Former Vice President Joe Biden unveiled his support for the complete decriminalization of marijuana throughout the United States Thursday, with a campaign spokesperson saying every state should “make their own choice” on recreational use.
“As he said [Tuesday], Vice President Biden does not believe anyone should be in jail simply for smoking or possessing marijuana. He supports decriminalizing marijuana and automatically expunging prior criminal records for marijuana possession, so those affected don’t have to figure out how to petition for it or pay for a lawyer,” a campaign spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.
“He would allow states to continue to make their own choices regarding legalization and would seek to make it easier to conduct research on marijuana’s positive and negative health impacts by rescheduling it as a schedule 2 drug,” he added.
#JoeBiden: "Nobody should be in jail for smoking marijuana" https://t.co/siizk7mwe0
— CBS Philly (@CBSPhilly) May 16, 2019
The former Vice President’s liberal proposal comes as Biden opens up a big lead over his 2020 democratic challengers.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders continues to fall behind former Vice President Joe Biden in recent polling, with new data showing the top Obama aide with a massive 32 point lead over the Democratic Socialist.
“Former Vice President Joe Biden has a 32-point lead in the Democratic presidential race in a Hill-HarrisX poll released Monday,” reports The Hill. “Biden won 46 percent in the poll compared to 14 percent for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who came in a distant second place.”
“Biden has seen a little bit of a bump from his announcement, anywhere from 12 to 15 percentage points in most polls that I’ve seen,” said one pollster.
The two top-tier candidates were followed by South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 8% and Sen. Elizabeth Warren with just 7%.
Read the full report here.
GOING GREEN? NY Gov. Cuomo Seeks to Legalize Recreational Marijuana in Early 2019
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his proposal Monday to legalize recreational marijuana use throughout the state; saying the move would generate billions to help the region’s aging infrastructure and massive pension plans.
“Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that he would push to legalize recreational marijuana next year, a move that could bring in more than $1.7 billion in sales annually and put New York in line with several neighboring states,” writes the New York Times.
“The fact is we have had two criminal justice systems: one for the wealthy and the well off, and one for everyone else,” said the governor. “Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all.”
Ten other states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of recreational marijuana in recent years; implementing a series of different laws over how the substance can be purchased and where it can be used.
Read the full report at the New York Times.
NEW TAXES! De Blasio, Cuomo Eye ‘Congestion Pricing’ and ‘Marijuana Tax’ to Fix Crumbling Subways
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled their newest proposal to help fix the region’s crumbling infrastructure this week; announcing “congestion pricing” and a potential “marijuana tax” to help repair subways and bridges.
“Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo announced Tuesday a proposal to transform the MTA and create funding streams for the agency, which includes the joint endorsement of congestion pricing,” reports NBC New York.
“The proposal also calls for the implementation of congestion pricing, which will be supplemented by an internet sales tax and, that if marijuana legalization takes place, a percentage of a resulting cannabis excise tax would also help fund the agency,” adds the article.
The announcement comes just days after Amazon withdrew their plans to build a second headquarter in Queens, New York; a move that cost the region 25,000 new jobs and billions in tax revenue.
Read the full report here.
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