Biden's Exec Order Mentions Marijuana, Doc Says He's Fit & VP Harris Will Run With Him, Does Legal Weed Have A Chance?

President Biden signed a new executive order Thursday to address racial inequity, especially among underserved communities. 

The order, dubbed “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government” seeks to address and remove systemic barriers that prevent communities of color from prospering, reported The Hill.

“It is imperative to reject the narrow, cramped view of American opportunity as a zero-sum game,” Biden said. “When any person or community is denied freedom, dignity, and prosperity, our entire Nation is held back. But when we lift each other up, we are all lifted up.”

While Thursday’s executive order did not specifically signal any cannabis reforms, Marijuana Moment pointed out, Biden connected social and racial equity to his own cannabis policies, such as his October pardon of some 6,000 non-violent federal cannabis prisoners.

“My Administration has taken action to strengthen public safety, advance criminal justice reform, correct our country’s failed approach to marijuana, protect civil rights, and stand up against rising extremism and hate-fueled violence that threaten the fabric of our democracy,” Biden said in the executive order.

Also on Thursday, a key Senate panel approved legislation that will require Veterans Affairs officials to hold clinical trials on using medicinal cannabis for the treatment of chronic pain and PTSD, marking the first piece of standalone cannabis legislation to advance through a committee in the chamber.

The Medicinal Cannabis Research Act, the measure passed out of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in a closed session after a brief discussion among lawmakers. 

Meanwhile, Joe Biden's physician has declared the president "fit to serve" and VP Kamala Harris told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell that she intends to be Joe Biden's running mate again. "Joe Biden ... has said he intends to run for re-election as president and I intend to run with him as vice president of the United States."

What will another Biden-Harris administration mean for cannabis decriminalization and removing it from a federal list of controlled substances? 

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