Fetterman says Biden should decriminalize marijuana ahead of Pittsburgh visit

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman has called on President Joe Biden to reclassify marijuana before Biden visits Pittsburgh on Monday.

Fetterman, a long-time champion of recreational marijuana, also said he would like for Biden to decriminalize the drug at the federal level.

“It’s long past time that we finally decriminalize marijuana,” Fetterman said in a statement. “The president needs to use his executive authority to begin de-scheduling marijuana. I would love to see him do this prior to his visit to Pittsburgh.”

Rescheduling marijuana would mean removing it from its current classification as a Schedule I controlled substance, which includes drugs such as heroin.

Biden has said he is in favor of federal decriminalization, but has been largely quiet on the issue.

“The president supports leaving decisions regarding legalization for recreational use up to the states, rescheduling cannabis as a Schedule 2 drug so researchers can study its positive and negative impacts,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. “At the federal level, he supports decriminalizing marijuana use and automatically expunging any prior criminal records.”

Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz has jabbed Fetterman for his “crazy” ideas, including legalizing marijuana.

Using colorful language, Fetterman said he did not “want to hear any (expletive) coming out of Dr. Oz’s campaign trying to conflate decriminalizing marijuana with seriously harmful crime.”

Fetterman said that as Braddock’s mayor he fought serious crime and, “marijuana does not fit the bill.” The statement noted Fetterman’s tour of all 67 counties as lieutenant governor which determined that 65 percent to 70 percent of Pennsylvanians back marijuana legalization.

The White House said Monday that Biden would be visiting Pittsburgh on Labor Day, but did not yet provide any details.

It is expected that Biden will tout his recent legislative success in getting the Inflation Reduction Act passed and eliminating some student federal loan debt.

Biden, who was slated to speak about his proposed anti-crime bill Tuesday in Wilkes-Barre, has visited Pittsburgh for its large Labor Day parade several times over the years.

He was last in Pittsburgh in January to talk about his bipartisan infrastructure law. Shortly before his visit Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, throwing a spotlight on the need to fix the country’s crumbling roads and bridges.

Former President Donald Trump will also be in Pennsylvania this weekend when he’s scheduled to hold a rally on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre for Oz and Republican governor candidate state Sen. Doug Mastriano.