Biden announced a 'monumental' shift in federal marijuana policy on Thursday
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EXCLUSIVE: The Biden campaign is taking aim at former President Trump following the administration's move to ease federal marijuana restrictions.
President Biden announced the "monumental" shift in marijuana policy on Thursday in a video posted on social media, kicking off a process to reclassify the drug from a Schedule I restricted substance to a Schedule III.
"It’s simple, Joe Biden smokes sleepy Don on delivering for the American people. After four years of all talk, all failure from Donald Trump, Joe Biden is keeping his promise on marijuana policy, moving America forward, and making America safer," Biden campaign spokesman James Singer told Fox News Digital following the announcement.
Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 16, 2024
So today, the @TheJusticeDept is taking the next step to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under federal law.
Here's what that means: pic.twitter.com/TMztSyyFYm
"Donald Trump was wrong on marijuana policy and made America less safe, hurting young people and communities of color. Voters can’t afford the broken promises and dangerous failures of a second Trump term," he added.
Trump's position on marijuana remained somewhat ambiguous during his presidency. He previously expressed the view that marijuana policy should be determined at the state level, but has also spoken out against related ballot initiatives, citing worries it could boost Democrats.
He did, however, sign the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp. The substance had been prohibited for decades, and his administration allocated resources specifically to enact the reforms in the bill.
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Former President Donald Trump and President Biden (Getty Images)
The proposed rescheduling will now appear in the Federal Register, where the public can participate in a 60-day comment period. Following this period, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will take the proposal to an administrative law judge, who will consider related evidence and make a recommendation, and then the DOJ will make a final decision on the reclassification.
Schedule I drugs include substances like heroin and ecstasy, while Schedule III drugs include ketamine and anabolic steroids, as well as have "a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence," according to the DEA.
The change, although it wouldn't legalize the recreational use of marijuana outright, could be popular with young voters as recent polls suggest Biden is struggling with that demographic less than six months from the November general election.
Various types of marijuana available to patients are displayed at Private Organic Therapy, a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary, on Oct. 19, 2009, in Los Angeles. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Other polling shows a split among Americans when it comes to easing marijuana restrictions, something Pew found in research published earlier this year, as "34% of conservative Republicans say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, compared with a 57% majority of moderate and liberal Republicans," the report said.
It added that "62% of conservative and moderate Democrats say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use," with 84% of liberal Democrats believing the same.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on X at @BGillespieAL.
