Biden Blasts Trump At NAACP Convention, Touts Dems Cannabis Reforms As Race Tightens

At his first campaign appearance since Saturday's attempted assassination of his opponent, President Joe Biden vigorously criticized former President Donald Trump‘s policies and rhetoric Tuesday during the 115th NAACP National Convention in Nevada.

Aiming to consolidate support among Black voters, Biden underscored the stark differences between his administration’s priorities and those espoused by Trump, which includes cannabis policy reform.

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Amid growing concerns about Biden's electoral prospects for the 2024 presidential election and his leadership capabilities following the disastrous June 27 debate against Trump, the president has taken to pointing out his administration’s actions on cannabis reform. Those include mass pardons for federal cannabis offenses and the as-yet-unfulfilled proposal by the Justice Department to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.

Biden’s comment on the subject to the NAACP convention will sound familiar. "By the way, we're making sure that no one goes to jail for the mere use or possession of marijuana," he said. "Their records should be expunged. It holds them back."

The president also touted the administration's expungement of previous cannabis convictions.

Although these actions signal a shift towards decriminalization, they stop short of full legalization, which was part of Biden’s 2020 campaign promise that also remains unfulfilled. As the president faces growing pressure to reconsider his candidacy in favor of a new nominee, Biden seems to have grabbed onto the issue cannabis reform, which sets him apart from his opponent.

What Does Trump Think About Cannabis Reform?

The former, twice-impeached president has remained somewhat aloof to the issue of marijuana, despite the headlines that have swirled around the topic over the past year. Not much has changed from the Trump camp since he told a National Rifle Association meeting in April that the uptick in mass shootings is "not a gun problem" but rather it's due to "genetically engineered" cannabis.

Despite a recent Fox News poll showing that nearly seven in 10 American voters, including a majority of Republicans, support legalizing marijuana, Trump has barely touched the topic.

Although Trump’s choice of running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, seems not to be overtly opposed to cannabis legalization. Following Ohio’s 2023 vote to legalize marijuana, Vance said “The voters of Ohio have made their decisions known and we should respect that and allow it to be an Ohio issue…” for whatever that’s worth.

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