Biden's Reelection Hopes Boosted By Youth Support For Weed Reform

Recent efforts to relax federal marijuana restrictions have garnered significant support from a majority of Americans, a recently conducted nationwide poll revealed. The results seem to be in line with a recent Gallup poll showing that seven in ten Americans think marijuana use should be legal.

Fifty-eight percent of voters said they favor rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act – a move Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended to the DEA according to a recently released 252 pages of documents related to HHS review of cannabis.

More importantly, the youngest voters aged 18-25, a demographic crucial to President Biden‘s chances of securing re-election, showed the strongest support, as first reported by Politico.

The poll was conducted by Lake Research Partners and commissioned by the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform (CCSR).

See also: Biden Considers Marijuana Rescheduling: Boon Or Bust For The Industry? Former Top FDA Official Weighs In

Marijuana Moment's Kyle Jaeger highlighted that what's vital for Biden is that the survey revealed a significant increase in voters’ perception of the president by 11 points after being made aware of the consequences of the initiated rescheduling review.

According to the memo on the survey, participants were led to think that the president plays a more significant role, as they were asked whether he should “accept” or “reject” the HHS Schedule III recommendation. Sixty-six percent indicated that he should accept it.

Among those in favor of cannabis reform, Democrats showed the highest level of support, with 74% backing reform followed by 55% of like-minded independents.

Interestingly, the Republican voters displayed the most division.

"Republicans overall are more divided (41% to 31%), though net supportive, and younger Republicans and Republican women are disproportionately supportive," the memo stipulated.

Implications Of Cannabis Rescheduling

Rescheduling medical marijuana (MMJ) would make it federally legal while removing Tax Rule 280E which could result in boosted profits for U.S. cannabis businesses. The IRS’s 280E poses a considerable obstacle to cannabis companies, forcing them to pay income tax on gross profits resulting in an astronomical effective tax rate of 70% for many US plant-touching businesses.

However, rescheduling could also mean stricter FDA regulations and limit prescription accessibility for doctors. This could lead to the participation of pharmaceutical companies, significantly altering the industry’s dynamics.

A recent report by Zuanic and Associates sheds light on the issue.

"Moving MMJ to Schedule II or III would make MMJ federally legal with all that implies: FDA regulation, likely tougher for Drs to prescribe, MMJ sold in pharmacies, interstate trade, increased QC rules, and perhaps the entrance of pharma companies into the industry (…) a separate regulatory framework would need to be enacted. Controlled substances that can be prescribed by Drs via Rx are federally regulated," the report stated.

Now read: Marijuana Reclassification And DEA: Congressional Report Outlines Rescheduling Limits