Former Vice President Joe Biden had some interesting comments about marijuana that may not help his run for the Oval Office. During a town hall in Las Vegas over the weekend, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate revealed that he has no plans to legalize marijuana.
The stance is one that is generally unpopular in the Democratic party, with public opinion trending towards accepting marijuana into the mainstream.
However, Biden continues to hold the old school belief that marijuana is a gateway drug.
“The truth of the matter is, there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug,” Biden said, according to Business Insider. “It’s a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it.
“It is not irrational to do more scientific investigation to determine, which we have not done significantly enough, whether or not there are any things that relate to whether it’s a gateway drug or not.”
While Biden has no plans to make marijuana legal nationwide, he does believe that states should determine its legal status.
“States should be able to make a judgment to legalize marijuana,” he said.
This separates the former Vice President from a number of other presidential candidates who have said that they would decriminalize and legalize marijuana. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug along with the likes of heroin and LSD because the Drug Enforcement Administration claims it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
Despite his unwillingness to legalize marijuana, Biden’s campaign has said that he plans to reschedule marijuana as a Schedule II drug which would aid researching its health benefits and impacts.