized as Schedule I.

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Matt Carr, the Chief Trends Strategist at the Oxford Club, told INN that while policy changes are almost certainly going to be implemented, the timeline has not been confirmed yet. 'It will happen at some point, but it won't be a first 100 days type of initiative,' Carr claimed. 'There will be other things they definitely have to tackle first, in terms of just their own agenda and the economy.'

Others have argued that a Democratic victory would be a 'big boost' for the cannabis industry, but as with Donald Trump, change is coming with or without Biden.

Source: Roland Sebestyén/Canex