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Cannabis plants
America’s mayors came together to demand the federal legalization of marijuana from Joe Biden’s administration, once again demonstrating that the anti-cannabis sentiment held at the highest level of the federal government does not represent the will of the people or even of the rest of the government.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors, which convened earlier this month, voted and passed a resolution requiring not only the decriminalization of marijuana, but its legalization and regulation across the entire nation.
“The United States Conference of Mayors urges Congress and President Biden to remove cannabis, specifically delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9 THC) and its derivatives, from the Drug Enforcement Agency's list of controlled substances, to end criminal penalties for cannabis possession and use, and to automatically expunge all past cannabis convictions, including resentencing and restoring all rights particularly voting rights,” the resolution reads.
“The United States Conference of Mayors calls on Congress and President Biden to legalize cannabis commercialization and sales for adults, 21 or older, through an equity-centered framework of fair taxation, diverse licensing types, and regulation that clearly and consistently ensures for a safe, accessible, equitable and sustainable cannabis marketplace,” it continues.
Medical Value Acknowledged
The arguments brought forth by the collective of mayors are numerous and far-reaching, starting with the fact that the federal government itself holds U.S. Patent 6630507, “which identifies the medicinal benefits of cannabinoids, the compounds found in cannabis,” as the Conference points out. Indeed, the patent in question is undeniable proof that the federal government recognizes the medical value of cannabis to treat age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The patent explains that cannabis is useful in treating neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, head trauma and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. In direct contradiction with their own patent, the U.S. government currently lists cannabis as a Schedule I drug, which explicitly requires that the drug in question be physically addictive and devoid of medical uses. This highlights the absurd and highly partisan choice to classify cannabis—a drug that is thoroughly non-addictive and which has numerous medical applications recognized by the government itself—as a Schedule I substance despite cannabis meeting none of the requirements.
Racism has been pointed out as the second—but equally important—reason why cannabis should be illegal no longer. Racial disparities in how the War on Drugs has been enforced have driven inequalities for Black populations for decades despite black and white people consuming marijuana at the same rate. Despite the fact that they have been and continue to be disproportionately hurt by the criminalization of cannabis, Black people own less than 3% of direct cannabis businesses in states where it is legal. This, the Conference of Mayors says, highlights the need for cannabis reform to be more than just legalizing marijuana—legalization needs to be orchestrated to ensure that the people who have been historically hurt for their unfair association with cannabis can also prosper when it is legalized.
“Very few historically excluded entrepreneurs of color can afford the average start-up costs to open a plant-touching cannabis business, which industry associations estimate at $400,000 in minimum start-up capital,” the resolution reads. “The government is accountable for remediating all negative impacts of cannabis prohibition through every aspect of cannabis legalization and policy reform, specifically to ensure that communities disproportionately impacted by the prohibition of cannabis are able to benefit from this multi-billion dollar industry.”
A Step Ahead
The United States Conference of Mayors is one of the “Big Seven” organizations which represent all levels of governance in the United States, including states, counties and municipalities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors represents 1,407 cities with populations higher than 30,000. They are not the only one among the Big Seven to have started requesting cannabis reform from the federal government in recent years. The National League of Cities called for cannabis reform in 2020, the National Association of Counties called for descheduling cannabis in 2018, the same year as the National Conference of State Legislatures.
For now, the U.S. Conference of Mayors is one step ahead of the other Big Seven, as they are the only ones calling for the explicit legalization and regulation of marijuana. America’s mayors seem to be more progressive and open-minded than other levels of governance, perhaps because of their constant proximity with their constituents, as cannabis reform is exceedingly popular among the people. Three years ago, a majority of America’s mayors were explicitly in favor of legalizing and taxing marijuana in their cities, with only 35% of mayors rejecting the idea.
In this year’s Conference of Mayors, only three mayors voted against the resolution to legalize and regulate cannabis: Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills, MI; Christina Muryn of Findlay, OH; and Francis Suarez of Miami, FL. Although not every one of the 1,407 mayors who are members of the conference got the chance to vote on every resolution, the call for legal cannabis has been nearly unanimous. In previous years, the Conference of Mayors had, in turn, called for the federal government to respect states’ rights to change cannabis laws, then called for descheduling marijuana, before finally demanding full legalization for the first time this year.
