Biden slam workers marijuana policy

  • Several Democrats have criticized Biden White House over its marijuana policy for workers.
  • Employees have been told to retire or be asked to work remotely because of their drug use, according to the Daily Beast.
  • White House news secretary Jen Psaki says the policy only affected a small number of workers.
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Several leading Democrats have criticized the White House policy of dismissing or dismissing workers for marijuana use in the past, as first reported by the Daily Beast on Friday.

Sources told the Daily Beast that dozens of young workers had been laid off, forced to retire, or asked to work remotely after telling the White House that they had smoking marijuana into a hobby – a reversal from President Joe Biden ‘s administrative stance on allowing recreational cannabis smokers to apply for open positions.

The retaliation from members of the presidential party itself represents a major policy shift just days after the successful passage of the Democratic-backed COVID-19 aid package.

Democratic Representative. Jared Huffman of California on Friday shared his excitement about the policy with the Daily Beast, clarifying that medical cannabis was now a land law in most states and Washington DC and state that the country was “advanced” [former US Attorney General] Reefer Jeff Sessions hysteria madness. “

“I want to find out how and why this happened, and of course I’m going to persuade them to change course.” This administration promised a clearer approach, but somewhere on the line they returned to the dogma. “

Democratic Representative. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, a Cannabis Congressional Caucus cohort, was even sharper than a critic.

“What is happening now is a vivid picture of impractical, unfair, and outrageous cannabis policies,” he told the Daily Beast. is out of age and the American people are not waiting for the federal government to take action together. This is an opportunity for the Biden administration to help end the War on Drugs and make a more rational policy for everyone. “

He said: “In the meantime, these young people should not be identified and discriminated against for something that is legal in much of the country and supported by the majority of people. ‘Americans. “

White House press secretary Jen Psaki addressed pushing back the report on Twitter, noting that of the hundreds of employees hired, only five served the administration anymore.

“This is the bottom line: of the hundreds of people employed, only five who started working at the White House are no longer employed as a result of this policy,” she wrote. .

Psaki did not specify how many candidates could be barred from being hired, but told the Daily Beast that other issues related to individuals affected by the policy.

“In an effort to ensure that more people have the opportunity to serve the public, we have worked in co-ordination with the security service to ensure that more people have the opportunity to serve. meet their previous levels with the same level of drug use recently, “she said in a statement.” While we cannot get into individual cases, there were many more to play for in the many cases. small number of terminated persons. “

Other members did not use the tongue in response to the report, including a progressive Democratic representative. Ro Khanna in California.

“This is an absurd policy that will prevent law-abiding people – especially people of color – from pursuing public service careers,” he told the Daily Beast. It is unfair that many of these workers applied for their security clearances on the understanding that marijuana use in the past would not be held against them. “

While cannabis is legal in Washington DC and 14 states, possession of the drug remains a federal offense, as it is still considered a Schedule I drug, the “most dangerous class” of substances.

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