During his 2020 election campaign, US President Joe Biden transformed his position on marijuana legalizing which he had objected for decades, stating that he would support "decriminalizing the drug and leaving it up to states whether to allow recreational use." Yet, the latest news from the White House suggests otherwise.
“There were one-on-one calls with individual affected staffers—rather, ex-staffers,” one former White House staffer affected by the policy told The Daily Beast. “I was asked to resign.” https://t.co/S8a6Xx3dPc
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 19, 2021
Several news resources have reported that dozens of White House staffers have been sacked over their past experiences with pot, which comes as a surprise especially that the recreational use of marijuana is legal in Washington, DC, unlike its use for commercial sales in the district.
As soon as the news broke, social media commentators attacked the Biden administration; saying that the decision which punishes staffers for their past experiences, many of which took place in states where marijuana use is legal, constitutes a disappointing change in Biden's stance on the matter.
I have no idea if this is true, but I do know I served as a deputy national security advisor from 2009-2017 having acknowledged past marijuana use on my forms. It would be wrong to punish people for something that is entirely normal and increasingly legal https://t.co/99kfN30NFn
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) March 19, 2021
President Biden:
— ACLU (@ACLU) March 19, 2021
✔️ Claims to support marijuana decriminalization
✔️ Fires staffers who may have used it in past
Make it make sense. https://t.co/uz5dHkBQIl
Moreover, some commentators took to Twitter to talk about being hired by government agencies even before the Biden era, where their statements of past use of pot in official forms not getting in the way of their employment.
I've smoked weed.
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) March 19, 2021
Almost everybody I know has tried marijuana.
Most of my successful, smart, talented, capable friends and colleagues have smoked marijuana.
And almost every young adult I've met has smoked marijuana.
It's 2021. Grow up, America.https://t.co/IVHvRmV4vd
Some even argued that no young person in today's America can claim to have never smoked marijuana in the past, which makes the Biden decision to suspend employees with past post experiences "useless."
