The prospect that the next president of the United States will be either Donald Trump or Joe Biden is why the government should provide us all with medical marijuana.

That is sort of a joke, but considering what the candidates are saying and/or doing, it’s no joke.

On a recent radio interview with an African American host, Biden drew a lot of flak for saying, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.¨

It was a dumb thing to say, but some of other dumb things that he said should have drawn more critical attention.

Charlamagne tha God: (15:42)

“Vice President Biden, I’ve read some of your black agenda and you say that you would decriminalize marijuana. What’s the difference between legalizing it and decriminalizing?”

Joe Biden: (15:51)

“Because they’re trying to find out whether or not there is any impact on the use of marijuana, not in leading you to other drugs, but what it affects. Does it affect long-term development of the brain and we should wait until the studies are done. I think science matters.”

First, the idea that something should be illegal until “science” determines whether or not it has some unspecified impact on “long-term development” is a perfect way to be sure that it is never legalized.

“Science matters”? Biden should also know that under the present system it is almost impossible for American scientists to do research on marijuana because the research has to be approved by the NIDA/DEA prohibitionist establishment.

That ain’t science, Joe. And remember, (not that he would ever let you forget) Biden was vice president for eight years under Barack (Lock my people up) Obama, who had two terms to do more than talk about science, while presiding over the arrests of hundreds of thousands of African Americans on marijuana charges.

But then there’s President Trump…

Trump surely knows that roughly 90% of the American people are in favor of medical marijuana, and at the beginning of his administration he seemed to recognize its importance, but his administration has been steadily moving to block it at every opportunity.

Recently, Trump’s Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams and his U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar, a former pharmaceutical industry lobbyist, actually declared that there is “no such thing as medical marijuana.”

More substantively, MarijuanaMoment.com reported that, “Maine’s Education Department announced this month that it is no longer eligible for certain federal funds to support mental health programs in schools because the state allows students to access medical marijuana.”

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Politico.com reports, “How Federal Marijuana Policy Is Pushing Veterans into the Black Market.” So Adams hugs the flag and bravely goes without a mask on Memorial Day, but turns his back on disabled vets, who need medical marijuana.

And Trump has even said that he reserves the right to ignore a congressionally approved provision that seeks to protect state medical marijuana laws from federal interference.

Now let’s hear it again from Trump supporters who claim to believe in “States Rights,” even when they aren’t just an excuse to discriminate against minorities.

So Biden’s befuddlement is better than Trump’s befuddlement, but there is another reason to think that Biden’s policies would be better than Trump’s. Very simply, almost all of the Democrats, even Dianne Feinstein, have recognized that marijuana prohibition has been a disaster.

Consequently, Biden’s Cabinet will be almost entirely in favor of the legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana. And all President Biden will have to do is  just get out of the way. Trump has never been very good at that.

Profiles in courage? Well, take a toke, but don’t hold your breath.

Richard Cowan is a former NORML National Director and founder of Real Tested CBD.

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