Does Biden Still Want to Hand Marijuana to Big Pharma?

by Thomas Neuburger

The Democratic Party's "Unity Task Force," the one tasked with merging Biden's proposals with Sanders', has recently released its recommendations, among them this set of proposals for marijuana:

"Substance use disorders are diseases, not a crimes. Democrats believe no one should be in prison solely because they use drugs. Democrats will decriminalize marijuana use and reschedule it through executive action on the federal level. We will support legalization of medical marijuana, and believe states should be able to make their own decisions about recreational use."

The first thing to notice is that marijuana use is still characterized in this report as a "disease."

The next thing to notice is the proposal to "decriminalize marijuana use and reschedule it through executive action." Rescheduling doesn't mean legalizing, it means reclassifying, moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II (or III, or IV) of the Controlled Substances Act — in other words, controlling its sale the way penicillin is controlled, which only "decriminalizes" its use so long as the user has a prescription.

And who, do you think, would be permitted to manufacture and distribute the drugs available only by prescription? Big Pharma.

Would Joe Biden Hand the Marijuana Industry to Big Pharma?

Those are the proposals of the Unity Commission — not much unity there, since Sanders wanted full decriminalization. So what does Biden think?

Despite his recent "kinda, sorta" talk about decriminalizing its use, Joe Biden would continue to make unprescribed marijuana illegal, just as he did during the primary. As late as last November, according to Politico, Biden favored keeping marijuana on the restricted drug list, but rescheduling it, removing it from the list with "no currently accepted medical use" (Schedule I) but keeping listed with drugs that still have "a high potential for abuse" (Schedule II) — all this is to "ensure that researchers can further research its effects," according to a "spokesperson for Biden’s campaign."

For decades pharmaceutical companies have fought against legalizing recreational marijuana, mainly to protect market share of drugs like fentanyl. (The same can be said of the alcohol industry.) Yet while both industries think of marijuana as competition, each would like to get into the marijuana business themselves.

Biden's proposal, if implemented, opens that door, at least for the drug companies. If marijuana use is legal "but only if you have a prescription," the only way to implement this proposal is to empower an industry with the ability to supply pharmacies with product.

There's only one industry that supplies pharmacies with product — again, Big Pharma.

Others agree with this assessment. From a piece I wrote last year on this topic, Vox writer Cliff Roberts warned that "if strictly enforced to the letter, Biden's marijuana policy could rip cannabis away from its current producers and sellers and hand over control of commercial weed to corporate interests instead."

A Final Note

I would assume this is coming unless it's headed off by a major effort. Keeping in mind what a deep-dyed conservative Biden actually is, that effort would have to be significant, focused and promise great pain in response to its refusal.

I would also assume that you won't hear a word about this part of the plan until the election is over. Even the Biden team is not that obtuse. Which means after the election, it may just happen — by executive order, no less — and who's to stop him?

Imagine the nation's surprise when it discovers what it actually bought in choosing Biden, the only alternative it was offered to the hell of the last four years.