What will Biden quitting the Presidential Race mean for Cannabis Legislation?
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US election Cannabis Law

After much speculation about his age and health, President "Sleepy Joe" Biden has pulled out of the 2024 presidential race.  It's likely that VP "Kamala Kush" Harris will be the Democratic Party's candidate to face former President Donald "Trump OG" in November 2024.

Cannabis is a hot topic in US politics with a multitude of different laws from state to state.  A benchmark poll conducted in spring 2024 shows that 6.8 million undecided cannabis consumers will vote based on cannabis policy regardless of party affiliation.  2.5 million of these are in the battleground states, so there is a lot to play for, and a strong pro-cannabis reform candidate could easily secure masses of votes.  Even Florida could be in play for the Democrats.

 

Democrats

Biden's withdrawal from the race has already boosted the stocks of US-based cannabis companies, with AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF up by 7% in early trading. This suggests that investors believe a Kamala Harris led administration would boost the industry.

President Biden's administration has taken some steps towards rescheduling cannabis and pardoned those incarcerated for possession but has stopped short of expunging their records. Biden himself has never been seen as a supporter of cannabis use.

Kamala Harris oversaw convictions for cannabis use during her time as District Attorney for San Francisco and Attorney General for California but has since changed her view, saying that no one should go to jail for cannabis.  She also co-sponsored legislation including the SAFE Banking Act, the Marijuana Justice Act, and the MORE Act. 

Aside from Kamala Harris, potential democrat candidate JB Pritzker is a strong supporter of legalized cannabis for recreational use.

 

Republicans

It's even harder to pin down where the GOP stands.  Republicans have traditionally been against reform, and appear increasingly against rescheduling, but there is a split within the party with strong views on both sides of the argument.

Donald Trump's personal views are unclear, and he has not said much about the topic recently.  In 2023, while talking at an NRA meeting about the rise in mass shootings, he said "genetically engineered" cannabis could be partly to blame and should be investigated.  He could have been playing to that particular audience however, and industry insider Don Murphy, founder of the American Cannabis Collective, said: “I don’t see Donald Trump sticking his finger in the eye of 80% of Americans.”

 

What candidates say in the coming months could greatly impact who the next president will be.

 

Sources include: https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/24/07/39874209/joe-biden-drops-out-what-would-happen-with-cannabis-legalization-under-kamala-harris-or-donald-t

https://www.greenmarketreport.com/cannabis-stocks-pop-on-kamala-harris-possible-presidency/ 

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