President Joe Biden’s Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo revealed in a recent interview with Politico that she has no updates on cannabis decriminalization that was promised during the presidential campaign, reported Marijuana Moment.
When a reporter asked if cannabis should be descheduled, pointing out that some businesses don’t want to see this as it would likely increase competition creating across state markets, Raimondo replied that the matter is “so far afield from anything that I’m working on.” As Raimondo’s focus continues to be trade and supply chain management, marijuana is apparently not yet on her agenda.
Just recently, a new poll conducted by YouGov and The Economist, revealed that more than half of the U.S. adult population concurs that President Biden has made little to no progress on his crucial campaign promise to decriminalize cannabis during his first year in office.
The survey revealed that the majority of U.S. residents also don’t hold out much hope that the president will make progress on this important reform in 2022, which is in line with Raimondo’s response.
Interestingly, Raimondo, who was a governor of Rhode Island before joining the Biden administration, skillfully dealt with marijuana policies, backing a plan in her budget proposal to legalize recreational cannabis via a state-run model. Her successor, Gov. Dan McKee just recently proposed a measure in his budget that would support a more conventional recreational cannabis market.
The fact that Raimondo is not focused on marijuana legalization has provoked cannabis advocates to question the President’s willingness to keep on his promise on cannabis decriminalization.
Photo: Courtesy of United States Department of Commerce via Wikimedia Commons
