UP IN SMOKE! Joe Biden says he won't legalize marijuana if elected president as it's a 'gateway drug'
2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden said there is not "enough evidence" to determine whether marijuana is or is not "a gateway drug" as he defended his reasoning to not legalize the drug on a federal level if elected president.
The former vice president told a town hall in Las Vegas on Saturday that as far as he is concerned, whether the US should legalize cannabis on a federal level is still up for debate.
"The truth of the matter is, there's not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug," Biden said, per Business Insider. "It's a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it."
As he has maintained throughout his time on the campaign trail, Biden said he supports medical marijuana and insisted that possession of the substance "should not be a crime."
However, he added on Saturday that the decision to legalize marijuana should be left up to state governments. "States should be able to make a judgment to legalize marijuana," he said at the event.
Moreover, Biden said more research was needed to consider legalization of the substance on a federal level. "It is not irrational to do more scientific investigation to determine, which we have not done significantly enough, whether or not there are any things that relate to whether it's a gateway drug or not," Biden said.
Marijuana, which is currently classified as a Schedule I substance, has received support for legalization from several of Biden's top Democratic rivals in the race. The Drug Enforcement Administration defines Schedule I substances, which includes heroin and LSD, as drugs "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."
Previously, Biden's campaign noted he would reschedule the substance as a Schedule II drug in a bid to aid research into its health impacts.
Meanwhile, Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have all promised to make marijuana legal on a federal level if they were elected president.
Soon after Biden laid out his stance regarding weed, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted her support for legalizing marijuana.