The Biden campaign is taking aim at former President Trump following the administration's move to ease federal marijuana restrictions, accusing him of making empty promises and overseeing dangerous failures in drug policy.
Former President Trump and President Biden have differing views on marijuana policy. (Getty Images)
The Biden campaign has seized upon the Trump administration's move to ease federal marijuana restrictions as an opportunity to attack the former president's record on drug policy.
Following President Biden's announcement of the "monumental" shift in marijuana policy on Thursday, Biden campaign spokesman James Singer released a statement condemning Trump's approach to the issue.
"It’s simple, Joe Biden smokes sleepy Don on delivering for the American people," Singer said. "After four years of all talk, all failure from Donald Trump, Joe Biden is keeping his promise on marijuana policy, moving America forward, and making America safer."
Singer accused Trump of making "broken promises" and "dangerous failures" on marijuana policy, claiming that he "made America less safe, hurting young people and communities of color."
Trump's position on marijuana has remained somewhat ambiguous during his presidency. He has previously expressed the view that marijuana policy should be determined at the state level, but has also spoken out against related ballot initiatives, citing worries that it could boost Democrats.
Despite his previous opposition to marijuana legalization, Trump did sign the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp. The substance had been prohibited for decades, and his administration allocated resources specifically to enact the reforms in the bill.
The Biden administration's proposed rescheduling of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug will now appear in the Federal Register, where the public can participate in a 60-day comment period. Following this period, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will take the proposal to an administrative law judge, who will consider related evidence and make a recommendation, and then the DOJ will make a final decision on the reclassification.
Schedule I drugs include substances like heroin and ecstasy, while Schedule III drugs include ketamine and anabolic steroids, as well as have "a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence," according to the DEA.
The change, although it wouldn't legalize the recreational use of marijuana outright, could be popular with young voters as recent polls suggest Biden is struggling with that demographic less than six months from the November general election.
Other polling shows a split among Americans when it comes to easing marijuana restrictions, something Pew found in research published earlier this year. According to the report, "34% of conservative Republicans say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, compared with a 57% majority of moderate and liberal Republicans."
It added that "62% of conservative and moderate Democrats say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use," with 84% of liberal Democrats believing the same.
The Trump campaign has not yet responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the Biden campaign's attack on his marijuana policy record.
