this could impact whether they get housing, whether they get jobs and all of that. one thing still left on the table that a lot of marijuana criminal justice reform acts are told me about is there are still some 2700 non-violent cannabis offenders in federal prison. they ve been pushing the biden administration on that since the president took office. they re hoping some time next year the president moves on that. one of the interesting things about the moment we re in, to your point about biden s evolution, the country has made the same evolution. looking back to 1963, this is after he was elected to the senate, 19% said they supported legalizing marijuana. that number in 2021 up to 60%. part of it is because, take a look at what the country has been doing. it s pretty much legal or decriminalized in a lot of this country. when you look at the population
reform to student debt cancellation. i think that s a really victory or the grassroots progressive wing. biden was an outlier in the primary for his refusal to embrace this type of marijuana reform. you re getting it close to the midterms because there s a recognition it can be one of those drivers, particularly of young people, of people disaffected who think this is one of the issues that matter for some folks. biden has finally come around after that type of pressure. i think that is because there is dnr pushing it. one of the first things i ll look for in the exit polls, did this increase turnout among younger voters. the potential benefit that astead is talking about, we saw in 2018 an explosion of youth turnout in those midterms. the student debt issue, the marijuana issue which tend to have appeal for younger voters, do we see it have that kind of political impact?
in 1970, two years before joe biden first entered the senate, the federal government classified marijuana as a schedule one drug, the same category as heroin and lsd. now 52 years later, biden as president is trying to do that. he s directing the health and human services department to review how cannabis is classified under federal law and will pardon thousands convicted under federal law for possessing or using marijuana. it s a significant move that fulfills a campaign promise that he made back in 2020. biden says it is a step forward for criminal justice. as i said when i ran for president, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. it s already legal in many states. criminal records for marijuana possession have led to needless barriers to employment, housing and educational opportunities. that s before you address the
i drive over 50 miles a day and it s getting harder and harder. the politics of pot. no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. the president pardons thousands. is it the first step toward nationwide legalization? inside politics, the biggest stories sourced by the best reporters now. welcome to inside politics sunday, i m abby phillip. control of the u.s. senate could well rest on the state of georgia. republicans can t be feeling good about their chances there after the week their candidate has had. days after a woman told the daily beast that herschel walker encouraged her and paid for her abortion in 2009, the new york times is reporting on friday that he wanted her to have a second abortion two years later. that time she told the new york times she refused.
credit is due. i don t always agree with the biden administration. i ve been vocal about that. the president wants to pardon people for very simple possession of non-violent cannabis offenders at the federal level and wants to encourage our governors across the counted to do the same. from nancy mays to john fetterman who has been for decriminalizing mariana from the beginning and thanked biden in a tweet over the last couple of days saying he spoke with biden about decriminalizing marijuana. this has become an issue in the race in pennsylvania, that s a pretty wide swath of a spectrum. ideologically there s some agreement about criminal justice reform and this piece of it. i think if we see biden as a kind of central figure of the democratic party, someone who represents that middle wing, i think this is a combination of those efforts. we ve seen a number of those in this presidency from marijuana