*By Jacqueline Corba*
Voters are effectively pressuring lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to publicly support the easing cannabis laws, said the deputy director of the National Organization for Marijuana Laws.
In an interview Tuesday with Cheddar, the deputy director, Paul Armentano said politicians were realizing that marijuana enjoyed greater popularity than they did.
"With the midterm elections approaching, more and more members of Congress from both parties now acknowledge that advocating for marijuana policy reform is not a political liability, rather its a political opportunity," said Armentano.
Last Friday ー on 4/20, of all days ー Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, introduced a bill to decriminalize weed. A few days earlier, the majority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, had introduced a bill to remove hemp from the list of controlled substances.
Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to stop using federal anti-drug laws to block medical marijuana research. And even President Trump changed his tune last week when he promised Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, he would support legal protections in states where marijuana is legal.
A majority of Americans ー 60 percent, according to a Pew Research Center poll ー said they support marijuana legalization.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-momentum-driving-politicians-to-back-cannabis).
President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign was powered by a cell phone app that allowed staff to monitor the movements of his millions of supporters, and offered intimate access to their social networks.
Rep. Chris Pappas is optimistic that President Donald Trump will sign the bipartisan Veterans COMPACT Act to provide mental health care and prevent veteran suicides.
the Trump administration’s unwillingness to begin steps to transition power to President-elect Joe Biden is preventing him from creating a national response, said Kathleen Sebelius, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama.
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday said his administration would strengthen the country's vulnerable economy despite the exploding pandemic as he pushed forward with the business of preparing to assume the presidency.
President Donald Trump has hailed developments in the race for a vaccine for the resurgent coronavirus. He delivered his first public remarks Friday since his defeat by President-elect Joe Biden, even as he refuses to concede the election.
The reason for such calm is that Wall Street doesn't see Trump's anger, tweets or legal actions changing the results. And encouraging data about a potential COVID-19 vaccine has renewed investors' optimism even though virus cases are on the rise.
Just days following the presidential election, Twitter has stepped up its efforts to crackdown on misinformation, but questions are being raised about how marketers and users will interact with social media platforms going forward. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo reports.
New York's Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul, joined Cheddar to discuss new state guidelines set to take effect as COVID-19 cases spike nationwide.
The report by Deutsche Bank proposed a 5% daily tax on each employee that continues to work from home.
California Rep. Ami Bera joined Cheddar to discuss what a transition to the Biden administration could look like for Americans in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. Bera also discusses how a Biden administration will tackle COVID-19 with science.
