AMERICANS MUST VOTE FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WHO SUPPORTS FEDERAL MARIJUANA REFORM & LEGALIZATION says SOLID with the release of a PSA for sharing, posting, and streaming.
Monday 10/21/24, SOLID (Student Organization for Legal Issues Concerning Drug-Use), a student organization at a Philadelphia-based law school, alerts the public that the November 5, 2024 presidential election is key for federal marijuana reform and legalization even though marijuana legalization is not on the ballot.
SOLID today releases a 83 second public service announcement that identifies the two presidential candidates’ positions on legalizing cannabis. Vice President Kamala Harris, individually and as part of the Biden administration, supports decriminalizing marijuana. The Trump administration and President Trump’s top prosecutors, U.S. Attorney Generals Barr and Sessions, have consistently opposed legalizing marijuana.
As of this release, 24 states allow both recreational and medical use of marijuana, while 14 states, Pennsylvania included, have legalized marijuana for medical use only.
The contradiction between federal illegality and variable state marijuana laws has created confusion throughout America. This disparity not only impacts U.S. citizens’ personal freedoms to use marijuana, but creates undue hardship for the healthcare industry and business. Federal illegality means that there are no uniform quality and safety standards for medical and recreational use of cannabis in the U.S. Marijuana businesses:
(i) cannot use federally insured banks and must conduct all business in cash;
(ii) cannot get the federal bankruptcy protections; and
(iii) anyone involved in any aspect of the marijuana business, risks federal prosecution, even if they are conducting their business in a state where marijuana is legal.
The Harris-Biden administration, Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Justice, and Drug Enforcement Administration have received over 43,000 public comments on the current administration's decision to legalize marijuana and make it a Schedule III drug. Currently, marijuana is a schedule I drug, the same schedule as heroin and LSD. As a Schedule III drug it would have the same classification as other medications, such as ketamine and Tylenol with codeine.
The federal public hearing to address marijuana’s rescheduling will take place in Virginia on December 2, 2024. If the federal government does not take action and publish its decision to legalize marijuana in the Federal Register by the inauguration of the new president at noon EST on Monday, January 20, 2025, the proposed rule can be withdrawn and the new administration can revoke marijuana’s legalization.
As an organization, SOLID works to educate, inform, and reform America’s antiquated drug policies and anti-marijuana laws. Our group works closely with communities negatively affected by the federal government's criminalization of marijuana sale and consumption, and we ask that America’s voters take note of this momentous decision.
“It is our responsibility to educate ourselves . . . and we need to vote accordingly,” declares Celeste Kump, age 27, founding member of SOLID at Drexel University’s Kline School of Law. SOLID member Gail Hutchings, age 24, also a Drexel law student, explained the importance of legalization: “As someone with friends who rely on marijuana for the treatment of serious conditions like epilepsy and PTSD, I believe marijuana must be reclassified so that they can travel freely without having to choose between risking federal prosecution or risking a health crisis.”
SOLID encourages media, social platforms, and influencers to share this important policy information and encourages young adults to get out and vote for the candidate that supports marijuana use as a personal freedom, medical right, and valid area of business: Kamala Harris.
For more information, please contact: Celeste Kump at cik24@drexel.edu or 425-287-3467
Drexel University is a bipartisan institution and does not endorse cannabis. The mission of the Student Organization for Legal Issues Concerning Drug-Use is not attributable to Drexel University.
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